West Virginia House Bill 4655 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Completed Legislative Action
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: Passed on May 13 2016 - 100% progression
Action: 2016-05-13 - Chapter 138, Acts, Regular Session, 2016
Text: Latest bill text (Enrolled) [HTML]

The purpose of this bill is to prohibit insurers, vision care plan or vision care discount plans from requiring vision care providers to provide discounts on noncovered services or materials. It prohibits eye care providers from charging more to enrollees for noncovered services than the normal and customary fee. The bill provides that insurers, vision care plan or vision care discount plans may not provide for a nominal reimbursement in order to claim that a service or material is covered and prohibits insurers, vision care plan or vision care discount plan from falsely representing benefits provided to sell coverage or communicate benefits to enrollees. The bill prohibits the requirement that eye care providers be credentialed through a designated vision plan and provides pay parity for optometrist and ophthalmologists. The bill provides that optometrist and ophthalmologist be held to the same credentialing standards. It prohibits eye care providers from being required to accept all plan and discount plans offered by an insurer, vision care plan or vision care discount plan in order to be on a panel for the insurer, vision care plan or vision care discount plan. The bill prohibits the insurer, vision care plan or vision care discount plan from changing the terms of an agreement with an eye care provider without communication with and agreement from the eye care provider. It also permits eye care providers to use any lab or supplier and notification of contract changes; creating a private right of action for eye care providers and places limits on charge backs of administrative fees and other recoupments. The bill provides that an insurer, vision care plan or vision care discount plan shall not discriminate against a provider based on geographic location of the eye care provider. And, the bill authorizes suits for injunctions by persons aggrieved or by Insurance Commissioner and recovery of monetary damages, costs and attorney’s fees.

Prohibiting insurers, vision care plan or vision care discount plans from requiring vision care providers to provide discounts on noncovered services or materials

Del. Ron Walters [R]

Del. David Perry [D]

2016-03-12 - House - House concurred in Senate amendment and passed bill (Roll No. 612) (Y: 91 N: 6 NV: 3 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2016-03-12 - Senate - Passed Senate (Roll No. 493) (Y: 31 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 3) [PASS]
2016-03-01 - House - Passed House (Roll No. 312) (Y: 92 N: 6 NV: 2 Abs: 0) [PASS]

Date	Chamber	Action
2016-05-13	House	Chapter 138, Acts, Regular Session, 2016
2016-03-15	Senate	Approved by Governor 4/1/16 - Senate Journal
2016-03-15	House	Approved by Governor 4/1/2016 - House Journal
2016-04-01	House	Approved by Governor 4/1/2016
2016-03-15	Senate	To Governor 3/24/16 - Senate Journal
2016-03-24	House	To Governor 3/24/16
2016-03-15	House	To Governor 3/24/16 - House Journal
2016-03-12	Senate	House Message received
2016-03-12	House	Completed legislative action
2016-03-12	House	Communicated to Senate
2016-03-12	House	House concurred in Senate amendment and passed bill (Roll No. 612)
2016-03-12	House	House received Senate message
2016-03-12	Senate	Senate requests House to concur
2016-03-12	Senate	Judiciary Title amendment adopted
2016-03-12	Senate	B&I Title amendment withdrawn by unanimous consent
2016-03-12	Senate	Passed Senate (Roll No. 493)
2016-03-12	Senate	Read 3rd time
2016-03-11	Senate	Laid over on 3rd reading 3/11/16
2016-03-11	Senate	On 3rd reading
2016-03-10	Senate	Judiciary Committee amendment adopted (Voice vote)
2016-03-10	Senate	B&I Committee amendment withdrawn by unanimous consent
2016-03-10	Senate	Read 2nd time
2016-03-10	Senate	On 2nd reading
2016-03-09	Senate	Reported do pass, with amendment and title amendment
2016-03-09	Senate	Having been read 1st time 3/8/16
2016-03-08	Senate	On 2nd reading to Judiciary
2016-03-08	Senate	Read 1st time
2016-03-08	Senate	Immediate consideration
2016-03-08	Senate	Reported do pass with amend and title amend but first to Judiciary
2016-03-02	Senate	To Banking and Insurance
2016-03-02	Senate	To Banking and Insurance then Judiciary
2016-03-02	Senate	Introduced in Senate
2016-03-02	Senate	House Message received
2016-03-01	House	Communicated to Senate
2016-03-01	House	Title amendment adopted (Voice vote)
2016-03-01	House	Passed House (Roll No. 312)
2016-03-01	House	Read 3rd time
2016-03-01	House	On 3rd reading, Special Calendar
2016-02-29	House	Amendment adopted (Voice vote)
2016-02-29	House	Read 2nd time
2016-02-29	House	On 2nd reading, Special Calendar
2016-02-27	House	Read 1st time
2016-02-27	House	On 1st reading, Special Calendar
2016-02-26	House	Do pass
2016-02-22	House	To House Health and Human Resources
2016-02-22	House	Introduced in House
2016-02-22	House	To Health and Human Resources
2016-02-22	House	Filed for introduction

SB638 (Similar To) 2016-02-19 - To Banking and Insurance

Chapter	Article	Section	Citation Type	Statute Text
33	25E	2	Amended Code	Citation Text
33	25E	5	New Code	See Bill Text
33	6	38	New Code	See Bill Text

Type	Source
Summary	http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfm?input=4655&year=2016&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill
Text	http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb4655%20intr.htm&yr=2016&sesstype=RS&i=4655
Text	http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb4655%20ENG.htm&yr=2016&sesstype=RS&i=4655
Text	http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb4655%20ENR%20OFFICIAL.htm&yr=2016&sesstype=RS&i=4655
Text	http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb4655%20ENR.htm&yr=2016&sesstype=RS&i=4655
Roll Call	http://www.legis.state.wv.us/legisdocs/2016/RS/votes/house/00312.pdf
Roll Call	http://www.legis.state.wv.us/legisdocs/2016/RS/votes/senate/03-12-0493.pdf
Roll Call	http://www.legis.state.wv.us/legisdocs/2016/RS/votes/house/00612.pdf