Bill Text: NY A02941 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Requires long term care insurance carriers who propose to raise long term care insurance premiums to obtain prior approval of the superintendent of financial services.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to insurance [A02941 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A02941-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         2941--A

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 28, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  D'URSO,  SAYEGH,  GOTTFRIED, GRIFFIN, SIMON,
          TAYLOR, ARROYO, OTIS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of  A.  M. L. MILLER,
          MORINELLO, WRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Insur-
          ance  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered reprinted as
          amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to  requiring  long  term
          care  insurance carriers who propose to raise long term care insurance
          premiums to obtain prior approval of the superintendent  of  financial
          services

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Paragraph 3 of subsection (f) of section 1117 of the insur-
     2  ance law, as added by chapter 245 of the laws of  1986,  is  amended  to
     3  read as follows:
     4    (3)  the  premium  rates  for  the  long term care plan are reasonably
     5  related to the benefits provided, and are self-supporting, as determined
     6  by the superintendent pursuant to subsection (h) of this section; and
     7    § 2.  Section 1117 of the insurance law is amended  by  adding  a  new
     8  subsection (h) to read as follows:
     9    (h) An insurer desiring to increase or decrease premiums for any poli-
    10  cy  subject to this section shall submit a rate filing or application to
    11  the superintendent.   An  insurer  shall  send  written  notice  of  the
    12  proposed  rate  adjustment,  including the specific change requested, to
    13  each policy holder and certificate holder affected by the adjustment  on
    14  or  before  the  date the rate filing or application is submitted to the
    15  superintendent. The notice shall prominently include mailing and website
    16  addresses for both the department of financial services and the  insurer
    17  through  which  a  person may, within thirty days from the date the rate
    18  filing or application is submitted to the  superintendent,  contact  the
    19  department of financial services or insurer to receive additional infor-
    20  mation  or  to  submit  written  comments to the department of financial

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08362-02-9
        A. 2941--A                          2

     1  services on the rate filing or  application.  The  superintendent  shall
     2  establish  a  process  to post on such department's website, in a timely
     3  manner, all  relevant  written  comments  received  pertaining  to  rate
     4  filings  or applications. The insurer shall provide a copy of the notice
     5  to the superintendent with the rate filing or  application.  The  super-
     6  intendent shall immediately cause the notice to be posted on the depart-
     7  ment  of financial services' website. The superintendent shall determine
     8  whether the filing or application shall become effective as filed, shall
     9  become effective as modified, or shall be disapproved.  The  superinten-
    10  dent  may  modify  or  disapprove  the rate filing or application if the
    11  superintendent finds that  the  premiums  are  unreasonable,  excessive,
    12  inadequate,  unfairly discriminatory or otherwise not in the best inter-
    13  ests of policy holders and certificate holders,  and  may  consider  the
    14  financial  condition  of the insurer when approving, modifying or disap-
    15  proving any premium adjustment. The determination of the  superintendent
    16  shall  be  supported  by  sound actuarial assumptions and methods, shall
    17  include a statement regarding the best interests of policy  holders  and
    18  certificate  holders with respect to the rate filing or application, and
    19  shall be rendered in writing between thirty and sixty days from the date
    20  the rate filing or  application  is  submitted  to  the  superintendent.
    21  Should the superintendent require additional information from the insur-
    22  er  in  order  to make a determination, the superintendent shall require
    23  the insurer to furnish such information, and in such  event,  the  sixty
    24  days  shall  be  tolled  and  shall  resume  as  of the date the insurer
    25  furnishes the information to the superintendent. If  the  superintendent
    26  requests  additional  information less than ten days from the expiration
    27  of the sixty days (exclusive of tolling), the superintendent may  extend
    28  the  sixty day period an additional twenty days to make a determination.
    29  The application or rate filing will be deemed  approved  if  a  determi-
    30  nation  is  not rendered within the time allotted under this section. An
    31  insurer shall  not  implement  a  rate  adjustment  unless  the  insurer
    32  provides  at least sixty days advance written notice of the premium rate
    33  adjustment approved by the superintendent  to  each  policy  holder  and
    34  certificate holder affected by the rate adjustment.
    35    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.