Senate Bill S2314

2011-2012 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 18, 2011	referred to insurance

2011-S2314 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Insurance
Law Section:: Insurance Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§3231 & 4308, Ins L
Versions Introduced in 2009-2010 Legislative Session:: S466

2011-S2314 (ACTIVE) - Summary

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

2011-S2314 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S2314

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.

2011-S2314 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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

                                  2314

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 18, 2011
                               ___________

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 amended by chapter 107 of the laws
of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
  (A)  Until  September  thirtieth,  two  thousand  ten, 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 POLI-
CIES 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
minimum  loss  ratio for a policy form shall not be less than eighty-two
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.  An
insurer shall not utilize the alternate procedure pursuant to this para-
graph to implement a change in rates to be effective on or after October
first, two thousand ten.
  S  2.  Paragraph  1 of subsection (g) of section 4308 of the insurance
law, as amended by chapter 107 of the laws of 2010, is amended  to  read
as follows:

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD07112-01-1

S. 2314                             2

  (1)  Until  September  thirtieth,  two  thousand  ten, as an alternate
procedure to the requirements of  subsection  (c)  of  this  section,  a
corporation  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  article desiring to
increase or decrease premiums for any contract subject to  this  section
may,  EXCEPT  FOR  INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP POLICIES OF MEDICARE SUPPLEMENTAL
INSURANCE, instead submit a rate filing or  application  to  the  super-
intendent  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-two percent for individual direct
payment contracts or eighty-two percent for small group and small  group
remittance  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. A corporation shall not
utilize the alternate procedure pursuant to this subsection to implement
a change in rates to be effective on or after October first,  two  thou-
sand ten. 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 S2314

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Insurance Committee

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2011-S2314 (ACTIVE) - Details

2011-S2314 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2011-S2314 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2011-S2314 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Carl Kruger

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Insurance Committee

Actions

2011-S2314 (ACTIVE) - Details

2011-S2314 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2011-S2314 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2011-S2314 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments