MA H1238

Creates a new Division of Health Insurance within the Department of Banking, Insurance and Health Insurance, separate from the existing Division of Insurance, with its own Commissioner of Health Insurance

Transfers regulatory authority over all health-related insurance products to the new division, including accident and sickness insurance (Chapter 175), nonprofit hospital service corporations (176A), medical service corporations (176B), HMOs (176G), and dental/long-term care insurance

Establishes a Health Insurance Access Bureau within the new division, overseen by a deputy commissioner, responsible for rate review, small group and individual market oversight, and consumer information dissemination

Requires the deputy commissioner to develop affordability standards for rate review that consider consumer costs (premiums, deductibles, copays), purchaser costs, and the state's health care cost growth benchmark

Authorizes a $2,000,000 annual assessment on licensed health insurance carriers to fund the bureau's operations, with carriers required to pay within 30 days of notice