Senate Bill S466

2009-2010 Legislative Session

Exempts individual or group policies of medicare supplemental insurance from certain provisions regarding increase or decrease of premiums

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Insurance Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2010	referred to insurance
Jan 07, 2009	referred to insurance

2009-S466 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Insurance
Law Section:: Insurance Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§3231 & 4308, Ins L
Versions Introduced in 2011-2012 Legislative Session:: S2314

2009-S466 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Exempts individual or group policies of medicare supplemental insurance from certain provisions regarding increase or decrease of premiums without a public hearing.

2009-S466 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S466

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to individual or group
policies of medicare supplemental insurance


 PURPOSE/SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :
Amends subsection (e) of section 3231 of the insurance law, as added
by chapter 501 of the laws of 1992, and section 4308 of the insurance
law as added by chapter 504 of the laws of 1995.

 JUSTIFICATION :
Presently, the Department of Insurance (DOI) is not authorized to
convene public hearings to review the merits of requests that are
filed by insurance carriers to increase the premiums of health care
insurance policies by 10%. As a result, recent dramatic increases in
medicare supplemental insurance policies have been approved without
the public having the opportunity to express their concerns and ensure
such requests are warranted. Such increases have the potential to
jeopardize older New Yorkers' access to the vital coverage provided by
these policies. This bill would require the DOI to convene public
hearings on proposed increases in premiums for medicare supplemental
insurance policies.

Since the DOI as indicated that double-digit increases in such

policies are becoming an emerging trend, every effort must be made
available to ensure that such increases are truly justified. Based on
income data, it is obvious many senior citizens, and most especially
those living on fixed or modest incomes, will find it difficult, if
not impossible, to absorb future increases in the costs associated
with obtaining these policies. This is especially problematic for many
seniors who subscribe to supplemental insurance as a means to control
their health care costs. Also, such requests must be viewed in the
wider context of the huge cuts and changes in Medicare that are being
considered by Congress. With so much uncertainty about the impact on
elderly New Yorkers of these changes it is essential that the DOI
convene public hearings to investigate the merit of such increases.

In addition, these public events would ensure attention would be
focused on the administrative costs associated with offering these
policies and to review the insurer's fraud and detection efforts.

 EXISTING LAW :
1997-98: A.4471/S.2685 - Passed Assembly
1995-97: A.8859/S.6293 - Passed Assembly

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
1st day of April after it shall have become law.

2009-S466 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                   466

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                               (PREFILED)

                             January 7, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  KRUGER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Insurance

AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to  individual  or  group
  policies of medicare supplemental insurance

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subparagraph (A)  of  paragraph  2  of  subsection  (e)  of
section  3231  of the insurance law, as added by chapter 501 of the laws
of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
  (A) Beginning October  first,  nineteen  hundred  ninety-four,  as  an
alternate  procedure  to  the  requirements  of  paragraph  one  of this
subsection, an insurer desiring to increase or decrease premiums for any
policy form subject to this section, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF INDIVIDUAL OR
GROUP POLICIES OF MEDICARE SUPPLEMENTAL INSURANCE, may instead submit  a
rate filing or application to the superintendent and such application or
filing shall be deemed approved, provided that (i) the anticipated mini-
mum  loss  ratio  for  a policy form shall not be less than seventy-five
percent of the premium, and (ii) the insurer submits, as  part  of  such
filing, a certification by a member of the American Academy of Actuaries
or other individual acceptable to the superintendent that the insurer is
in  compliance  with  the  provisions of this paragraph, based upon that
person's examination, including a review of the appropriate records  and
of  the  actuarial assumptions and methods used by the insurer in estab-
lishing premium rates for policy forms subject to this section.
  S 2. Paragraph 1 of subsection (g) of section 4308  of  the  insurance
law,  as added by chapter 504 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as
follows:
  (1) Beginning January first, nineteen hundred ninety-six, as an alter-
nate procedure to the requirements of subsection (c) of this section,  a
corporation  subject  to  the  provisions    of this article desiring to

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                           LBD03597-01-9

S. 466                              2

increase or decrease premiums for any contract subject to this  section,
EXCEPT  FOR INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP POLICIES OF MEDICARE SUPPLEMENTAL INSUR-
ANCE, may instead submit a rate filing or application to the superinten-
dent  and  such application or filing shall be deemed approved, provided
that (A) the anticipated incurred loss ratio for a contract  form  shall
not  be  less  than  eighty-five  percent  for individual direct payment
contracts or seventy-five percent for small group and small group remit-
tance contracts, nor, except in the case of  individual  direct  payment
contracts  with  a  loss  ratio of greater than one hundred five percent
during nineteen hundred ninety-four, shall the loss ratio for any direct
payment, group or group remittance contract be  more  than  one  hundred
five  percent of the anticipated earned premium, and (B) the corporation
submits, as part of such filing, a certification  by  a  member  of  the
American  Academy  of  Actuaries  or  other individual acceptable to the
superintendent  that  that  corporation  is  in  compliance   with   the
provisions  of  this  subsection,  based upon that person's examination,
including a review of the  appropriate  records  and  of  the  actuarial
assumptions  and methods used by the corporation in establishing premium
rates for contracts subject to this  section.    For  purposes  of  this
section,  a  small  group  is any group whose contract is subject to the
requirements of section forty-three hundred seventeen of this article.
  S 3. This act shall take effect on the first of April next  succeeding
the date on which it shall have become a law.

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Senate Bill S466

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Insurance Committee

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2009-S466 (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-S466 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-S466 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-S466 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Carl Kruger

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Insurance Committee

Actions

2009-S466 (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-S466 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-S466 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-S466 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments