HF 864

as introduced - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 02/12/2015 02:34pm

A bill for an act
relating to insurance fraud; regulating response or incident data; providing an
administrative penalty for insurance fraud; creating a process for deauthorization
of the right of health care providers to receive certain payments under chapter
65B; amending Minnesota Statutes 2014, sections 13.82, subdivision 6; 45.0135,
by adding a subdivision; 169.09, subdivision 13; proposing coding for new law
in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 45.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 13.82, subdivision 6, is amended to read:

Subd. 6.

Response or incident data.

The following data created or collected by
law enforcement agencies which document the agency's response to a request for service
including, but not limited to, responses to traffic accidents, or which describe actions
taken by the agency on its own initiative shall be public government data new text begin 30 days after
the data was created or collected new text end :

(a) date, time and place of the action;

(b) agencies, units of agencies and individual agency personnel participating in the
action unless the identities of agency personnel qualify for protection under subdivision 17;

(c) any resistance encountered by the agency;

(d) any pursuit engaged in by the agency;

(e) whether any weapons were used by the agency or other individuals;

(f) a brief factual reconstruction of events associated with the action;

(g) names and addresses of witnesses to the agency action or the incident unless the
identity of any witness qualifies for protection under subdivision 17;

(h) names and addresses of any victims or casualties unless the identities of those
individuals qualify for protection under subdivision 17;

(i) the name and location of the health care facility to which victims or casualties
were taken;

(j) response or incident report number;

(k) dates of birth of the parties involved in a traffic accident;

(l) whether the parties involved were wearing seat belts; and

(m) the alcohol concentration of each driver.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 45.0135, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 9. new text end

new text begin Administrative penalty for insurance fraud. new text end

new text begin (a) In addition to any
criminal penalties that may be imposed under section 609.611, on a showing by a
preponderance of the evidence that a violation of section 609.611 has occurred, the
commissioner may:
new text end

new text begin (1) impose an administrative penalty not exceeding $25,000 for each act of insurance
fraud; and
new text end

new text begin (2) order restitution to an insurer or self-insured employer of any insurance proceeds
paid relating to a fraudulent insurance claim.
new text end

new text begin (b) In determining the amount of the administrative penalty, the commissioner
must consider:
new text end

new text begin (1) the nature, circumstances, extent, gravity, and number of violations;
new text end

new text begin (2) the degree of culpability of the violator;
new text end

new text begin (3) prior offenses and repeated violations of the violator; and
new text end

new text begin (4) any other matter that the commissioner considers appropriate and relevant.
new text end

new text begin (c) If an administrative penalty is not paid after all rights of appeal have been
waived or exhausted, the commissioner may bring a civil action in a court of competent
jurisdiction to collect the administrative penalty, including expenses and litigation costs,
reasonable attorney fees, and interest.
new text end

new text begin (d) This section does not affect an insurer's right to take independent action to seek
recovery against a person that violates this section.
new text end

Sec. 3.

new text begin [45.0137] DEAUTHORIZATION OF PROVIDERS FROM RECEIVING
CERTAIN PAYMENTS UNDER CHAPTER 65B.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin (a) As used in this section, the following terms have
the meaning given.
new text end

new text begin (b) "Appropriate licensing authority" means the state agency responsible for
licensing and discipline of a provider.
new text end

new text begin (c) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of commerce.
new text end

new text begin (d) "Medical services" means those services eligible for reimbursement under
section 65B.44, subdivision 2.
new text end

new text begin (e) "Provider of medical services" or "provider" means a person or entity that has
provided medical services.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Deauthorization of providers. new text end

new text begin The commissioner, or an appropriate
licensing authority, may, by order, remove authorization for a provider of medical services
to demand or request payment for medical services upon finding, after investigation as
provided in subdivision 3, that the provider:
new text end

new text begin (1) has been guilty of professional or other misconduct or incompetency in
connection with medical services rendered;
new text end

new text begin (2) has exceeded the limits of professional competence in providing medical services
or has knowingly made a false statement or representation as to a material fact in any
report made in connection with any claim under chapter 65B;
new text end

new text begin (3) has solicited, or employed another to solicit for the provider or for another,
professional treatment, examination, or care of an injured person in connection with any
claim under chapter 65B;
new text end

new text begin (4) has refused to appear before, or to answer upon request of, the commissioner
or duly authorized officer of an appropriate licensing authority, any legal question, or
to produce any relevant information concerning conduct in connection with providing
medical services; or
new text end

new text begin (5) has engaged in patterns of billing for medical services that were not provided.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Investigation. new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner may investigate any reports made
under section 45.0135, or other information in the commissioner's possession, regarding
providers of medical services engaging in any of the unlawful activities set forth in
subdivision 2. After conducting an investigation, the commissioner must send to the
appropriate licensing authority a list of any providers who the commissioner believes may
have engaged in any of the unlawful activities set forth in subdivision 2 together with a
description of the grounds for inclusion on the list. Within 45 days of receipt of the list,
the appropriate licensing authority shall notify the commissioner in writing whether the
licensing authority confirms that the commissioner has a reasonable basis to proceed
with notice and a hearing for determining whether any of the listed providers should be
deauthorized from demanding or requesting any payment for medical services.
new text end

new text begin (b) An appropriate licensing authority may also investigate any reports, allegations,
or other information in its possession regarding providers engaging in any of the unlawful
activities set forth in subdivision 2. If the appropriate licensing authority conducts an
investigation, then that authority is responsible for providing notice and an opportunity to
be heard to the providers that are subject to deauthorization from demanding or requesting
any payment for medical services.
new text end

new text begin (c) Hearings under this section must be conducted in accordance with chapter 14 and
any other applicable law.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 169.09, subdivision 13, is amended to read:

Subd. 13.

