Reference is to the bill as introduced.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting words and inserting:
/ SECTION 1. Article 1, Chapter 15, Title 40 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 40-15-390.
(A) All dentists licensed before
January 1, 2020, must pay a total surcharge fee of one hundred
fifty dollars to the department for purposes of reducing the
operating deficit of the South Carolina Medical Malpractice
Joint Underwriting Association or any successor thereto. This
surcharge fee is in addition to any initial or renewal license
fee and payable as either a one-time fee of one hundred fifty
dollars or in installments payable in consecutive renewal
cycles, but not more than three consecutive renewal cycles,
until the total surcharge fee is paid in full. The surcharge fee
is due at the same time as the payment of the initial or renewal
license fee. This surcharge fee for dentists licensed before
January 1, 2020, expires upon payment of the total surcharge fee
unless extended by the General Assembly.
(B) Failure to pay the
surcharge fee shall result in a monthly late fee not to exceed
five percent of the surcharge fee and accrues until the
surcharge fee is paid in full, but in no event may the fee
accrue for more than six months. All late fees collected must be
remitted to the South Carolina Medical Malpractice Joint
Underwriting Association or any successor thereto and applied to
the reduction of the operating deficit of the association. No
action may be taken by the department against the license of any
dentist for failure to pay surcharge fees. The department shall
remit all surcharge fee payments and late fee payments in full
to the board of the association.
(C) The department may
charge a transaction fee for licensees who pay the surcharge fee
by credit card."
SECTION 2. Article 1, Chapter 47, Title 40 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 40-47-55.
(A) All medical doctors, surgeons, and
osteopathic physicians licensed before January 1, 2020, must pay
a total surcharge fee of three hundred dollars to the department
for purposes of reducing the operating deficit of the South
Carolina Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Association or
any successor thereto. This surcharge fee must be in addition to
any initial or renewal license fee and payable as either a
one-time fee of three hundred dollars or in installments in
consecutive renewal cycles, but not more than three consecutive
renewal cycles, until the total surcharge fee is paid in full.
The surcharge fee is due at the same time as the payment of the
initial or renewal license fee. This surcharge fee for medical
doctors, surgeons, and osteopathic physicians licensed before
January 1, 2020, expires upon payment of the total surcharge fee
unless extended by the General Assembly.
(B) Failure to pay the
surcharge fee shall result in a monthly late fee not to exceed
five percent of the surcharge fee and accrues until the
surcharge fee is paid in full, but in no event may the fee
accrue for more than six months. All late fees collected must be
remitted to the South Carolina Medical Malpractice Joint
Underwriting Association or any successor thereto and applied to
the reduction of the operating deficit of the association. No
action may be taken by the department against the license of any
medical doctor, surgeon, or osteopathic physician for failure to
pay surcharge fees. The department shall remit all surcharge
fee payments and late fee payments in full to the board of the
association.
(C) The department may
charge a transaction fee for licensees who pay the surcharge fee
by credit card."
SECTION 3. Article 3, Chapter 79, Title 38 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Article 3
South Carolina Medical Malpractice Liability
Joint Underwriting Association
Section 38-79-110. As
used in this article:
(1) 'Association' means
any joint underwriting association established by the General
Assembly in 1987 and managed and operated pursuant to the
provisions of this article including the South Carolina Joint
Underwriting Association as provided for in Section
38-79-300.
(2) 'Licensed health
care providers' means physicians and surgeons, nurses, oral
surgeons, dentists, pharmacists, chiropractors, podiatrists,
hospitals, nursing homes, or any similar major category of
licensed health care providers. The term 'licensed health care
provider' also includes blood centers which collect, process,
and distribute blood to hospitals and physicians for the care of
patients if these blood centers as of July 1, 1997, were insured
with the Joint Underwriting Association.
(3) 'Medical
malpractice insurance' means medical professional liability
insurance or insurance protection against the legal liability of
the insured and against loss, damage, or expense incident to a
claim arising out of the death or injury of any person as the
result of negligence or malpractice in rendering or failing to
render professional service by any licensed physician, licensed
health care provider, or hospital.
