HF 2437

1st Engrossment - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to insurance; making changes in regulation of 
  1.3             health insurance; making changes in banking and 
  1.4             insurance laws to accommodate health savings accounts; 
  1.5             amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 47.75; 
  1.6             48.15, subdivision 4; 62A.02, subdivision 2; 62A.65, 
  1.7             subdivision 5; 62D.095, subdivisions 3, 4; 62L.12, 
  1.8             subdivisions 2, 3; Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, 
  1.9             sections 62A.65, subdivision 7; 62E.12; proposing 
  1.10            coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 62Q. 
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12                             ARTICLE 1 
  1.13                HEALTH INSURANCE REGULATORY CHANGES 
  1.14     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 62A.02, 
  1.15  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.16     Subd. 2.  [APPROVAL.] (a) The health plan form shall not be 
  1.17  issued, nor shall any application, rider, endorsement, or rate 
  1.18  be used in connection with it, until the expiration of 60 days 
  1.19  after it has been filed unless the commissioner approves it 
  1.20  before that time.  
  1.21     (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), a health plan form or a 
  1.22  rate, filed with respect to a policy of accident and sickness 
  1.23  insurance as defined in section 62A.01 by an insurer licensed 
  1.24  under chapter 60A, or with respect to a health plan by a health 
  1.25  plan company, may be used on or after the date of filing with 
  1.26  the commissioner.  Health plan forms and rates that are not 
  1.27  approved or disapproved within the 60-day time period are deemed 
  1.28  approved.  This paragraph does not apply to Medicare-related 
  2.1   coverage as defined in section 62A.31, subdivision 3, paragraph 
  2.2   (q). 
  2.3      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 62A.65, 
  2.4   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  2.5      Subd. 5.  [PORTABILITY AND CONVERSION OF COVERAGE.] (a) No 
  2.6   individual health plan may be offered, sold, issued, or with 
  2.7   respect to children age 18 or under renewed, to a Minnesota 
  2.8   resident that contains a preexisting condition limitation, 
  2.9   preexisting condition exclusion, or exclusionary rider, unless 
  2.10  the limitation or exclusion is permitted under this subdivision 
  2.11  and under chapter 62L, provided that, except for children age 18 
  2.12  or under, underwriting restrictions may be retained on 
  2.13  individual contracts that are issued without evidence of 
  2.14  insurability as a replacement for prior individual coverage that 
  2.15  was sold before May 17, 1993.  The individual may be subjected 
  2.16  to an 18-month preexisting condition limitation, unless the 
  2.17  individual has maintained continuous coverage as defined in 
  2.18  section 62L.02.  The individual must not be subjected to an 
  2.19  exclusionary rider.  An individual who has maintained continuous 
  2.20  coverage may be subjected to a onetime preexisting condition 
  2.21  limitation of up to 12 months, with credit for time covered 
  2.22  under qualifying coverage as defined in section 62L.02, at the 
  2.23  time that the individual first is covered under an individual 
  2.24  health plan by any health carrier.  Credit must be given for all 
  2.25  qualifying coverage with respect to all preexisting conditions, 
  2.26  regardless of whether the conditions were preexisting with 
  2.27  respect to any previous qualifying coverage.  The individual 
  2.28  must not be subjected to an exclusionary rider.  Thereafter, the 
  2.29  individual must not be subject to any preexisting condition 
  2.30  limitation, preexisting condition exclusion, or exclusionary 
  2.31  rider under an individual health plan by any health carrier, 
  2.32  except an unexpired portion of a limitation under prior 
  2.33  coverage, so long as the individual maintains continuous 
  2.34  coverage as defined in section 62L.02. 
