Chapter 385
2012 -- H 7892 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 06/21/12
A N A C T
RELATING TO
INSURANCE -- ACCIDENT AND SICKNESS INSURANCE POLICIES
Introduced By: Representatives Kennedy, Naughton, Ferri, Tanzi, and O`Grady
Date Introduced: March 06, 2012
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 40-8.4-14 of the General Laws in Chapter
40-8.4 entitled "Health
Care For
Families" is hereby amended to read as follows:
40-8.4-14.
Permanent joint committee on health care oversight. --
(a) The legislature
hereby finds and declares that: (1) access to affordable,
quality health and long-term care is of
concern for all Rhode Islanders; (2) the complexities of the
health insurance and health care
delivery systems result in inefficiencies, confusion and
additional costs for consumers and other
participants in the health care system; (3) reform to the health
insurance and health care delivery
systems is achievable only through an ongoing, focused,
directed, and informed effort; and (4)
steps taken to reduce the numbers of uninsured Rhode
Islanders, enhance the quality of care,
contain costs, assure accessibility to services, and promote
healthy lifestyles should be monitored,
adjusted or expanded as needed. Therefore, there is hereby
created a permanent legislative
committee to monitor, study, report and make recommendations on
all areas of health care
provision, insurance, liability, licensing, cost and delivery
of services, and the adequacy, efficacy
and efficiency of statutes, rules, regulations,
guidelines, practices, and programs related to health
care, long-term care, or health insurance coverage in
(b) The committee
consists of twelve (12) members of the general assembly: six (6) of
whom shall be members of the house of representatives, to
include the chair or deputy chair of the
committee on finance, the chair or vice chair of the committee
on corporations, the chair or vice
chair of the committee on health, education and welfare;
and one of whom shall be from the
minority party, to be appointed by, and to serve at the
discretion of, the speaker of the house of
representatives; and six (6) of whom shall be from the senate, to
include the chair or vice chair of
the committee on finance, the chair or vice chair of the
committee on commerce, housing and
municipal government, the chair or vice chair of the committee
on health and human services;
and one of whom from the minority party, to be appointed by,
and to serve at the discretion of,
the president of the senate.
(c) The committee shall
have co-chairpersons, one appointed by the speaker of the house
of representatives and one by the president of the
senate.
(d) The committee may
review or study any matter related to the provision of health care
services and long-term care that it considers of significance
to the citizens of
including the availability of health care, the quality of health
care, the effectiveness and efficiency
of managed care systems, the efficiency and the
operation of state health care programs, and the
availability of improved processes or new technologies to achieve
more effective and timely
resolution of disputes, better communication, speedier, more
reliable and less costly
administrative processes, claims, payments, and other matters
involving the interaction among
any or all of government, employers, consumers of health
care, providers, health care facilities,
insurers and others. The committee may request information
from any health care provider, health
care facility, insurer or others. The committee may
request and shall receive from any
instrumentality of the state, including the department of human
services, the department of
business regulation, the department of health, the department
of mental health, retardation, and
hospitals, the department of elderly affairs, and the long-term
care coordinating council, or any
other governmental advisory body or commission, including,
but not limited to, the governor's
advisory council on health, such information and assistance as
it deems necessary for the proper
execution of its powers and duties under this section,
including the annual report of the governor's
advisory council on health. The committee will undertake a
comprehensive study of the state's
regulatory structure for health insurance including the roles,
relevance, impact and coordination
of current state laws and agencies involved in insurance
oversight. This study will include any
necessary recommendations for the restructuring of the state's
laws and regulatory bodies. Said
recommendations will be made to the speaker of the house and the
president of the senate on or
before March 1, 2005.
(e) In addition to the
notification regarding regulations required under section 40-8.4-
10(b), the department of human services shall file
with the permanent joint committee on health
care oversight a detailed plan for the implementation of
the programs created under this chapter
by August 1, 2000.
(f) The committee shall
have the power to hold hearings, shall meet at least quarterly,
may make recommendations to the general assembly, state
agencies, private industry or any other
entity, and shall report to the general assembly on its
findings and recommendations as it
determines appropriate.
(g) The Office of the
Health Insurance Commissioner and the Executive Office of Health
and Human Services shall issue a series of reports to the
Joint Committee on or before October 1
of 2012 on state implementation options related to the
Act of 2010 as amended by the Health Care and Education
Reconciliation Act of 2010 and any
further amendments to or regulations or guidance issued thereunder (“ACA”). These reports shall
analyze the state options and make recommendations to the
Committee for legislative action
regarding the following topics:
(i)
The feasibility of instituting a basic health program pursuant to Section 131
of the
ACA, including a proposed plan for implementation;
(ii) The impact of
eliminating gender as a rating factor, limiting variation in community
rates based on age, and limiting waiting periods for
coverage, as required under the Act;
(iii)The impact of
merging the individual and small group insurance markets on rates and
coverage, including a proposed plan for implementation;
(iv)
The feasibility of requiring insurance product consistency inside
and outside of a
state health insurance exchange, including an assessment of
coverage and rate impacts; and
(v) The substantially
equivalent utilization coverage limits that the legislature may
substitute for the current dollar coverage limits on numerous
state health insurance mandates, to
conform with the Act.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02083/SUB A
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