(4) 'Net-direct
premiums' means gross direct premiums written on bodily
injury liability insurance, other than automobile liability
insurance, homeowners liability insurance, and farmowners
liability insurance, including the liability component of
multiple peril package policies, as medical
malpractice insurance, medical professional liability insurance,
hospital professional liability insurance, and any other type of
professional liability insurance covering risks of licensed
health care providers and facilities as determined and
computed by the director or his designee, less return premiums
or the unused or unabsorbed portions of premium deposits. The
net direct premium calculation does not include premiums written
by the association or the South Carolina Patients' Compensation
Fund established pursuant to the provisions of Article 5 of this
chapter.
(5) 'Deficit'
means all operating losses of the association as reported in the
association's financial statements.
Section 38-79-120. (1)
A joint underwriting association
(association) is created, consisting of
containing as members all insurers authorized to write and
report net-direct written premiums for medical malpractice
insurance, medical professional liability insurance, hospital
professional liability insurance, or any other type of
professional liability insurance in this State covering the
professional liability risks of licensed health care providers.
Membership also includes foreign and domestic risk retention
groups and surplus lines insurers authorized to write and report
net-direct written premiums for medical malpractice insurance,
medical professional liability insurance, hospital professional
liability insurance or any other type of professional liability
insurance in this State covering the professional liability risk
of licensed health care providers, and authorized to do business
in accordance with the provisions of this title. Each insurer,
risk retention group, or surplus lines insurer described above
is and must remain a member of the association as a condition of
the authorization to transact the sale of insurance in this
State. If the net-direct premiums written by all carriers are
less than twenty-five million dollars in a given year, then in
such year the membership of the association must be expanded to
include all insurers authorized to write within this State,
on a direct basis, bodily injury liability insurance, other than
automobile bodily injury liability insurance, homeowners
liability insurance, and farmowners liability insurance,
including insurers covering such peril in multiple peril package
policies. Every such insurer is and must remain a member
of the association as a condition of its authority to continue
to transact such kind of insurance in this State. In
such event, the term 'net-direct premiums' shall include the
gross direct premiums written on bodily injury liability
insurance other than automobile liability insurance, homeowners
liability insurance, and farmowners liability insurance
including the liability component of multiple peril package
policies as computed by the director or his designee, less
return premiums of the unused or unabsorbed portions of premium
deposits.
(2) The purpose of the
association is to provide medical malpractice
insurance ensure the availability of medical
malpractice and other types of liability insurance for health
care providers on a self-supporting basis to the fullest
extent possible. The intent of the General Assembly in
enacting this section is to eliminate the accumulated deficit of
the association and of the Patients' Compensation Fund and to
transition the association over time to a market of last resort
so that it is no longer in competition with the private market.
Specifically, the General Assembly does not intend that the
South Carolina Joint Underwriting Association offer rates that
are competitive to the private market. Rates for policies issued
by the association must be adequate and established at a level
that permits the association to operate without accumulating
additional deficits over time. The General Assembly encourages
the board, in consultation with the director or his designee, to
develop a five-year plan to increase rates gradually to achieve
this legislative intent.
(3) The association
must be called into operation at any time that the department
finds and declares the existence of an emergency because of the
unavailability of medical malpractice liability insurance, or
the unavailability of medical malpractice liability insurance on
a reasonable basis through normal channels, in respect to all or
any one or more of the major categories of licensed health care
providers listed in item (2) of Section 38-79-110.
Section 38-79-130. The
association, pursuant to the provisions of this article and the
approved plan of operation in respect to medical malpractice
insurance, has the power on behalf of its members to:
(1) issue, or cause to
be issued, policies of insurance to applicants including
incidental coverages including, but not limited to, premises or
operations liability coverage on the premises where services are
rendered, all subject to limits of liability as specified in the
plan of operation but not to exceed two hundred
thousand one million dollars for each claim
under one policy and six hundred thousand
three million dollars for all claims under one policy in
any one year; provided, however, that the association may offer
policies up to one million dollars for each claim under
one policy and three million dollars higher limits
per claim and for all claims under one policy in any one
year only upon approval of the board of the association and with
the written concurrence of the Board of Governors of the
South Carolina Patients' Compensation Fund approval
of the director;
(2) underwrite medical
malpractice insurance and to adjust and pay losses with respect
to it or to appoint service companies to perform those
functions; and
(3) cede and assume
reinsurance.
