Senate Bill No. 32
(By Senator Whitlow)
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[Introduced January 14, 1994; referred to the Committee
on Banking and Insurance; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section nine, article sixteen,
chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to public employees
insurance; and requiring that prescribed nicotine patches be
a covered benefit under the health insurance program.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section nine, article sixteen, chapter five of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 16. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES INSURANCE ACT.
§5-16-9. Authorization to execute contracts for group hospital
and surgical insurance, group major medical insurance, group
prescription drug insurance, group life and accidental death
insurance and other accidental death insurance; mandated
benefits; limitations; awarding of contracts; reinsurance;
certificates for covered employees; discontinuance of
contracts.
(a) The director is hereby given exclusive authorization to
execute such contract or contracts as are necessary to carry out
the provisions of this article and to provide the plan or plans
of group hospital and surgical insurance coverage, group major
medical insurance coverage, group prescription drug insurance
coverage and group life and accidental death insurance coverage
selected in accordance with the provisions of this article, such
contract or contracts to be executed with one or more agencies,
corporations, insurance companies or service organizations
licensed to sell group hospital and surgical insurance, group
major medical insurance, group prescription drug insurance and
group life and accidental death insurance in this state.
(b) The group hospital or surgical insurance coverage and
group major medical insurance coverage herein provided for shall
include coverages and benefits for X-ray and laboratory services
in connection with mammograms and pap smears when performed for
cancer screening or diagnostic services and annual checkups for
prostate cancer in men age fifty and over. Such benefits shall
include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) Baseline or other recommended mammograms for women ages
thirty-five to thirty-nine, inclusive;
(2) Mammograms recommended or required for women age forty
to forty-nine, inclusive, every two years or as needed;
(3) A mammogram every year for women age fifty and over;
(4) A pap smear annually or more frequently based on the
woman's physician's recommendation for women age eighteen andover; and
(5) A checkup for prostate cancer annually for men age fifty
or over; and
(6) Upon successful completion of a program to quit smoking,
the cost of nicotine patches prescribed by a physician.
(c) The group life and accidental death insurance herein
provided for shall be in the amount of ten thousand dollars for
every employee. The amount of the group life and accidental
death insurance to which an employee would otherwise be entitled
shall be reduced to five thousand dollars upon such employee
attaining age sixty-five.
(d) All of the insurance coverage to be provided for under
this article may be included in one or more similar contracts
issued by the same or different carriers.
(e) The provisions of article three, chapter five-a of this
code, relating to the division of purchases of the department of
finance and administration, shall not apply to any contracts for
any insurance coverage or professional services authorized to be
executed under the provisions of this article. Before entering
into any contract for any insurance coverage, as herein
authorized, said director shall invite competent bids from all
qualified and licensed insurance companies or carriers, who may
wish to offer plans for the insurance coverage desired. The
director shall deal directly with insurers in presenting
specifications and receiving quotations for bid purposes. No
commission or finder's fee, or any combination thereof, shall bepaid to any individual or agent; but this shall not preclude an
underwriting insurance company or companies, at their own
expense, from appointing a licensed resident agent, within this
state, to service the companies' contracts awarded under the
provisions of this article. Commissions reasonably related to
actual service rendered for such agent or agents may be paid by
the underwriting company or companies:
Provided,
That in no
event shall payment be made to any agent or agents when no actual
services are rendered or performed. The director shall award
such contract or contracts on a competitive basis. In awarding
the contract or contracts the director shall take into account
the experience of the offering agency, corporation, insurance
company or service organization in the group hospital and
surgical insurance field, group major medical insurance field,
group prescription drug field and group life and accidental death
insurance field, and its facilities for the handling of claims.
In evaluating these factors, the director may employ the services
of impartial, professional insurance analysts or actuaries or
both. Any contract executed by the director with a selected
carrier shall be a contract to govern all eligible employees
subject to the provisions of this article. Nothing contained in
this article shall prohibit any insurance carrier from soliciting
employees covered hereunder to purchase additional hospital and
surgical, major medical or life and accidental death insurance
coverage.
(f) The director may authorize the carrier with whom aprimary contract is executed to reinsure portions of such
contract with other carriers which elect to be a reinsurer and
who are legally qualified to enter into a reinsurance agreement
under the laws of this state.
(g) Each employee who is covered under any such contract or
contracts shall receive a statement of benefits to which such
employee, his or her spouse and his or her dependents are
entitled thereunder, setting forth such information as to whom
such benefits shall be payable, to whom claims shall be
submitted, and a summary of the provisions of any such contract
or contracts as they affect the employee, his or her spouse and
his or her dependents.
(h) The director may at the end of any contract period
discontinue any contract or contracts it has executed with any
carrier and replace the same with a contract or contracts with
any other carrier or carriers meeting the requirements of this
article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that nicotine
patches prescribed by a physician in a successful quit smoking
program are covered expenses under the public employees insurance
program.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.