  2.35     (b) A health carrier must offer an individual health plan 
  2.36  to any individual previously covered under a group health plan 
  3.1   issued by that health carrier, regardless of the size of the 
  3.2   group, so long as the individual maintained continuous coverage 
  3.3   as defined in section 62L.02.  If the individual has available 
  3.4   any continuation coverage provided under sections 62A.146; 
  3.5   62A.148; 62A.17, subdivisions 1 and 2; 62A.20; 62A.21; 62C.142; 
  3.6   62D.101; or 62D.105, or continuation coverage provided under 
  3.7   federal law, the health carrier need not offer coverage under 
  3.8   this paragraph until the individual has exhausted the 
  3.9   continuation coverage.  The offer must not be subject to 
  3.10  underwriting, except as permitted under this paragraph.  A 
  3.11  health plan issued under this paragraph must be a qualified plan 
  3.12  as defined in section 62E.02 and must not contain any 
  3.13  preexisting condition limitation, preexisting condition 
  3.14  exclusion, or exclusionary rider, except for any unexpired 
  3.15  limitation or exclusion under the previous coverage.  The 
  3.16  individual health plan must cover pregnancy on the same basis as 
  3.17  any other covered illness under the individual health plan.  The 
  3.18  initial premium rate for the individual health plan must comply 
  3.19  with subdivision 3.  The premium rate upon renewal must comply 
  3.20  with subdivision 2.  In no event shall the initial premium rate 
  3.21  exceed 100 percent of the premium charged for comparable 
  3.22  individual coverage by the Minnesota Comprehensive Health 
  3.23  Association by the health carrier, consisting of the employee 
  3.24  and employer share, if any, for the individual's previous 
  3.25  coverage under the group health plan, and the premium rate must 
  3.26  be less than that amount if necessary to otherwise comply with 
  3.27  this section.  An individual health plan offered under this 
  3.28  paragraph to a person satisfies the health carrier's obligation 
  3.29  to offer conversion coverage under section 62E.16, with respect 
  3.30  to that person.  Coverage issued under this paragraph must 
  3.31  provide that it cannot be canceled or nonrenewed as a result of 
  3.32  the health carrier's subsequent decision to leave the 
  3.33  individual, small employer, or other group market.  Section 
  3.34  72A.20, subdivision 28, applies to this paragraph. 
  3.35     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  3.36  62A.65, subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
  4.1      Subd. 7.  [SHORT-TERM COVERAGE.] (a) For purposes of this 
  4.2   section, "short-term coverage" means an individual health plan 
  4.3   that: 
  4.4      (1) is issued to provide coverage for a period of 185 days 
  4.5   or less, except that the health plan may permit coverage to 
  4.6   continue until the end of a period of hospitalization for a 
  4.7   condition for which the covered person was hospitalized on the 
  4.8   day that coverage would otherwise have ended; 
  4.9      (2) is nonrenewable, provided that the health carrier may 
  4.10  provide coverage for one or more subsequent periods that satisfy 
  4.11  clause (1), if the total of the periods of coverage do not 
  4.12  exceed a total of 365 days out of any 555-day period, plus any 
  4.13  additional days covered as a result of hospitalization on the 
  4.14  day that a period of coverage would otherwise have ended; 
  4.15     (3) does not cover any preexisting conditions, including 
  4.16  ones that originated during a previous identical policy or 
  4.17  contract with the same health carrier where coverage was 
  4.18  continuous between the previous and the current policy or 
  4.19  contract; and 
  4.20     (4) is available with an immediate effective date without 
  4.21  underwriting upon receipt of a completed application indicating 
  4.22  eligibility under the health carrier's eligibility requirements, 
  4.23  provided that coverage that includes optional benefits may be 
  4.24  offered on a basis that does not meet this requirement. 
  4.25     (b) Short-term coverage is not subject to subdivisions 2 
  4.26  and 5.  Short-term coverage may exclude as a preexisting 
  4.27  condition any injury, illness, or condition for which the 
  4.28  covered person had medical treatment, symptoms, or any 
  4.29  manifestations before the effective date of the coverage, but 
  4.30  dependent children born or placed for adoption during the policy 
  4.31  period must not be subject to this provision.  
  4.32     (c) Notwithstanding subdivision 3, and section 62A.021, a 
  4.33  health carrier may combine short-term coverage with its most 
  4.34  commonly sold individual qualified plan, as defined in section 
  4.35  62E.02, other than short-term coverage, for purposes of 
  4.36  complying with the is not subject to a loss ratio requirement. 
  5.1      (d) The 365-day coverage limitation provided in paragraph 
  5.2   (a) applies to the total number of days of short-term coverage 
  5.3   that covers a person, regardless of the number of policies, 
  5.4   contracts, or health carriers that provide the coverage.  A 
  5.5   written application for short-term coverage must ask the 
  5.6   applicant whether the applicant has been covered by short-term 
  5.7   coverage by any health carrier within the 555 days immediately 
  5.8   preceding the effective date of the coverage being applied for.  
