SB 1457: Medicare supplement insurance.

Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975 (Knox-Keene), provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care. Existing law regulates Medicare supplement contracts, including, among other things, prohibiting an issuer of a Medicare supplement contract from advertising, soliciting, or issuing for delivery a Medicare supplement contract before it has been filed with and approved by the director, and requiring an issuer to secure the directors review of a Medicare supplement contract by submitting specified information not less than 30 days before any proposed advertising or other use of the contract. Existing law requires an outline of coverage for a Medicare supplement contract sold on or after June 1, 2010, to include specified items set forth in the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Minimum Standards Model Act, as adopted by NAIC in 2008.

This bill would require the director to require an issuer of a Medicare supplement contract to annually complete and submit the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Medicare supplement experience exhibit. The bill would request that NAIC permit the department to participate in NAIC proceedings as a complementary nonmember, and would require the department to participate in NAIC proceedings relating to Medicare supplement insurance if NAIC accepts the department as a complementary nonmember. express the intent of the Legislature that the department participate in proceedings of NAICs Senior Issues Task Force that relate to Medicare supplement insurance.