Section 38-79-140. (1)
The association must operate pursuant to a
plan of operation which shall provide for economic, fair, and
nondiscriminatory administration and for the prompt and
efficient provision of medical malpractice insurance and may
contain other provisions including, but not limited to,
preliminary assessment of all members for initial expenses
necessary to commence operations, establishment of necessary
facilities, management of the association, assessment of the
members to defray losses and expenses, commissions arrangements,
reasonable and objective underwriting standards, acceptance and
cession of reinsurance, appointment of servicing carriers, and
procedures for determining amounts of insurance to be provided
by the association.
(2) The plan of
operation shall provide that any profit achieved by the
association must be added to the reserves of the association or
returned to the policyholders as a dividend.
(3) The plan of
operation becomes effective and operative no later than thirty
days after the declaration of any emergency by the
department.
(4) Amendments to the
plan of operation may be made by the directors of the
association with the approval of the director or his designee or
must be made at the direction of the director or his designee
after due notice and public hearing.
Section 38-79-150. Any
licensed health care provider in a category in which the
department has declared an emergency exists is entitled to apply
to the association for coverage. The application may be made on
behalf of the applicant by a licensed agent or broker authorized
in writing by the applicant. If the association determines that
the applicant meets the underwriting standards of the
association as set forth in the approved plan of operation and
there is no unpaid, uncontested premium due from the applicant
for any prior insurance of the same kind, the association, upon
receipt of the premium, or a portion thereof as prescribed by
the plan of operation, shall cause to be issued a policy of
medical malpractice liability insurance for a term of one
year.
The rates, rating plans, rating rules,
rating classifications, territories, and policy forms applicable
to insurance written by the association and the statistical and
experience data relating thereto are subject to this article and
to those provisions of Chapter 73 of this title which are not
inconsistent with the purposes and provisions of this article.
Section 38-79-160. The director or his designee shall obtain complete statistical data in respect to medical malpractice losses and reparation costs as well as all other costs or expenses which underlie or are related to medical malpractice liability insurance. He shall promulgate any statistical plan he considers necessary for the purpose of gathering data referable to loss and loss adjustment expense experience and other expense experience. When a statistical plan is promulgated all members of the association shall adopt and use it. The director or his designee shall also obtain statistical data in respect to the costs of compensating or rehabilitating victims of medical malpractice without respect to insurance for purposes of studying the feasibility or desirability of alternative medical malpractice compensation systems and estimating the impact of medical malpractice loss and insurance costs upon other compensation and insurance systems such as workers' compensation and accident and health insurance. He may require from any person obtaining insurance through the association loss, claim, or expense data. This information or data is confidential and the physician-patient privilege must be preserved.
Section 38-79-170. In respect to the structuring of rates for medical malpractice liability insurance and the determination of the profit or loss of the association in respect to that insurance, due consideration must be given by the director or his designee to all investment income.
Section 38-79-180.
Within a time that the director or his designee
directs, the association shall submit, for the approval of the
director or his designee, an initial filing, in proper form, of
policy forms, classifications, rates, rating plans, and rating
rules applicable to medical malpractice liability insurance to
be written by the association. In the event the director or his
designee disapproves the initial filing, in whole or in part,
the association shall amend the filing, in whole or in part, in
accordance with the direction of the director or his designee.
If the director or his designee is unable to approve the filing
or amended filing, within the time specified, he shall
promulgate the policy forms, classifications, rates, rating
plans, and rules to be used by the association in making rates
for and writing the insurance. The association shall
submit, for the approval of the director or his designee, all
policy forms, classifications, rates, rating plans, or rules
applicable to its insurance product offerings to customers in
this State. Such filings must be submitted for approval to the
director no less than sixty days prior to their intended
effective date. The director may extend the time for his review
by an additional sixty days to allow the department sufficient
time to evaluate the proposed form, classification, rate, rating
plan, or rule to be used by the association. Rates must be
actuarially sound, self supporting, and may not be excessive,
inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory.
Section 38-79-190. (1)
The board of directors shall specify whether
policy forms and the rate structure must be on a 'claims-made'
or 'occurrence' basis and coverage may be provided by the
association only on the basis specified by the board of
directors. The board of directors shall specify the
'claims-made' basis only if the contract makes provision for
residual 'occurrence' coverage upon the retirement, death,
disability, or removal from the State of the insured. Provision
may be made for a premium charge allocable to any such residual
'occurrence' coverage and the premium charges for the residual
coverage must be segregated and separately maintained for such
purpose which may include the reinsurance of all or a part of
that portion of the risk.
