| Passed by the House March 8, 2004 Yeas 94 ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives Passed by the Senate March 4, 2004 Yeas 44 ________________________________________ President of the Senate | I, Richard Nafziger, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2354 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth. ________________________________________ Chief Clerk | |
| Approved ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | Secretary of State State of Washington |
| State of Washington | 58th Legislature | 2004 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 01/27/04.
AN ACT Relating to rates for a medicare supplement insurance policy; amending RCW 48.66.045; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 48.66.045 and 1999 c 334 s 1 are each amended to read
as follows:
Every issuer of a medicare supplement insurance policy or
certificate providing coverage to a resident of this state issued on or
after January 1, 1996, shall:
(1) Issue coverage under its standardized benefit plans B, C, D, E,
F, and G without evidence of insurability to any resident of this state
who is eligible for both medicare hospital and physician services by
reason of age or by reason of disability or end-stage renal disease, if
the medicare supplement policy replaces another medicare supplement
standardized benefit plan policy or certificate B, C, D, E, F, or G, or
other more comprehensive coverage than the replacing policy;
(2) Issue coverage under its standardized plans A, H, I, and J
without evidence of insurability to any resident of this state who is
eligible for both medicare hospital and physician services by reason of
age or by reason of disability or end-stage renal disease, if the
medicare supplement policy replaces another medicare supplement policy
or certificate which is the same standardized plan as the replaced
policy; and
(3) Set rates only on a community-rated basis. Premiums shall be
equal for all policyholders and certificate holders under a
standardized medicare supplement benefit plan form, except that an
issuer may vary premiums based on spousal discounts, frequency of
payment, and method of payment including automatic deposit of premiums
and may develop no more than two rating pools that distinguish between
an insured's eligibility for medicare by reason of:
(a) Age; or
(b) Disability or end-stage renal disease.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 If any provision of this act or its
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other
persons or circumstances is not affected.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 This act is necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the
state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect
immediately.