Reports confidential; evidence, fee, penalty, appropriation.

(a) All
reports and supplemental information required under this section must be for the use of the
commissioner of public safety and other appropriate state, federal, county, and municipal
governmental agencies for accident analysis purposes, except:

(1) upon written request, the commissioner of public safety or any law enforcement
agency shall disclose the report required under subdivision 8 to:

(i) any individual involved in the accident, the representative of the individual's
estate, or the surviving spouse, or one or more surviving next of kin, or a trustee appointed
under section 573.02;

(ii) any other person injured in person, property, or means of support, or who incurs
other pecuniary loss by virtue of the accident;

(iii) legal counsel of a person described in item (i) or (ii); deleted text begin or
deleted text end

(iv) a representative of the insurer of any person described in item (i) or (ii) new text begin , including
persons under contract with the insurer to provide claims and underwriting information new text end ;

new text begin (v) a representative of any insurance agent of a person described in item (i) or (ii);
new text end

new text begin (vi) a representative of any insurer of any person described in item (i) or (ii) to which
they have applied for coverage;
new text end

new text begin (vii) state licensed or authorized victim services programs;
new text end

new text begin (viii) radio and television stations licensed by the Federal Communications
Commission; or
new text end

new text begin (ix) newspapers qualified to publish legal notices under applicable state law
published once a week or more often, available and of interest to the public generally for
the dissemination of news;
new text end

(2) the commissioner of public safety shall, upon written request, provide the driver
filing a report under subdivision 7 with a copy of the report filed by the driver;

(3) the commissioner of public safety may verify with insurance companies vehicle
insurance information to enforce sections 65B.48, 169.792, 169.793, 169.796, and 169.797;

(4) the commissioner of public safety shall provide the commissioner of
transportation the information obtained for each traffic accident involving a commercial
motor vehicle, for purposes of administering commercial vehicle safety regulations;

(5) upon specific request, the commissioner of public safety shall provide the
commissioner of transportation the information obtained regarding each traffic accident
involving damage to identified state-owned infrastructure, for purposes of debt collection
under section 161.20, subdivision 4; and

(6) the commissioner of public safety may give to the United States Department of
Transportation commercial vehicle accident information in connection with federal grant
programs relating to safety.

new text begin For the purposes of this subdivision, the following products or publications are not
newspapers as referred to in this subdivision: those intended primarily for members of a
particular profession or occupational group; those with the primary purpose of distributing
advertising; and those with the primary purpose of publishing names and other personal
identifying information concerning parties to motor vehicle crashes.
new text end

(b) Accident reports and data contained in the reports are not discoverable under any
provision of law or rule of court. No report shall be used as evidence in any trial, civil or
criminal, or any action for damages or criminal proceedings arising out of an accident.
However, the commissioner of public safety shall furnish, upon the demand of any person
who has or claims to have made a report or upon demand of any court, a certificate
showing that a specified accident report has or has not been made to the commissioner
solely to prove compliance or failure to comply with the requirements that the report be
made to the commissioner.

(c) Nothing in this subdivision prevents any individual who has made a report under
this section from providing information to any individuals involved in an accident or their
representatives or from testifying in any trial, civil or criminal, arising out of an accident,
as to facts within the individual's knowledge. It is intended by this subdivision to render
privileged the reports required, but it is not intended to prohibit proof of the facts to
which the reports relate.

(d) Disclosing any information contained in any accident report, except as provided
in this subdivision, section 13.82, subdivision 3 or 6, or other statutes, is a misdemeanor.

(e) The commissioner of public safety shall charge authorized persons as described
in paragraph (a) a $5 fee for a copy of an accident report. Ninety percent of the $5 fee
collected under this paragraph must be deposited in the special revenue fund and credited
to the driver services operating account established in section 299A.705 and ten percent
must be deposited in the general fund. The commissioner may also furnish an electronic
copy of the database of accident records, which must not contain personal or private data
on an individual, to private agencies as provided in paragraph (g), for not less than the cost
of preparing the copies on a bulk basis as provided in section 13.03, subdivision 3.

(f) The fees specified in paragraph (e) notwithstanding, the commissioner and law
enforcement agencies shall charge commercial users who request access to response or
incident data relating to accidents a fee not to exceed 50 cents per record. "Commercial
user" is a user who in one location requests access to data in more than five accident
reports per month, unless the user establishes that access is not for a commercial purpose.
Of the money collected by the commissioner under this paragraph, 90 percent must be
deposited in the special revenue fund and credited to the driver services operating account
established in section 299A.705 and ten percent must be deposited in the general fund.

(g) The fees in paragraphs (e) and (f) notwithstanding, the commissioner shall
provide an electronic copy of the accident records database to the public on a case-by-case
basis using the cost-recovery charges provided for under section 13.03, subdivision
3. The database provided must not contain personal or private data on an individual.
However, unless the accident records database includes the vehicle identification number,
the commissioner shall include the vehicle registration plate number if a private agency
certifies and agrees that the agency:

(1) is in the business of collecting accident and damage information on vehicles;

(2) will use the vehicle registration plate number only for identifying vehicles that
have been involved in accidents or damaged, to provide this information to persons seeking
access to a vehicle's history and not for identifying individuals or for any other purpose; and

(3) will be subject to the penalties and remedies under sections 13.08 and 13.09.