Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Insurance Notification topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House passes bill requiring insurers to notify custodial parents when policies change
Summary
House Bill 73, sponsored by Representative Beck, requires insurers to notify custodial parents upon commencement or termination of a policy and to provide preferred-provider information; the House adopted sponsor and committee amendments and passed the bill 64–5.
Representative Beck introduced House Bill 73 to require insurers to notify custodial parents when a policy covering their children is commenced or terminated and to provide information on preferred providers so custodial parents can access care and prescriptions. Beck opened the bill by recounting constituent cases of parents unable to determine insurance coverage after a policyholder stopped payment.
Representative Gladwell offered a package of amendments designed to minimize insurer burden: requiring insurers to send essentially the same notice they already send to the insured, preventing the creation of new civil liability, and delaying the bill's effective date to give companies time to adapt systems. The amendments were explained as intended to reduce paperwork burdens and to allow the Department of Insurance to enforce compliance rather than creating new private tort claims.
Representative Ferry moved a substitute amendment to change the effective date from Oct. 1, 2000, to July 1, 2001 to provide insurers additional time to update computer systems. Sponsors called that change friendly and it was adopted. Representative Bryson additionally moved to insert the word "administrative" after "court" in the definition of covered orders to capture administrative orders handled by the Office of Recovery Services; sponsors accepted that as a friendly amendment.
After the floor amendments and substitute effective date were adopted, the House voted on the amended bill. House Bill 73 passed with 64 yes votes and 5 no votes and will be transmitted to the Senate for further action. Representative Beck said the bill's purpose is to ensure custodial parents have necessary information to manage their children's healthcare.