(2) The policy may not
contain any limitation in relation to the existing law in tort
as provided by the statute of limitations of the State of South
Carolina.
(3) The policy form
whether on a 'claims-made' or 'occurrence' basis may not require
as a condition precedent to settlement or compromise of any
claim the consent or acquiescence of the insured. However, such
settlement or compromise may never be held or considered to be
an admission of fault or wrongdoing by the insured.
(4) The premium rate
charged for either or both 'claims-made' or 'occurrence'
coverage must be at rates established on an actuarially sound
basis, including consideration of trends in the frequency and
severity of losses, and must be calculated to be
self-supporting.
Section 38-79-200. The
association is authorized to provide a rate increase or
assessment which is subject to the approval of the director or
his designee.
Section 38-79-210. Any deficit
accumulated or sustained by the association in
any year must be recouped, pursuant to the plan of
operation and the rating plan then in effect, by one or
both by one or more of the following
procedures:
(1) An
assessment upon the policyholders which may not exceed one
additional annual premium at the then current rate.
a surcharge fee as provided in Sections 40-15-390 and
40-47-55;
(2) a rate increase
applicable prospectively approved by the director or his
designee pursuant to the provisions of Section 38-79-180;
and
(3) an
assessment against all members of the association according to
any plan agreed to by the association's board and submitted to
the director for his approval. The board shall make an annual
recommendation by July first of each year regarding the need for
an assessment against the members, the size and scope of such
assessment, and the percentages to be assessed against each
member pursuant to this chapter.
Section 38-79-220.
Effective after the initial year of operation,
rates, rating plans, and rating rules, and any provision for
recoupment through policyholder assessment or premium rate
increase, must be based upon the association's loss and expense
experience and investment income, together with any other
information based upon such experience and income as the
director or his designee considers appropriate. The resultant
premium rates must be on an actuarially sound basis and must be
calculated to be self-supporting.
In the event that
sufficient funds are not available for the sound financial
operation of the association, pending recoupment as provided in
Section 38-79-210, all members shall, on a temporary basis,
contribute to the financial requirements of the association in
the manner provided for in Section 38-79-230. Any such
contribution must be reimbursed to the members following
recoupment as provided in Section 38-79-210.
Reserved.
Section 38-79-230. All
insurers which are members of the association pursuant to the
provisions of Section 38-79-120 shall participate in its
writings, expenses, profits, and losses in the proportion that
the net direct premiums of each member (excluding that
portion of premiums attributable to the operation of the
association) written during the preceding calendar year
bear to the aggregate net direct premiums written in this State
by all members of the association. However, no member may
share in any profits or otherwise financially gain or benefit
from the operation of the association unless and until the board
and the director have mutually determined that all deficits of
the association have been satisfactorily recovered. Each
insurer's participation in the association must be determined
annually on the basis of the net direct premiums written during
the preceding calendar year, as reported in the annual
statements and other reports filed by the insurer with the
department or as reported by the insurer in reports or
financial statements requested by the director to effectuate the
provisions of this section. The assessment of a member
insurer, after hearing, may be ordered deferred
in whole or in part upon application by the insurer if, in the
opinion of the director or his designee, payment of the
assessment may render the insurer insolvent or in danger of
insolvency or otherwise may leave the insurer in a
condition that further transaction of the insurer's
business may be hazardous to its policyholders, creditors,
members, subscribers, stockholders, or the public
hazardous financial condition or the insurer has been placed
into administrative supervision or receivership by their
domestic state's insurance regulator. If payment of an
assessment against a member insurer is deferred by order of the
director or his designee in whole or in part, the amount by
which the assessment is deferred must be assessed against other
member insurers in the same manner as provided in this section.
In the order of deferral or in subsequent orders as may
be necessary When ordering a deferral in whole or in
part, the director or his designee shall prescribe a plan by
which the assessment deferred must be repaid to the association
by the impaired insurer with interest at the six-month treasury
bill rate adjusted semiannually. Profits, dividends, or other
funds of the association to which the insurer is otherwise
entitled may not be distributed to the impaired insurer but must
be applied toward repayment of any assessment until the
obligation has been satisfied. The association shall distribute
the repayments, including interest on them, to the other member
insurers on the basis on which assessments were made.
Section 38-79-240. Every member of the Association is bound by the approved plan of operation of the Association, including any amendments made, and by any other rules the board of directors of the Association lawfully prescribes.
