Senate Bill No. 278
(By Senator Minard)
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[Introduced February 17, 2009; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §33-15E-15 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to criminal violations
involving discount medical plan and discount prescription drug
plan organizations.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §33-15E-15 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15E. DISCOUNT MEDICAL PLAN ORGANIZATIONS AND DISCOUNT
PRESCRIPTION DRUG PLAN ORGANIZATIONS ACT.
§33-15E-15. Criminal penalties.
(a)
Any A person that willfully operates as or aids and abets
another operating as a discount medical plan organization in
violation of subsection (a), section four of this article, is
guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not
more than $20,000 for each unauthorized act or imprisoned in the state correctional facility not less than one nor more than five
years, or both fined and imprisoned.
(b)
(1) A person that collects fees for purported membership
in a discount medical plan or discount prescription drug plan and
knowingly and willfully fails to provide benefits
with a value of
one thousand dollars or more is guilty of a felony and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $2,500 or
imprisoned in a state correctional facility not less than one nor
more than ten years, or both fined and imprisoned.
(2) A person that collects fees for purported membership in a
discount medical plan or discount prescription drug plan and
knowingly and willfully fails to provide benefits with a value of
less than one thousand dollars, is guilty of a misdemeanor and,
upon conviction thereof, shall be fined an amount not to exceed two
thousand five hundred dollars or confined in jail for a term not to
exceed one year, or both fined and confined.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make any willful failure
to provide benefits under a DMPO or DPDPO plan a felony. The bill
deletes the provisions that currently allow for a misdemeanor if
the "value of benefits" is less than $1000.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.