H. B. 4327
(By Delegate Hines)
[Introduced February 1, 2000; referred to the
Committee on Banking and Insurance then Finance.]
A BILL to amend article twenty-five-c, chapter thirty-three of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated
section four, relating to prohibiting insurers and managed
care plans in the state from interfering with their
subscribers and enrollees from using the 911 emergency
telephone system.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article twenty-five-c, chapter thirty-three of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section four, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 25C. HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATION PATIENT BILL OF
RIGHTS.
§33-25C-4. Acts prohibited.
All insurers, nonprofit health service plans and managed care
plans that provide hospital, medical or surgical benefits to
individuals or groups under health insurance policies or contracts
that are issued and delivered in the state are prohibited as
follows:
(1) That they may not in any way penalize or discriminate
against a subscriber or enrollee for accessing the 911 system to
obtain emergency ambulance services.
(2) That they may not use false or misleading language in
enrollment sales materials or in any other materials provided to
subscribers or enrollees to discourage or prohibit subscribers or
enrollees from accessing the 911 system for emergency ambulance
services.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit certain
insurers, nonprofit health service plans and health maintenance
organizations from establishing or promoting an emergency system in
competition with the 911 service and from providing false or misleading information to subscribers and enrollees to discourage
or prohibit access to the 911 system.
§33-25C-4 is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.