Section 38-79-250. (1)
If the authority of an insurer to
transact bodily injury liability insurance, other than
automobile, homeowners, or farmowners, in this State terminates
for any reason its obligations as a member of the association
nevertheless continue until all its obligations have been
fulfilled and the director or his designee has so found and
certified to the board of directors. If any member
insurer ceases writing business in this State, voluntarily or
involuntarily, or by order or authority of the director shall
continue to be a member of the association until all of its
obligations have been satisfied and the director has certified
the satisfaction to the association's board.
(2) If a member insurer
merges into, acquires, or consolidates with another
insurer authorized to transact such insurance in this
State or another insurer authorized to transact such insurance
in this State has reinsured the insurer's entire general
liability business in this State, both the insurer and its
successor or assuming reinsurer, as the case may be, are liable
for the insurer's transacting business subject to
this article or if any other insurer or entity has reinsured or
assumed a member insurer's entire liability business in this
State, the surviving insurer, acquiring insurer, its legal
successor, or its assuming reinsurer nonetheless remains liable
for the member insurer's obligations in respect to the
association.
(3) Any unsatisfied net
liability of any insolvent member of the association must be
assumed by and apportioned among the remaining members in the
same manner in which assessments or gain and loss are
apportioned and the association shall thereupon acquire and have
all rights and remedies allowed by law in behalf of the
remaining members against the estate or funds of the insolvent
insurer for funds due the association.
(4) The State is not
responsible for any costs, expenses, liabilities, judgments, or
other obligations of the association.
Section 38-79-260.
Until the association is merged with the Patients'
Compensation Fund on March 31, 2020, the association is
governed by a board of thirteen directors, all of whom must be
appointed by the Governor. Each member of the board shall
serve a term of four years and may be reappointed for up to two
additional four-year terms. The Governor shall appoint five
health care providers after consultation with the South Carolina
Medical Association, and the South Carolina Dental
Association, and the South Carolina Health
Alliance; four insurance representatives after
consultation with the insurance industry; one consumer
representative who is unaffiliated with the insurance or health
care industries or the medical or legal professions; and two
licensed insurance agents or brokers. The professional
associations listed and the insurance industry may nominate
qualified individuals to the Governor for his consideration. The
Governor may also receive nominations for appointments to the
board from any other individual, group, or association.
Notices of vacancies on the board must be published in
newspapers of general statewide circulation. The
association and the director must publicize all vacancies on the
board to the general public. The director or his designee
shall serve as an ex officio member of the board. The board
shall develop a plan of operation which is subject to the
approval of the director or his designee as provided in this
article. The plan of operation shall provide for staggered terms
of the members of the board. The approved plan of operation of
the association may make provision for combining insurers under
common ownership or management into groups for voting,
assessment, and all other purposes and may provide that not more
than one of the officers or employees of a group may serve as a
director at any one time. The board shall elect a chairman and
other necessary officers for two-year terms. The chairman of
the board must be elected by the board and be a licensed
physician or dentist. A vacancy must be filled for the
unexpired portion of the term only. The Governor may
receive recommendations from any individual, group, or
association for any vacancy on the board. The board
must meet at the call of the chairman or a majority of the
members of the board, but in any event it must meet at least
once a year. A board member serving as of the effective date
of this section may be reappointed by the Governor.
Section 38-79-280.
The association shall file in the office of the
department annually, by March first, a statement which contains
information with respect to its transactions, condition,
operations, and affairs during the preceding year.
The association shall file a financial statement with the
department by March first of each year detailing its
transactions, financial condition, operations, and affairs
during the previous calendar year. In addition, the director may
require the association to file quarterly financial statements
with the department on the fifteenth of May, August, and
November of each year. The statement shall contain such
matters and information as are prescribed by the director or his
designee and must be in the form he directs
prepared in the format the director prescribes. The
director or his designee may, at any reasonable
time, require the association to furnish additional
information with respect to its transactions, condition, or any
matter connected therewith considered to be material and of
assistance in evaluating the scope, operation, and experience of
the association.
Section 38-79-290. The
director or his designee shall make
conduct an examination into the financial condition and
affairs of the association at least annually and shall file a
report thereon with the department, the Governor, and the
General Assembly. The expenses of the examination must be paid
by the association. The director or his designee may accept
an audit of the association performed by a qualified public
accounting firm in lieu of conducting his own examination.
