CS/CS/HB 675

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to Medicare supplement policies; amending
3s. 627.671, F.S.; revising a short title; amending s.
4627.6741, F.S.; requiring that insurers issuing Medicare
5supplement policies in this state offer the opportunity to
6enroll in a Medicare supplement policy to certain
7individuals having a disability or end-stage renal
8disease; permitting insurers offering Medicare supplement
9policies to effect a one-time rate schedule change;
10authorizing insurers to propose a rate adjustment that
11considers the experience of policies or certificates for
12persons younger than 65 years of age; establishing
13credibility criteria for the rate adjustment; providing an
14effective date.
15
16Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18     Section 1.  Section 627.671, Florida Statutes, is amended
19to read:
20     627.671  Medicare supplement reform; short title.--Sections
21627.671-627.675 may be cited as the "Alonzo Mourning Access to
22Care Act Florida Medicare Supplement Reform Act."
23     Section 2.  Subsection (1) of section 627.6741, Florida
24Statutes, is amended to read:
25     627.6741  Issuance, cancellation, nonrenewal, and
26replacement.--
27     (1)(a)  An insurer issuing Medicare supplement policies in
28this state shall offer the opportunity of enrolling in a
29Medicare supplement policy, without conditioning the issuance or
30effectiveness of the policy on, and without discriminating in
31the price of the policy based on, the medical or health status
32or receipt of health care by the individual:
33     1.(a)  To any individual who is 65 years of age or older,
34or under 65 years of age and eligible for Medicare by reason of
35disability or end-stage renal disease, and who resides in this
36state, upon the request of the individual during the 6-month
37period beginning with the first month in which the individual
38has attained 65 years of age and is enrolled in Medicare Part B,
39or is eligible for Medicare by reason of a disability or end-
40stage renal disease, and is enrolled in Medicare Part B; or
41     2.(b)  To any individual who is 65 years of age or older,
42or under 65 years of age and eligible for Medicare by reason of
43a disability or end-stage renal disease, who and is enrolled in
44Medicare Part B, and who resides in this state, upon the request
45of the individual during the 2-month period following
46termination of coverage under a group health insurance policy.
47     (b)  The 6-month period to enroll in a Medicare supplement
48policy for an individual who is under 65 years of age and is
49eligible for Medicare by reason of disability or end-stage renal
50disease and otherwise eligible under subparagraph (a)1. or
51subparagraph (a)2. and first enrolled in Medicare Part B before
52October 1, 2009, begins on October 1, 2009.
53     (c)  A company that has offered Medicare supplement
54policies to individuals under 65 years of age who are eligible
55for Medicare by reason of disability or end-stage renal disease
56before October 1, 2009, may, for one time only, effect a rate
57schedule change that redefines the age bands of the premium
58classes without activating the period of discontinuance required
59by s. 627.410(6)(e)2.
60     (d)  As a part of an insurer's rate filings, before and
61including the insurer's first rate filing for a block of policy
62forms in 2015, notwithstanding the provisions of s.
63627.410(6)(e)3., an insurer shall consider the experience of the
64policies or certificates for the premium classes including
65individuals under 65 years of age and eligible for Medicare by
66reason of disability or end-stage renal disease separately from
67the balance of the block so as not to affect the other premium
68classes. For filings in such time period only, credibility of
69that experience shall be as follows: if a block of policy forms
70has 1,250 or more policies or certificates in force in the age
71band including ages under 65 years of age, full or 100 percent
72credibility shall be given to the experience; and if fewer than
73250 policies or certificates are in force, no or zero percent
74credibility shall be given. Linear interpolation shall be used
75for in-force amounts between the low and high values. Florida-
76only experience shall be used if it is 100 percent credible. If
77Florida-only experience is not 100 percent credible, a
78combination of Florida-only and nationwide experience shall be
79used. If Florida-only experience is zero percent credible,
80nationwide experience shall be used. The insurer may file its
81initial rates and any rate adjustment based upon the experience
82of these policies or certificates or based upon expected claim
83experience using experience data of the same company, other
84companies in the same or other states, or using data publicly
85available from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services if
86the insurer's combined Florida and nationwide experience is not
87100 percent credible, separate from the balance of all other
88Medicare supplement policies.
89
90A Medicare supplement policy issued to an individual under
91subparagraph (a)1. or subparagraph (a)2. paragraph (a) or
92paragraph (b) may not exclude benefits based on a preexisting
93condition if the individual has a continuous period of
94creditable coverage, as defined in s. 627.6561(5), of at least 6
95months as of the date of application for coverage.
96     Section 3.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2009.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.