Agency expects more to appeal healthcare fee

State regulators said yesterday they expect more than a three-fold increase in the number of Massachusetts residents who will appeal penalties in the next year for failing to have state-mandated health insurance.

The Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority set aside $3.3 million - nearly 10 percent of its $39 million fiscal 2009 budget, which it finalized yesterday - for the 8,000 appeals the board expects to process. In the year that ended June 30, there were an estimated 2,000 to 2,500 appeals, the board said.

Board members said a steep hike in the penalty for not having insurance, from $219 per person this year to a maximum of $912 next year, is part of the reason for the expected increase. Also, the board is considering regulations that would set a minimum standard for what kind of coverage individuals must buy, and members said that probably would also raise the price of coverage.

Included in the regulations the board is debating is what services should be required in a core package offered in all insurance plans, with no limits placed on those services.

The board has scheduled a public hearing Sept. 12 on its proposed regulations and plans to vote on a final package in October. The rules would take effect Jan. 1.

KAY LAZAR