Harvard Pilgrim Reaches Agreement Over Rates, Ending Contentious Dispute

After winning an appeal on June 25, a decision that would have allowed its proposed insurance rate increases,  Ropes & Gray client Harvard Pilgrim Health Care on July 2 reach an agreement with Massachusetts state regulators to voluntarily limit those increases for April through June in exchange for approval of Harvard Pilgrim's rate increases for June through December 2010. The agreement ends a contentious dispute between the insurance company and the state.

On April 1, the Massachusetts Commissioner of Insurance rejected 235 health insurance premium rates for plans covering individuals and small businesses that were proposed by six non-profit insurance carriers, including Harvard Pilgrim. Ropes & Gray attorneys, representing Harvard Pilgrim, appealed the decision to the Division of Insurance. The three-member panel of hearing officers reversed that previous decision, agreeing with Ropes & Gray's arguments that the insurance commissioner had acted outside the scope of his statutory authority in disapproving the proposed rates. 

The Ropes & Gray team representing Harvard Pilgrim was led by partners Jane Willis and Jeff Heidt.