H. B. 3130
(By Delegate Caputo, (By Request))
[Introduced January 9, 2008; referred to the
Committee on Banking and Insurance then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §33-2-21 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to giving the Insurance
Commissioner the power to regulate and penalize self-insured
employers.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §33-2-21 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. INSURANCE COMMISSIONER.
§33-2-21. Authority of Insurance Commissioner to regulate Workers'
Compensation industry
and self-insured employers;
authority of Insurance Commissioner to administer
chapter twenty-three of the Code of West Virginia.
(a) Upon the termination of the Workers' Compensation
Commission pursuant to chapter twenty-three of this code, the
powers and duties heretofore imposed upon the Workers' Compensation Commission as they relate to general administration of the
provisions of said chapter are hereby transferred to and imposed
upon the Insurance Commissioner.
(b) Unless otherwise specified in chapter twenty-three of this
code, upon termination of the Workers' Compensation Commission, the
duties imposed upon the Workers' Compensation Commission as they
relate to the award and payment of disability and death benefits
and the review of claims in articles four and five of said chapter
will be imposed upon the Employers Mutual Insurance Company
established pursuant to article two-c of said chapter, a private
carrier offering Workers' Compensation insurance in this state and
self-insured employers. Whenever reference is made to the Workers'
Compensation Commissioner in those articles, the duty prescribed
shall apply to the Employers Mutual Insurance Company, a private
carrier or self-insured employer, as applicable.
(c) From the effective date of this enactment, the Insurance
Commissioner shall regulate all insurers licensed to transact
Workers' Compensation insurance in this state and all of the
provisions of this chapter shall apply to such insurers, unless
otherwise exempted by statute.
(d) Notwithstanding any contrary provisions of the code the
Insurance Commissioner shall regulate all self-insured employers in
this state and all of the provisions of this chapter shall apply to
such insurers from the effective date of this enactment. Upon notice of noncompliance with a provision of this chapter by the
Insurance Commissioner, a self-insured employer shall have ninety
days to comply with a provision of this chapter. Thereafter, a
noncompliant self-insured employer shall be subject to the
penalties of section six, article eleven, of this chapter.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to give the Insurance
Commissioner the power to regulate and penalize self-insured
employers in order to combat the practice of employers neglecting
to pay benefits offered under their self-insured plans, resulting
in unpaid medical bills which negatively impacts employees' credit
ratings.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.