Bill Text: NY A07981 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Requires insurers offering renewal of certain Medicare supplemental insurance policies or providing notification of a change in premiums of such policies to notify policyholders of the availability of policies offered by such insurer with similar benefits at a comparable premium or the ability of such policyholder to purchase a different policy without the pre-existing condition waiting period; applies to policies for which such insurers no longer accept new contracts but continue to renew for existing policyholders.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-03-24 - REFERRED TO INSURANCE [A07981 Detail]

Download: New_York-2013-A07981-Amended.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                        7981--A
                              2013-2014 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                     June 13, 2013
                                      ___________
       Introduced by M. of A. COOK, GOTTFRIED, CYMBROWITZ -- Multi-Sponsored by
         --  M. of A.  BRENNAN, GLICK, HOOPER, JACOBS, PEOPLES-STOKES, SWEENEY,
         WEINSTEIN, WEISENBERG -- read once and referred to  the  Committee  on
         Insurance  --  recommitted to the Committee on Insurance in accordance
         with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee  discharged,  bill  amended,
         ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
       AN  ACT  to amend the insurance law, in relation to providing disclosure
         to medicare supplemental insurance policy holders regarding the rights
         of such holders at the time of a rate change
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 3218-a
    2  to read as follows:
    3    S 3218-A. REQUIRED DISCLOSURE TO MEDICARE SUPPLEMENTAL INSURANCE POLI-
    4  CY  HOLDERS.  (A)  EVERY  INSURER  OFFERING A RENEWAL OF A CONTRACT TO A
    5  CLOSED BLOCK MEMBER, OR NOTIFYING SUCH CLOSED BLOCK MEMBER OF A PROPOSED
    6  OR APPROVED CHANGE IN THE PREMIUMS OR THE BENEFITS UNDER SUCH  CONTRACT,
    7  SHALL  NOTIFY  SUCH  MEMBER IN WRITING, IN A FORM APPROVED BY THE SUPER-
    8  INTENDENT, OF:  (1) THE ABILITY OF SUCH MEMBER TO PURCHASE  A  DIFFERENT
    9  POLICY  WITHOUT  UNDERGOING  A  PRE-EXISTING  CONDITION  WAITING  PERIOD
   10  PROVIDING THERE WAS CONTINUOUS COVERAGE THE PREVIOUS SIX MONTHS; AND (2)
   11  THE AVAILABILITY OF ANY POLICY  OR  CONTRACT  OFFERED  BY  SUCH  INSURER
   12  PROVIDING SIMILAR BENEFITS AT A LOWER PREMIUM, AND A TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE
   13  NUMBER  AND  INTERNET  WEBSITE  WHERE  SUCH  MEMBER MAY FIND INFORMATION
   14  REGARDING POLICIES PROVIDING SIMILAR BENEFITS OFFERED BY ANOTHER  INSUR-
   15  ER,  A  CORPORATION  ORGANIZED  PURSUANT  TO ARTICLE FORTY-THREE OF THIS
   16  CHAPTER, OR AN ORGANIZATION CERTIFIED PURSUANT TO ARTICLE FORTY-FOUR  OF
   17  THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAW.
   18    (B) FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, "CLOSED BLOCK MEMBER" SHALL MEAN
   19  THE HOLDER OF A CONTRACT OF MEDICARE SUPPLEMENTAL INSURANCE ISSUED BY AN
   20  INSURER  PURSUANT TO A FORM FOR WHICH SUCH INSURER NO LONGER SOLICITS OR
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD06632-02-4
       A. 7981--A                          2
    1  ACCEPTS NEW POLICYHOLDERS, BUT CONTINUES TO OFFER RENEWAL  CONTRACTS  TO
    2  EXISTING POLICYHOLDERS UNDER SUCH FORM.
    3    S 2. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 4329 to read
    4  as follows:
    5    S  4329. REQUIRED DISCLOSURE TO MEDICARE SUPPLEMENTAL INSURANCE POLICY
    6  HOLDERS. (A) EVERY CORPORATION OFFERING A RENEWAL OF  A  CONTRACT  TO  A
    7  CLOSED BLOCK MEMBER, OR NOTIFYING SUCH CLOSED BLOCK MEMBER OF A PROPOSED
    8  OR  APPROVED CHANGE IN THE PREMIUMS OR THE BENEFITS UNDER SUCH CONTRACT,
    9  SHALL NOTIFY SUCH MEMBER IN WRITING, IN A FORM APPROVED  BY  THE  SUPER-
   10  INTENDENT,  OF:  (1)  THE ABILITY OF SUCH MEMBER TO PURCHASE A DIFFERENT
   11  CONTRACT WITHOUT UNDERGOING  A  PRE-EXISTING  CONDITION  WAITING  PERIOD
   12  PROVIDING THERE WAS CONTINUOUS COVERAGE THE PREVIOUS SIX MONTHS; AND (2)
   13  THE  AVAILABILITY  OF ANY POLICY OR CONTRACT OFFERED BY SUCH CORPORATION
   14  PROVIDING SIMILAR BENEFITS AT A LOWER PREMIUM, AND A TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE
   15  NUMBER AND INTERNET WEBSITE  WHERE  SUCH  MEMBER  MAY  FIND  INFORMATION
   16  REGARDING CONTRACTS PROVIDING SIMILAR BENEFITS OFFERED BY ANOTHER INSUR-
   17  ER, A CORPORATION ORGANIZED PURSUANT TO THIS ARTICLE, OR AN ORGANIZATION
   18  CERTIFIED PURSUANT TO ARTICLE FORTY-FOUR OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAW.
   19    (B) FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, "CLOSED BLOCK MEMBER" SHALL MEAN
   20  THE  HOLDER OF A CONTRACT OF MEDICARE SUPPLEMENTAL INSURANCE ISSUED BY A
   21  CORPORATION PURSUANT TO A FORM FOR  WHICH  SUCH  CORPORATION  NO  LONGER
   22  SOLICITS  OR  ACCEPTS  NEW  SUBSCRIBERS,  BUT CONTINUES TO OFFER RENEWAL
   23  CONTRACTS TO EXISTING SUBSCRIBERS UNDER SUCH FORM.
   24    S 3. This act shall take effect on January first next  succeeding  the
   25  date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to all policies
   26  issued, renewed, modified or altered on or after such date.