Section 38-79-300.
(A) Effective on March 31,
2020, the Patients' Compensation Fund provided for in Article 5
of this chapter shall merge into the Joint Underwriting
Association created by this article. The surviving entity is the
Joint Underwriting Association and referred to herein as the
South Carolina Joint Underwriting Association. The South
Carolina Joint Underwriting Association shall assume all
obligations and responsibilities of the Patients' Compensation
Fund, while retaining all obligations and responsibilities of
the Joint Underwriting Association.
(B)
Beginning on the effective date of this section, the
board of the Patients' Compensation Fund shall, with oversight
of the Department of Insurance, exercise due diligence in
providing for the orderly and expeditious winding down of the
Patients' Compensation Fund. All outstanding affairs and
existing contractual obligations of the Patients' Compensation
Fund including, but not limited to, all existing property,
assets, liabilities, claims, member dues, and assessments (or
potential for assessments) existing on March 31, 2020, shall
contemporaneously become the responsibility of the South
Carolina Joint Underwriting Association on that date. After
March 31, 2020, the Patients' Compensation Fund shall cease to
exist except as required by law for purposes of winding down its
affairs.
(C) The
Board of Directors of the South Carolina Joint Underwriting
Association must:
(1)
be appointed on the effective date of this
legislation and in no event later than October 2, 2019, and is
authorized to enter into contracts for the management of the
South Carolina Joint Underwriting Association in accordance with
governing law;
(2)
have the right to attend any regular or special
meeting of the Board of Directors of the Joint Underwriting
Association or the Board of Governors of the Patients'
Compensation Fund, but shall have no vote at these meetings;
(3)
replace the existing board of the Joint
Underwriting Association on March 31, 2020;
(4)
consist of nine members all appointed by the
Governor, as follows:
(a)
two members after consultation with the South
Carolina Medical Association;
(b)
one member, who must be a physician, after
consultation with the South Carolina Hospital Association;
(c)
three representatives from the insurance
industry representing member companies of this association;
(d)
two representatives after consultation with the
South Carolina Dental Association; and
(e)
one insurance agent or broker;
(5)
elect a chairperson who must be drawn from
subitems (4)(a), (b), or (d) above. The director or his
designee must be an ex officio member of the board.
(D) Upon
consultation with and consent of the director, the board of the
South Carolina Joint Underwriting Association:
(1)
must select a person or firm for the
administration and management of the South Carolina Joint
Underwriting Association using a competitive bidding
process;
(2)
is responsible for the negotiation of the
administrator's contract including, without limitation,
compensation, fees, and the length of the contract; and
(3)
shall have the authority to terminate or retain
the administrator.
(E) Each
member of the board of the South Carolina Joint Underwriting
Association shall serve a term of four years; however, any board
member may be reappointed for up to two additional four-year
terms. The professional associations listed and the insurance
industry may nominate qualified individuals to the Governor for
his consideration. The Governor also may receive nominations for
appointments to the board from any other individual, group, or
association. The South Carolina Joint Underwriting Association
and director must publicize all board vacancies to the general
public. The board of the South Carolina Joint Underwriting
Association shall develop a plan of operation which is subject
to the approval of the director or his designee as provided in
this article. The approved plan of operation of the South
Carolina Joint Underwriting Association may make provisions for
combining insurers under common ownership or management into
groups for voting, assessment, and all other purposes and may
provide that no more than one of the officers or employees of a
group may serve as a director at any one time. The Board of the
South Carolina Joint Underwriting Association Board shall elect
a chairman and other necessary officers for two-year terms. The
chairman of the board must be elected by the board and be either
a licensed physician or dentist. Any vacancy must be filled for
the unexpired portion of the term only. The Board of the South
Carolina Joint Underwriting Association Board must meet at the
call of the chairman or a majority of the members of the board,
but in any event it must meet at least once a year. Any board
members of the Joint Underwriting Association or the Patients'
Compensation Fund serving at the time of this enactment may be
reappointed by the Governor to the Board of the South Carolina
Joint Underwriting Association."
SECTION 4. Article 5, Chapter 79, Title 38 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 38-79-400. This article must be repealed upon the merger of the Patients' Compensation Fund for benefit of licensed health care providers into the South Carolina Joint Underwriting Association as provided for in Section 38-79-300 on March 31, 2020."
SECTION 5. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.