COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 278
(By Senator Minard)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported March 30, 2009.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §33-15E-15 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the criminal offenses
of collecting fees for a discount medical plan or discount
prescription drug plan and knowingly and willfully failing to
provide benefits of the plan;
providing for an alternate
sentence upon conviction of the felony offense; and permitting
the cumulation of values of fees or premiums when the person
fails to provide benefits as part of a common scheme or plan.
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 in an amount excess of
$1,000 for purported membership in a discount medical plan or
discount prescription drug plan and knowingly and willfully fails
to provide benefits of the plan 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, in the discretion of the court, be confined in jail for not
more than one year, or both fined and imprisoned or confined.
(2) A person that collects fees in an amount less than $1,000
for purported membership in a discount medical plan or discount
prescription drug plan and knowingly and willfully fails to provide
benefits of the plan 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 more than two thousand five
hundred dollars $2,500 or confined in jail for a term not to exceed
more than one year, or both fined and confined.
(c) In determining the value of fees referred to in subsection
(b) of this section, it shall be permissible to cumulate amounts of
fees collected when the person knowingly and wilfully obtains such
fees as part of a common scheme or plan.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify that the amount
of fees collected will be used as the determinative amount to set
the fine and/or prison sentence for a person who has knowingly and
willfully failed to provide benefits under a discount medical plan
or discount prescription drug plan.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)