  5.9   Short-term coverage issued in violation of the 365-day 
  5.10  limitation is valid until the end of its term and does not lose 
  5.11  its status as short-term coverage, in spite of the violation.  A 
  5.12  health carrier that knowingly issues short-term coverage in 
  5.13  violation of the 365-day limitation is subject to the 
  5.14  administrative penalties otherwise available to the commissioner 
  5.15  of commerce or the commissioner of health, as appropriate. 
  5.16     (e) Time spent under short-term coverage counts as time 
  5.17  spent under a preexisting condition limitation for purposes of 
  5.18  group or individual health plans, other than short-term 
  5.19  coverage, subsequently issued to that person, or to cover that 
  5.20  person, by any health carrier, if the person maintains 
  5.21  continuous coverage as defined in section 62L.02.  Short-term 
  5.22  coverage is a health plan and is qualifying coverage as defined 
  5.23  in section 62L.02.  Notwithstanding any other law to the 
  5.24  contrary, a health carrier is not required under any 
  5.25  circumstances to provide a person covered by short-term coverage 
  5.26  the right to obtain coverage on a guaranteed issue basis under 
  5.27  another health plan offered by the health carrier, as a result 
  5.28  of the person's enrollment in short-term coverage. 
  5.29     Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.30     Sections 1 and 3 are effective the day following final 
  5.31  enactment.  Section 2 is effective January 1, 2005, and applies 
  5.32  to conversion coverage issued or renewed on or after that date. 
  5.33                             ARTICLE 2 
  5.34           CHANGES TO ACCOMMODATE HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS 
  5.35     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 47.75, is 
  5.36  amended to read: 
  6.1      47.75 [LIMITED TRUSTEESHIP.] 
  6.2      Subdivision 1.  [RETIREMENT, HEALTH SAVINGS, AND MEDICAL 
  6.3   SAVINGS ACCOUNTS.] (a) A commercial bank, savings bank, savings 
  6.4   association, credit union, or industrial loan and thrift company 
  6.5   may act as trustee or custodian:  
  6.6      (1) under the Federal Self-Employed Individual Tax 
  6.7   Retirement Act of 1962, as amended,; 
  6.8      (2) of a medical savings account under the Federal Health 
  6.9   Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as 
  6.10  amended,; 
  6.11     (3) of a health savings account under the Medicare 
  6.12  Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, 
  6.13  as amended; and also 
  6.14     (4) under the Federal Employee Retirement Income Security 
  6.15  Act of 1974, as amended.  
  6.16     (b) The trustee or custodian may accept the trust funds if 
  6.17  the funds are invested only in savings accounts or time deposits 
  6.18  in the commercial bank, savings bank, savings association, 
  6.19  credit union, or industrial loan and thrift company.  All funds 
  6.20  held in the fiduciary capacity may be commingled by the 
  6.21  financial institution in the conduct of its business, but 
  6.22  individual records shall be maintained by the fiduciary for each 
  6.23  participant and shall show in detail all transactions engaged 
  6.24  under authority of this subdivision.  
  6.25     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 48.15, 
  6.26  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  6.27     Subd. 4.  [RETIREMENT, HEALTH SAVINGS, AND MEDICAL SAVINGS 
  6.28  ACCOUNTS.] (a) A state bank may act as trustee or custodian: 
  6.29     (1) of a self-employed retirement plan under the Federal 
  6.30  Self-Employed Individual Tax Retirement Act of 1962, as 
  6.31  amended,; 
  6.32     (2) of a medical savings account under the Federal Health 
  6.33  Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as 
  6.34  amended,; 
  6.35     (3) of a health savings account under the Medicare 
  6.36  Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, 
  7.1   as amended; and 
  7.2      (4) of an individual retirement account under the Federal 
  7.3   Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, if 
  7.4   the bank's duties as trustee or custodian are essentially 
  7.5   ministerial or custodial in nature and the funds are invested 
  7.6   only (1) (i) in the bank's own savings or time deposits; or 
  7.7   (2) (ii) in any other assets at the direction of the customer if 
  7.8   the bank does not exercise any investment discretion, invest the 
  7.9   funds in collective investment funds administered by it, or 
  7.10  provide any investment advice with respect to those account 
  7.11  assets. 
