Purpose: To permit licensees to repeat a continuing education course three years after they took a course.

Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 284-17-220.

Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 48.02.060, 48.17.150.

Adopted under notice filed as WSR 98-07-104 on March 18, 1998.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, amended 1, repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0.

Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.

May 19, 1998

Greg J. Scully

Chief Deputy Commissioner

AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 97-19-007, filed 9/4/97, effective 10/5/97)

WAC 284-17-220  Continuing education requirement. (1) Twenty-four credit hours of approved continuing education must be presented as a prerequisite to each license renewal or reinstatement.

(2)(a) Effective July 1, 1996, the number of required continuing education credit hours will be increased from twenty-four to thirty-two hours for each two-year licensing period.

(b)(i) Resident and nonresident licensees engaged in the transaction of long-term care insurance, long-term care partnership insurance, or both, are required to take an approved six-hour course on long-term care, long-term care partnership, or both, every two years. The commissioner shall prescribe the content of the course. Each course shall be approved by the commissioner in advance.

(ii) Effective January 1, 1998, a resident or nonresident licensee shall not submit an application for a long-term care or long-term care partnership policy to an issuer unless he or she has completed the approved course.

(iii) The approved six-hour course may count towards the thirty-two required continuing education credit hours set forth in (a) of this subsection.

(iv) An issuer of long-term care or long-term care partnership policies shall annually certify to the commissioner that:

(A) Its affiliated resident and nonresident licensees involved in the transaction of long-term care or long-term care partnership policies have completed the approved six-hour course requirement every two years; and

(B) The issuer has only accepted applications from resident and nonresident licensees in compliance with the provisions of (b)(i) of this subsection.

The certification shall be filed with the commissioner on or before March 31 of each year.

(c) Each course credit applied toward satisfaction of the continuing education requirement must have been completed within the twenty-four month period immediately preceding the licensee's assigned license renewal date and the credit may not have been used previously to comply with the continuing education requirement.

(3) The course participated in and for which credit is received shall be reported to the commissioner as part of the application for license renewal and shall be subject to verification by audit.

(4) ((Repeating)) An approved course for which the licensee has previously claimed credit ((will not satisfy the continuing education requirement)) may be repeated for credit after a period of three years from the previous completion date.

(5) The licensee must retain the certificate of completion for three years from the date on the certificate and must present the original of such certificate upon request of or audit by the commissioner.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 48.02.060, 48.17.150 and 48.85.030. 97-19-007, § 284-17-220, filed 9/4/97, effective 10/5/97. Statutory Authority: RCW 48.02.060, 48.17.150, 48.20.450, 48.85.030 and 48.85.040. 96-17-029 (Matter No. R 95-16), § 284-17-220, filed 8/13/96, effective 9/13/96. Statutory Authority: RCW 48.01.030, 48.02.060(3), 48.14.010, 48.17.150(2), 48.17.160 (1)(5) and 48.17.500(3). 94-14-033 (Order R 94-14), § 284-17-220, filed 6/28/94, effective 7/29/94. Statutory Authority: RCW 48.02.060. 89-19-037 (Order R 89-10), § 284-17-220, filed 9/15/89, effective 10/16/89. Statutory Authority: RCW 48.02.060 and 48.17.150. 81-18-049 (Order R 81-5), § 284-17-220, filed 8/31/81. Statutory Authority: RCW 48.17.150 as amended by 1979 ex.s. c 269 §§ 7,10. 80-04-042 (Order R 80-3), § 284-17-220, filed 3/20/80.]