CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1220

Chapter 312, Laws of 2011

62nd Legislature
2011 Regular Session



INSURANCE RATE FILINGS



EFFECTIVE DATE: 07/22/11

Passed by the House April 13, 2011
  Yeas 95   Nays 1

FRANK CHOPP
________________________________________    
Speaker of the House of Representatives


Passed by the Senate April 7, 2011
  Yeas 48   Nays 1


BRAD OWEN
________________________________________    
President of the Senate
 
CERTIFICATE

I, Barbara Baker, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1220 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth.


BARBARA BAKER
________________________________________    
Chief Clerk
Approved May 11, 2011, 1:52 p.m.








CHRISTINE GREGOIRE
________________________________________    
Governor of the State of Washington
 
FILED
May 11, 2011







Secretary of State
State of Washington


_____________________________________________ 

ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1220
_____________________________________________

AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

Passed Legislature - 2011 Regular Session
State of Washington62nd Legislature2011 Regular Session

By House Health Care & Wellness (originally sponsored by Representatives Rolfes, Cody, Appleton, Frockt, Hinkle, Liias, Fitzgibbon, Jinkins, Hunt, Van De Wege, Moeller, and Kenney; by request of Insurance Commissioner)

READ FIRST TIME 02/16/11.   



     AN ACT Relating to regulating insurance rates; and amending RCW 48.02.120.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 48.02.120 and 1985 c 264 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The commissioner shall preserve in permanent form records of his or her proceedings, hearings, investigations, and examinations, and shall file such records in his or her office.
     (2) The records of the commissioner and insurance filings in his or her office shall be open to public inspection, except as otherwise provided by this code.
     (3) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, actuarial formulas, statistics, and assumptions submitted in support of a rate or form filing by an insurer, health care service contractor, or health maintenance organization or submitted to the commissioner upon his or her request shall be withheld from public inspection in order to preserve trade secrets or prevent unfair competition.
     (4) For individual and small group health benefit plan rate filings submitted on or after July 1, 2011, subsection (3) of this section applies only to the numeric values of each small group rating factor used by a health carrier as authorized by RCW 48.21.045(3)(a), 48.44.023(3)(a), and 48.46.066(3)(a). Subsection (3) of this section may continue to apply for a period of one year from the date a new individual or small group product filing is submitted or until the next rate filing for the product, whichever occurs earlier, if the commissioner determines that the proposed rate filing is for a new product that is distinct and unique from any of the carrier's currently or previously offered health benefit plans. Carriers must make a written request for a product classification as a new product under this subsection and must receive subsequent written approval by the commissioner for this subsection to apply.
     (5) Unless the commissioner has determined that a filing is for a new product pursuant to subsection (4) of this section, for all individual or small group health benefit rate filings submitted on or after July 1, 2011, the health carrier must submit part I rate increase summary and part II written explanation of the rate increase as set forth by the department of health and human services at the time of filing, and the commissioner must:
     (a) Make each filing and the part I rate increase summary and part II written explanation of the rate increase available for public inspection on the tenth calendar day after the commissioner determines that the rate filing is complete and accepts the filing for review through the electronic rate and form filing system; and
     (b)
Prepare a standardized rate summary form, to explain his or her findings after the rate review process is completed. The commissioner's summary form must be included as part of the rate filing documentation and available to the public electronically.


         Passed by the House April 13, 2011.
         Passed by the Senate April 7, 2011.
         Approved by the Governor May 11, 2011.
         Filed in Office of Secretary of State May 11, 2011.