48.66.025 - Restrictions on issuers -- Age of applicants -- Preexisting conditions. - Washington Statutes

Restrictions on issuers — Age of applicants — Preexisting conditions.

(1) An issuer may not deny or condition the issuance or effectiveness of any medicare supplement policy or certificate available for sale in this state, or discriminate in the pricing of a policy or certificate, because of the health status, claims experience, receipt of health care, or medical condition of an applicant in the case of an application for a policy or certificate that is submitted prior to or during the six-month period beginning with the first day of the first month in which an individual is both sixty-five years of age or older and is enrolled for benefits under medicare part B. Each medicare supplement policy and certificate currently available from an insurer must be made available to all applicants who qualify under this subsection without regard to age.

     (2) If an applicant qualifies under this section and submits an application during the time period referenced in subsection (1) of this section and, as of the date of application, has had a continuous period of creditable coverage of at least three months, the issuer may not exclude benefits based on a preexisting condition.

     (3) If an applicant qualified under this section submits an application during the time period referenced in subsection (1) of this section and, as of the date of application, has had a continuous period of creditable coverage that is less than three months, the issuer must reduce the period of any preexisting condition exclusion by the aggregate of the period of creditable coverage applicable to the applicant as of the enrollment date.

[2005 c 41 § 2.]

Notes: Intent -- 2005 c 41: "This act is intended to satisfy the directive from the centers for medicare and medicaid services requiring states to implement changes to their medicare supplement insurance requirements to comply with the standards prescribed by the medicare modernization act that are consistent with amendments to the national association of insurance commissioners medicare supplement insurance minimum standards model act along with other corrections to be compliant with federal requirements." [2005 c 41 § 1.]