Revision: Jan. 13, 2011, midnight
HB 175 – AS INTRODUCED
2011 SESSION
01/04
HOUSE BILL 175
AN ACT relative to technical changes in life, accident, and health insurance.
COMMITTEE: Commerce and Consumer Affairs
This bill makes certain technical changes to insurance law.
This bill is a request of the insurance department.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
11-0696
01/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven
AN ACT relative to technical changes in life, accident, and health insurance.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Insurance Companies and Agents; Claim Forms and Applications. Amend RSA 402:82, II to read as follows:
II. No insurance company or producer shall accept an application for workers’ compensation [or], property or casualty insurance, or life, accident and health insurance unless the application includes:
(a) A written or electronic signature of the producer, unless the transaction does not involve a producer; and
(b) A written or electronic signature of the applicant.
2 Individual Health Insurance Market; Eligibility. Amend RSA 404-G:5-e, V(b) to read as follows:
(b) The individual is eligible for publicly funded health insurance coverage, including Medicare[,] or Medicaid [or Title XXI]; or
3 New Section; Life Insurance; Disapproval of Forms; Individual Policies. Amend RSA 408 by inserting after section 2-b the following new section:
408:2-c Disapproval of Forms; Individual Policies.
I. The commissioner may, within 30 days after the filing of any such form, disapprove such form:
(a) If it contains a provision which is unjust, unfair, inequitable, misleading, deceptive, or encourages misrepresentation of such policy; or
(b) If it does not comply with the requirements of Title XXXVII.
II. If the commissioner notifies the insurer which has filed any such form that it does not comply with the provisions of this chapter, it shall be unlawful thereafter for the insurer to issue the form or use it in connection with any policy. In the notice, the commissioner shall specify the reasons for his or her disapproval and state that a hearing shall be granted within 20 days after request in writing by the insurer.
4 Life Insurance; Expiration of Registration. Amend RSA 408:47 to read as follows:
408:47 Expiration of Registration. All registrations of life insurance corporations authorized to issue variable contracts or agents shall expire annually on [the last day of the month of February] June 14.
5 Accident and Health Insurance; Reference Change. Amend RSA 415:18, VII-a(e) to read as follows:
(e) After the 6-month period, the employee shall have the right to continue the benefits being continued under this paragraph for an additional 12 months as if the employee originally had elected the extension period provided by RSA 415:18, [VII(g)(1)] XVI and subject to the same conditions. At the end of the additional 12 months, the employee shall have the right, if the group insurance coverage is no longer available, to obtain coverage from the high risk pool.
6 Insurance Standards; Preexisting Conditions. RSA 415-A:5, I is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
I. An insurer may impose a preexisting condition exclusion period, but only if it is at least as favorable to covered persons as the following:
(a) No preexisting condition exclusion period shall extend beyond a period of 9 consecutive months after the date of enrollment of the person’s health coverage; and
(b) Such preexisting condition exclusion period shall only apply to a condition, whether physical or mental, regardless of the cause of the condition, for which medical advice, diagnosis, care or treatment was recommended or received during the 3 months immediately preceding the enrollment date of health coverage.
7 New Paragraph; Health Coverage; Medical Underwriting. Amend RSA 420-G:5 by inserting after paragraph VII the following new paragraph:
VIII. Health carriers that provide coverage for accidental injury as a medical benefit shall not exclude treatment that is medically necessary to restore condition and function to that which existed immediately prior to the accident.
8 Health Services Corporations; Reference Additions. Amend RSA 420-A:2 to read as follows:
420-A:2 Applicable Statutes. Every health service corporation shall be governed by this chapter and the relevant provisions of RSA 161-H, and shall be exempt from this title except for the provisions of RSA 400-A:39, RSA 401-B, RSA 402-C, RSA 404-F, RSA 415-A, RSA 415-F, RSA 415:6, II(4), RSA 415:6-g, RSA 415:6-k, RSA 415:6-m, RSA 415:6-o, RSA 415:18, V, RSA 415:18, VII(g), RSA 415:18, XVI and XVII, RSA 415:18, VII-a, RSA 415:18-a, RSA 415:18-j, RSA 415:18-o, RSA 415:18-r, RSA 415:18-t, RSA 415:18-u, RSA 415:22, RSA 417, RSA 417-E, RSA 420-J, and all applicable provisions of title XXXVII wherein such corporations are specifically included. Every health service corporation and its agents shall be subject to the fees prescribed for health service corporations under RSA 400-A:29, VII.
9 Health Maintenance Organizations; reference Additions. Amend RSA 420-B:20, III to read as follows:
III. The requirements of RSA 400-A:39, RSA 401-B, RSA 402-C, RSA 404-F, RSA 415:6-g, RSA 415:6-m, RSA 415:6-o, RSA 415:18, VII(g), RSA 415:18, VII-a, RSA 415:18, XVI and XVII, RSA 415:18-j, RSA 415:18-r, RSA 415:18-t, RSA 415:18-u, RSA 415-A, RSA 415-F, RSA 420-G, and RSA 420-J shall apply to health maintenance organizations.
10 Effective Date.
I. Sections 8 and 9 of this act shall take effect upon its passage.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.