  7.12     (b) Affiliated discount brokers may be utilized by the bank 
  7.13  acting as trustee or custodian for self-directed IRAs, if 
  7.14  specifically authorized and directed in appropriate documents.  
  7.15  The relationship between the affiliated broker and the bank must 
  7.16  be fully disclosed.  Brokerage commissions to be charged to the 
  7.17  IRA by the affiliated broker should be accurately disclosed.  
  7.18  Provisions should be made for disclosure of any changes in 
  7.19  commission rates prior to their becoming effective.  The 
  7.20  affiliated broker may not provide investment advice to the 
  7.21  customer.  
  7.22     (c) All funds held in the fiduciary capacity may be 
  7.23  commingled by the financial institution in the conduct of its 
  7.24  business, but individual records shall be maintained by the 
  7.25  fiduciary for each participant and shall show in detail all 
  7.26  transactions engaged under authority of this subdivision.  
  7.27     (d) The authority granted by this section is in addition 
  7.28  to, and not limited by, section 47.75. 
  7.29     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 62D.095, 
  7.30  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  7.31     Subd. 3.  [DEDUCTIBLES.] (a) A health maintenance contract 
  7.32  issued by a health maintenance organization that is assessed 
  7.33  less than three percent of the total annual amount assessed by 
  7.34  the Minnesota comprehensive health association may impose 
  7.35  deductibles not to exceed $3,000 per person, per year and $6,000 
  7.36  per family, per year.  For purposes of the percentage 
  8.1   calculation, a health maintenance organization's assessments 
  8.2   include those of its affiliates.  
  8.3      (b) All other health maintenance contracts may impose 
  8.4   deductibles not to exceed $2,250 $5,000 per person, per year and 
  8.5   $4,500 $10,000 per family, per year.  
  8.6      (b) The deductible dollar amounts provided in this 
  8.7   subdivision are deemed automatically adjusted as necessary to 
  8.8   ensure that they are not less than the amounts provided in the 
  8.9   Internal Revenue Code, section 223(c)(2), as adjusted for 
  8.10  cost-of-living changes under the Internal Revenue Code, section 
  8.11  223(g). 
  8.12     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 62D.095, 
  8.13  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  8.14     Subd. 4.  [ANNUAL OUT-OF-POCKET MAXIMUMS.] (a) A health 
  8.15  maintenance contract issued by a health maintenance organization 
  8.16  that is assessed less than three percent of the total annual 
  8.17  amount assessed by the Minnesota comprehensive health 
  8.18  association must include a limitation not to 
  8.19  exceed $4,500 $5,000 per person and $7,500 $10,000 per family on 
  8.20  total annual out-of-pocket enrollee cost-sharing expenses.  For 
  8.21  purposes of the percentage calculation, a health maintenance 
  8.22  organization's assessments include those of its affiliates.  
  8.23     (b) All other health maintenance contracts must include a 
  8.24  limitation not to exceed $3,000 per person and $6,000 per family 
  8.25  on total annual out-of-pocket enrollee cost-sharing 
  8.26  expenses. The dollar amounts provided in this subdivision are 
  8.27  deemed automatically adjusted as necessary to ensure that they 
  8.28  are not less than the amounts provided in the Internal Revenue 
  8.29  Code, section 223(c)(2), as adjusted for cost-of-living changes 
  8.30  under the Internal Revenue Code, section 223(g). 
