FINAL BILL REPORT

                  HB 1838

                         C 388 L 93

                     Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description:  Requiring minimum standards for benefits in medicare supplement insurance.

By Representatives R. Johnson, Mielke, R. Meyers, Rayburn, King, Kremen and Holm; by request of Insurance Commissioner.

House Committee on Financial Institutions & Insurance

Senate Committee on Labor & Commerce

Background:  Last year, the Legislature amended the medicare supplemental health insurance statute to conform to changes required by the federal Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA).  The state amendments contained provisions regulating medicare supplemental health insurance.  OBRA required states to adopt regulations conforming to federal requirements or risk federal regulation of medicare supplement policies within their jurisdictions.  The secretary of health and human services conditionally certified Washington's medicare supplemental health insurance regulations as meeting federal standards.  The certification was conditioned on the state's adoption of a change to state law that would remove a provision that ties required consumer disclosures to the consumer's age.

Summary:  The state medicare supplemental health insurance regulatory statute is amended to repeal a provision that ties required consumer disclosures to the consumer's age.

Votes on Final Passage:

House  97 0

Senate 47 0

Effective:  July 25, 1993