Public Act 1037 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB0916 Enrolled LRB094 04524 LJB 34553 b

Public Act 094-1037

AN ACT concerning regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Insurance Code is amended by adding Section 368f as follows:

(215 ILCS 5/368f new)

Sec. 368f. Military service member insurance reinstatement.

(a) No Illinois resident activated for military service and no spouse or dependent of the resident who becomes eligible for a federal government-sponsored health insurance program, including the TriCare program providing coverage for civilian dependents of military personnel, as a result of the activation shall be denied reinstatement into the same individual health insurance coverage with the health insurer that the resident lapsed as a result of activation or becoming covered by the federal government-sponsored health insurance program. The resident shall have the right to reinstatement in the same individual health insurance coverage without medical underwriting, subject to payment of the current premium charged to other persons of the same age and gender that are covered under the same individual health coverage. Except in the case of birth or adoption that occurs during the period of activation, reinstatement must be into the same coverage type as the resident held prior to lapsing the individual health insurance coverage and at the same or, at the option of the resident, higher deductible level. The reinstatement rights provided under this subsection (a) are not available to a resident or dependents if the activated person is discharged from the military under other than honorable conditions.

(b) The health insurer with which the reinstatement is being requested must receive a request for reinstatement no later than 63 days following the later of (i) deactivation or (ii) loss of coverage under the federal government-sponsored health insurance program. The health insurer may request proof of loss of coverage and the timing of the loss of coverage of the government-sponsored coverage in order to determine eligibility for reinstatement into the individual coverage. The effective date of the reinstatement of individual health coverage shall be the first of the month following receipt of the notice requesting reinstatement.

(c) All insurers must provide written notice to the policyholder of individual health coverage of the rights described in subsection (a) of this Section. In lieu of the inclusion of the notice in the individual health insurance policy, an insurance company may satisfy the notification requirement by providing a single written notice:

(1) in conjunction with the enrollment process for a policyholder initially enrolling in the individual coverage on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly; or

(2) by mailing written notice to policyholders whose coverage was effective prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly no later than 90 days following the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly.

(d) The provisions of subsection (a) of this Section do not apply to any policy or certificate providing coverage for any specified disease, specified accident or accident-only coverage, credit, dental, disability income, hospital indemnity, long-term care, Medicare supplement, vision care, or short-term nonrenewable health policy or other limited-benefit supplemental insurance, or any coverage issued as a supplement to any liability insurance, workers' compensation or similar insurance, or any insurance under which benefits are payable with or without regard to fault, whether written on a group, blanket, or individual basis.

(e) Nothing in this Section shall require an insurer to reinstate the resident if the insurer requires residency in an enrollment area and those residency requirements are not met after deactivation or loss of coverage under the government-sponsored health insurance program.

(f) All terms, conditions, and limitations of the individual coverage into which reinstatement is made apply equally to all insureds enrolled in the coverage.

(g) The Secretary may adopt rules as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Section.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.

Effective Date: 7/20/2006