  8.31     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  8.32  62E.12, is amended to read: 
  8.33     62E.12 [MINIMUM BENEFITS OF COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH INSURANCE 
  8.34  PLAN.] 
  8.35     (a) The association through its comprehensive health 
  8.36  insurance plan shall offer policies which provide the benefits 
  9.1   of a number one qualified plan and a number two qualified plan, 
  9.2   except that the maximum lifetime benefit on these plans shall be 
  9.3   $2,800,000; and an extended basic Medicare supplement plan and a 
  9.4   basic Medicare supplement plan as described in sections 62A.31 
  9.5   to 62A.44.  The association may also offer a plan that is 
  9.6   identical to a number one and number two qualified plan except 
  9.7   that it has a $2,000 annual deductible and a $2,800,000 maximum 
  9.8   lifetime benefit.  The association, subject to the approval of 
  9.9   the commissioner, may also offer plans that are identical to the 
  9.10  number one or number two qualified plan, except that they have 
  9.11  annual deductibles of $5,000 and $10,000, respectively; have 
  9.12  limitations on total annual out-of-pocket expenses equal to 
  9.13  those annual deductibles and therefore cover 100 percent of the 
  9.14  allowable cost of covered services in excess of those annual 
  9.15  deductibles; and have a $2,800,000 maximum lifetime 
  9.16  benefit.  The association, subject to the approval of the 
  9.17  commissioner, may offer up to two plans that qualify as high 
  9.18  deductible health plans, as defined in the Internal Revenue 
  9.19  Code, section 223(c)(2).  These plans must satisfy the 
  9.20  requirements of a number one and number two qualified plan, 
  9.21  except that the plan's deductibles, coinsurance, and annual 
  9.22  out-of-pocket maximums shall be approvable by the commissioner 
  9.23  if the plan complies with the requirements of a high deductible 
  9.24  health plan.  Deductibles may be measured on a per individual 
  9.25  contract per year basis.  In no event shall the association 
  9.26  offer more than five different non-Medicare supplement plans. 
  9.27     (b) The requirement that a policy issued by the association 
  9.28  must be a qualified plan is satisfied if the association 
  9.29  contracts with a preferred provider network and the level of 
  9.30  benefits for services provided within the network satisfies the 
  9.31  requirements of a qualified plan.  If the association uses a 
  9.32  preferred provider network, payments to nonparticipating 
  9.33  providers must meet the minimum requirements of section 72A.20, 
  9.34  subdivision 15.  
  9.35     (c) The association shall offer health maintenance 
  9.36  organization contracts in those areas of the state where a 
 10.1   health maintenance organization has agreed to make the coverage 
 10.2   available and has been selected as a writing carrier.  
 10.3      (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 62E.06 and 
 10.4   unless those charges are billed by a provider that is part of 
 10.5   the association's preferred provider network, the state plan 
 10.6   shall exclude coverage of services of a private duty nurse other 
 10.7   than on an inpatient basis and any charges for treatment in a 
 10.8   hospital located outside of the state of Minnesota in which the 
 10.9   covered person is receiving treatment for a mental or nervous 
 10.10  disorder, unless similar treatment for the mental or nervous 
 10.11  disorder is medically necessary, unavailable in Minnesota and 
 10.12  provided upon referral by a licensed Minnesota medical 
 10.13  practitioner. 
 10.14     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 62L.12, 
 10.15  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
 10.16     Subd. 2.  [EXCEPTIONS.] (a) A health carrier may sell, 
 10.17  issue, or renew individual conversion policies to eligible 
 10.18  employees otherwise eligible for conversion coverage under 
 10.19  section 62D.104 as a result of leaving a health maintenance 
 10.20  organization's service area. 
 10.21     (b) A health carrier may sell, issue, or renew individual 
 10.22  conversion policies to eligible employees otherwise eligible for 
 10.23  conversion coverage as a result of the expiration of any 
 10.24  continuation of group coverage required under sections 62A.146, 
 10.25  62A.17, 62A.21, 62C.142, 62D.101, and 62D.105. 
 10.26     (c) A health carrier may sell, issue, or renew conversion 
 10.27  policies under section 62E.16 to eligible employees. 
 10.28     (d) A health carrier may sell, issue, or renew individual 
 10.29  continuation policies to eligible employees as required. 
 10.30     (e) A health carrier may sell, issue, or renew individual 
 10.31  health plans if the coverage is appropriate due to an unexpired 
 10.32  preexisting condition limitation or exclusion applicable to the 
 10.33  person under the employer's group health plan or due to the 
 10.34  person's need for health care services not covered under the 
 10.35  employer's group health plan. 
 10.36     (f) A health carrier may sell, issue, or renew an 
 11.1   individual health plan, if the individual has elected to buy the 
 11.2   individual health plan not as part of a general plan to 
 11.3   substitute individual health plans for a group health plan nor 
 11.4   as a result of any violation of subdivision 3 or 4. 
