Senate Bill 1116c1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1998 CS for SB 1116
By the Committee on Banking and Insurance and Senator Forman
311-2060A-98
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to health insurance; amending
3 s. 627.6484, F.S.; providing limitations on
4 applications for insurance under certain
5 circumstances; amending s. 627.6486, F.S.;
6 revising eligibility requirements; creating s.
7 627.649, F.S.; authorizing the Department of
8 Insurance to privatize the administration of
9 the claims and the program; authorizing the
10 department to assess and collect assessments;
11 providing an effective date.
12
13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 627.6484, Florida
16 Statutes, is amended to read:
17 627.6484 Termination of enrollment; availability of
18 other coverage.--
19 (1) The association may shall accept applications for
20 up to 500 insureds for a 1-year period beginning January 1,
21 1999, exclusive of replacement insurance only until June 30,
22 1991, after which date no further applications may be
23 accepted. Upon receipt of an application for insurance, the
24 association shall issue coverage for an eligible applicant.
25 Applications shall be processed on a first-come, first-served
26 basis. All applications received on the same day at the same
27 time shall be processed as a group; however, if processing the
28 number of applications in such group would exceed the
29 500-insureds limit for the year, such group shall be held for
30 processing until processing such application would not cause
31 the limit to be exceeded. The acceptance of the new insureds
1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1998 CS for SB 1116
311-2060A-98
1 provided in this section shall be subject to review by the
2 department at the end of the 1-year enrollment period. The
3 purpose of this review shall be to determine the impact, if
4 any, of the new enrollment on standard market rates and to
5 study the effectiveness of the association or other means of
6 providing access to health insurance to the medically
7 uninsurable in this state. When appropriate, the administrator
8 shall forward a copy of the application to a market assistance
9 plan created by the department, which shall conduct a diligent
10 search of the private marketplace for a carrier willing to
11 accept the application.
12 Section 2. Paragraph (f) of subsection (2) of section
13 627.6486, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
14 627.6486 Eligibility.--
15 (2)
16 (f) No person is eligible for coverage under the plan
17 unless such person has been rejected by two insurers for
18 coverage substantially similar to the plan coverage and no
19 insurer has been found through the market assistance plan
20 pursuant to s. 627.6484 that is willing to accept the
21 application. As used in this paragraph, "rejection" includes
22 an offer of coverage with a material underwriting restriction
23 or an offer of coverage at a rate greater than the association
24 plan rate.
25 Section 3. Section 627.649, Florida Statutes, is
26 created to read:
27 627.649 Privatization of the program.--The Department
28 of Insurance shall develop and issue a request for proposal
29 and enter into a contract with an entity qualified to
30 administer claims to privatize the administration of the
31 existing claims of the Florida Comprehensive Health
2
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida Senate - 1998 CS for SB 1116
311-2060A-98
1 Association or in the alternative is authorized to issue a
2 request for proposal and enter into a contract with an
3 authorized insurer to assume all risks in the Florida
4 Comprehensive Health Association. Premiums shall be
5 established pursuant to the provisions of s. 627.6498. The
6 Department of Insurance shall assess and collect from insurers
7 any deficits. The department shall reimburse such assessments
8 to the insurer administering the program. This section shall
9 take effect July 1, 1998, and must be implemented by July 1,
10 1999.
11 Section 4. Except as otherwise provided in this act,
12 this act shall take effect October 1, 1998.
13
14 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
15 Senate Bill 1116
16
17 Re-opens the Florida Comprehensive Health Association (FCHA)
for enrollment for health insurance coverage for up to 500
18 persons for a 1-year period.
19 Revises the eligibility criteria to deem a person eligible
only if the person has been rejected by two insurers for
20 similar coverage or has received an offer of coverage with a
material underwriting restriction.
21
Requires the Department of Insurance to review the impact of
22 the new enrollment on the standard market rates and to study
the effectiveness of the association or other means of
23 providing access to health insurance to the medically
uninsurable.
24
Requires the Department of Insurance to develop and issue a
25 request for proposal to privatize the administration of the
FCHA's claims or, as an alternative, issue a request for
26 proposal and enter into contract with an authorized insurer to
assume all the risks in the FCHA. Requires premiums to be
27 established pursuant to s. 627.6498, F.S., (the current law
that specifies how FCHA rates are determined). Requires the
28 department to assess and collect from insurers any deficits
and reimburse such assessments to the insurer administering
29 the program.
30 Deletes provisions of the bill providing an exemption from
assessments for insurer writing coverage for their
31 proportionate share of FCHA policyholders.
3