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AS PASSED BY THE SENATE
May 22, 2002
H. 4583
Introduced by Reps. Tripp, Cato, Bales, Altman, Askins, Barfield, G. Brown, Coates, Cooper, Easterday, Harrison, Kirsh, Leach, Littlejohn, Loftis, McCraw, McGee, Owens, Perry, Phillips, Sandifer, Scarborough, Simrill, Stille, Vaughn, White, Wilkins, J. Young, Rodgers, A. Young and Walker
S. Printed 5/22/02--S.
Read the first time March 21, 2002.
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 38-71-285 SO AS TO PROHIBIT MANDATES ON HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS BEYOND WHAT IS REQUIRED AS OF JANUARY 1, 2002.
Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 38-71-285. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Mandated health benefit" means a benefit or coverage that is required by law to be offered or provided by a health insurance issuer and includes: coverage for specific health care services, treatments or practices; or the offering of specific health care services, treatments or practices.
(2) "Health insurance issuer" means any entity that provides health insurance coverage in this State.
(B) There is established the Task Force to Review State and Federal Health Insurance Mandates in South Carolina (task force). The task force consists of eleven members selected as follows:
(1) the Director of the Department of Insurance, or his designee;
(2) the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance, or his designee;
(3) the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry, or his designee;
(4) the Director of the State Employees' Health Plan, or his designee;
(5) two members to be appointed by the Governor, one of whom must be a representative of a company that employs ten or fewer employees and one of whom must be a member of the general public who is not associated with health care providers; and
(6) five additional members selected by unanimous agreement of the members provided in items (1), (2), (3), and (4). These five members must have demonstrated expertise in health insurance and managed care issues; and
(a) two must be representatives of the health insurance industry, at least one of which being a representative of a domestic health insurance issuer;
(b) two must be representatives of the business community, at least one of which must be a representative of a company that employs fewer than fifty employees; and
(c) one must be a representative of the hospital industry.
Vacancies in the task force must be filled by appointment or selection, as applicable, in the manner of original appointment or selection. No business other than that necessary to establish the task force and select the additional members may be conducted until all eleven members have been appointed or selected and qualify. Staff and administrative support for the task force must be provided by the Department of Insurance and the State Employees' Health Plan in the manner the task force determines appropriate.
(C) The task force may hold public hearings, conduct research, receive the testimony of experts, review, for purposes of comparison, the mandated health benefits upon health insurance issuers in other states and jurisdictions and the effects of such mandates, and take other actions it determines appropriate for the completion of its assigned task. At a minimum, the task force shall inquire into and make recommendations with respect to:
(1) each and every state and federally mandated health benefit placed upon health insurance issuers in South Carolina since 1990;
(2) the impact of each such mandated health benefit on the premiums for health insurance coverage in South Carolina;
(D) The task force shall make a final report with recommendations to the General Assembly no later than January 1, 2005. Upon submission of the final report and recommendations, the task force is dissolved. Until such time as the task force makes its final report, mandated health benefits beyond those required as of January 1,2002 may be imposed on a health insurance issue doing business in this State only after review by the task force. Under no circumstances, however, is a mandate to be imposed prior to the first day of the second year after the effective date of the Act.
(E) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any health insurance issuer from voluntarily expanding coverage or to prohibit any individual or employer from electing to expand coverage on any health maintenance organization contract or individual or group health insurance policy or contract covering the individual, the employer, or employees of the employer as applicable.
(F) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit amendments to comport with federal law.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor. Section 38-71-285 of the 1976 Code, as added by this act, is repealed effective June 30, 2007.
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