 11.5      (g) Nothing in this subdivision relieves a health carrier 
 11.6   of any obligation to provide continuation or conversion coverage 
 11.7   otherwise required under federal or state law. 
 11.8      (h) Nothing in this chapter restricts the offer, sale, 
 11.9   issuance, or renewal of coverage issued as a supplement to 
 11.10  Medicare under sections 62A.31 to 62A.44, or policies or 
 11.11  contracts that supplement Medicare issued by health maintenance 
 11.12  organizations, or those contracts governed by section 1833 or 
 11.13  1876 of the federal Social Security Act, United States Code, 
 11.14  title 42, section 1395 et seq., as amended. 
 11.15     (i) Nothing in this chapter restricts the offer, sale, 
 11.16  issuance, or renewal of individual health plans necessary to 
 11.17  comply with a court order. 
 11.18     (j) A health carrier may offer, issue, sell, or renew an 
 11.19  individual health plan to persons eligible for an employer group 
 11.20  health plan, if the individual health plan is a high deductible 
 11.21  health plan for use in connection with a health savings account, 
 11.22  in compliance with the Internal Revenue Code, section 223.  In 
 11.23  that situation, the same or a different health carrier may 
 11.24  offer, issue, sell, or renew a group health plan to cover the 
 11.25  other eligible employees in the group. 
 11.26     Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 62L.12, 
 11.27  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
 11.28     Subd. 3.  [AGENT'S LICENSURE.] An agent licensed under 
 11.29  chapter 60K or section 62C.17 who knowingly and willfully breaks 
 11.30  apart a small group for the purpose of selling individual health 
 11.31  plans to eligible employees and dependents of a small employer 
 11.32  that meets the participation and contribution requirements of 
 11.33  section 62L.03, subdivision 3, is guilty of an unfair trade 
 11.34  practice and subject to disciplinary action, including the 
 11.35  revocation or suspension of license, under section 60K.43 or 
 11.36  62C.17.  The action must be by order and subject to the notice, 
 12.1   hearing, and appeal procedures specified in section 60K.43.  The 
 12.2   action of the commissioner is subject to judicial review as 
 12.3   provided under chapter 14.  This section does not apply to any 
 12.4   action performed by an agent that would be permitted for a 
 12.5   health carrier under subdivision 2. 
 12.6      Sec. 8.  [62Q.022] [HEALTH PLAN FOR USE WITH HEALTH PLAN 
 12.7   SAVINGS ACCOUNTS.] 
 12.8      (a) A health plan company, as defined in section 62Q.01, 
 12.9   subdivision 4, including the Minnesota Comprehensive Health 
 12.10  Insurance Association, may offer, issue, sell, or renew a high 
 12.11  deductible health plan, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code, 
 12.12  section 223(c)(2), for use with a health savings account, as 
 12.13  defined in the Internal Revenue Code, section 223(d).  
 12.14  References to federal law in this section include federal 
 12.15  regulations adopted under the referenced statute and future 
 12.16  amendments to the federal statutes and regulations. 
 12.17     (b) To the extent that any law or regulation of this state 
 12.18  imposes requirements that would prevent a health plan company 
 12.19  from offering a health plan that qualifies as a high deductible 
 12.20  health plan under paragraph (a), compliance with state law is 
 12.21  waived. 
 12.22     For high deductible health plans, plans may be structured 
 12.23  to pay deductible and out-of-pocket maximums: 
 12.24     (1) on an individual contract basis for single coverage; or 
 12.25     (2) on a family contract basis for any form of family 
 12.26  coverage such as single plus one, couple, or family. 
 12.27     (c) A law of this state does not conflict for purposes of 
 12.28  paragraph (b) merely because it prohibits the health plan 
 12.29  company from offering, issuing, selling, or renewing a specific 
 12.30  health plan form as a high deductible health plan, so long as 
 12.31  state law permits the health plan company to offer, issue, sell, 
 12.32  or renew at least one health plan form that does qualify as a 
 12.33  high deductible health plan. 
 12.34     Sec. 9.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
 12.35     Sections 1 to 8 are effective retroactively from January 1, 
 12.36  2004.