Enables the county of Suffolk to enter into cooperative agreements with not-for-profits located within such county to pay for the provision of health care services to their employees, without being subject to the provisions of article 47 of the insurance law; further permits the county of Suffolk to charge an administrative fee for such participation in such cooperative agreement; defines not-for-profit corporation to mean a not-for-profit corporation exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6600
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 6, 2009
___________
Introduced by M. of A. FIELDS -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Insurance
AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to enabling the county of
Suffolk to enter into cooperative agreements with not-for-profit
corporations located within such county to pay for the provision of
health care services to their employees
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subsection (e) of section 4702 of the insurance law, as
2 added by chapter 689 of the laws of 1994, is amended and a new
3 subsection (k) is added to read as follows:
4 (e) "Municipal cooperative health benefit plan" or "plan" means any
5 plan established or maintained by two or more municipal corporations; or
6 in Suffolk county, established between a municipal corporation and a
7 not-for-profit corporation pursuant to section four thousand seven
8 hundred five-a of this article, pursuant to a municipal cooperation
9 agreement for the purpose of providing medical, surgical or hospital
10 services to employees or retirees of such municipal corporations and to
11 the dependents of such employees or retirees.
12 (k) "Not-for-profit corporation" shall mean a not-for-profit corpo-
13 ration exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the internal
14 revenue code.
15 § 2. Subsection (a) of section 4703 of the insurance law, as added by
16 chapter 689 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
17 (a) No municipal corporation shall establish, maintain or otherwise
18 participate in a municipal cooperative health benefit plan in this state
19 which provides benefits, in whole or part, on a shared-funding basis,
20 unless the municipal cooperative health benefit plan:
21 (1) obtains and maintains a certificate of authority from the super-
22 intendent pursuant to the provisions of this article; or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06361-01-9
A. 6600 2
1 (2) is an employee welfare fund, as defined in article forty-four of
2 this chapter that is administered by equal representation of employees
3 and employers; or
4 (3) is exempt from the requirement of obtaining a license; or
5 (4) is, and continues to be, a fully-insured municipal cooperative
6 health benefit plan; or
7 (5) is established by Suffolk county, in which case no application for
8 or receipt of a certificate of authority pursuant to this section shall
9 be required.
10 § 3. The opening paragraphs of subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and
11 (f) of section 4705 of the insurance law, as added by chapter 689 of the
12 laws of 1994, are amended to read as follows:
13 [The] Except in the case of a municipal cooperation agreement for a
14 municipal cooperative health benefit plan established by the county of
15 Suffolk pursuant to section four thousand seven hundred five-a of this
16 article, the municipal cooperation agreement, under which the municipal
17 cooperative health benefit plan is established and maintained, and any
18 amendment thereto, shall be approved by each participating municipal
19 corporation by majority vote of each such corporation's governing body,
20 and shall:
21 [The] Except in the case of a municipal cooperation agreement for a
22 municipal cooperative health benefit plan established by the county of
23 Suffolk pursuant to section four thousand seven hundred five-a of this
24 article, the municipal cooperation agreement shall provide that the
25 plan's chief fiscal officer:
26 [A] Except in the case of a municipal cooperation agreement for a
27 municipal cooperative health benefit plan established by the county of
28 Suffolk pursuant to section four thousand seven hundred five-a of this
29 article, a municipal cooperation agreement shall include a provision:
30 [The] Except in the case of a municipal cooperation agreement for a
31 municipal cooperative health benefit plan established by the county of
32 Suffolk pursuant to section four thousand seven hundred five-a of this
33 article, the municipal cooperation agreement shall provide that the
34 governing board:
35 [The] Except in the case of a municipal cooperation agreement for a
36 municipal cooperative health benefit plan established by the county of
37 Suffolk pursuant to section four thousand seven hundred five-a of this
38 article, the municipal cooperation agreement shall provide for the
39 following to be prepared and furnished to the governing board, to
40 participating municipal corporations, to unions which are the exclusive
41 bargaining representatives of employees covered by the plan and to the
42 superintendent:
43 [The] Except in the case of a municipal cooperation agreement for a
44 municipal cooperative health benefit plan established by the county of
45 Suffolk pursuant to section four thousand seven hundred five-a of this
46 article, the municipal cooperation agreement shall specify the rights
47 and obligations of a municipal corporation withdrawing from a municipal
48 cooperative health benefit plan to any contribution (or premium equiv-
49 alent) refund or reserve fund or for any contingent assessment liability
50 or other obligation.
51 § 4. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 4705-a to
52 read as follows:
53 § 4705-a. Municipal cooperative health benefit plan established by the
54 county of Suffolk with not-for-profit corporations located within such
55 county. Suffolk county hereby has the authority to enter a municipal
56 cooperation agreement for the establishment of a municipal cooperative
A. 6600 3
1 health benefit plan upon such terms and conditions as determined and
2 agreed to by the county of Suffolk and participating not-for-profit
3 corporations. Such agreement may, at the option of the county of
4 Suffolk, require that each participating not-for-profit corporation pay
5 an administrative fee to the county of Suffolk for participation in such
6 plan. Nothing in such administrative fee requirement shall construe
7 Suffolk county as doing an insurance business within the meaning of
8 sections one thousand one hundred one and one thousand one hundred two
9 of this chapter.
10 § 5. Section 4706 of the insurance law is amended by adding a new
11 subsection (h) to read as follows:
12 (h) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a municipal
13 cooperative health benefit plan established by the county of Suffolk
14 pursuant to section four thousand seven hundred five-a of this article.
15 § 6. Section 4707 of the insurance law is amended by adding a new
16 subsection (d) to read as follows:
17 (d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a municipal
18 cooperative health benefit plan established by the county of Suffolk
19 pursuant to section four thousand seven hundred five-a of this article.
20 § 7. Section 4708 of the insurance law is amended by adding a new
21 subsection (f) to read as follows:
22 (f) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a municipal
23 cooperative health benefit plan established by the county of Suffolk
24 pursuant to section four thousand seven hundred five-a of this article.
25 § 8. Section 4709 of the insurance law is amended by adding a new
26 subsection (d) to read as follows:
27 (d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a municipal
28 cooperative health benefit plan established by the county of Suffolk
29 pursuant to section four thousand seven hundred five-a of this article.
30 § 9. The opening paragraph of subsection (a) of section 4710 of the
31 insurance law, as added by chapter 689 of the laws of 1994, is amended
32 to read as follows:
33 [The] Except in the case of a municipal cooperative health benefit
34 plan established by the county of Suffolk pursuant to section four thou-
35 sand seven hundred five-a of this article, the governing board of the
36 municipal cooperative health benefit plan shall:
37 § 10. Section 4711 of the insurance law, as added by chapter 689 of
38 the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
39 § 4711. Examinations. (a) [The] Except in the case of a municipal
40 cooperative health benefit plan established by the county of Suffolk,
41 the superintendent may examine the affairs of a municipal cooperative
42 health benefit plan as often as deemed necessary, but not less than once
43 in every three years, except that the superintendent may extend the
44 three-year interval to no more than five years upon determining that the
45 three-year requirement is not necessary to safeguard the interests of
46 the public or covered persons.
47 (b) [In] Except in the case of a municipal cooperative health benefit
48 plan established by the county of Suffolk, in connection with such exam-
49 inations, the superintendent may exercise the powers set forth in
50 sections three hundred four, three hundred five, three hundred six,
51 three hundred eight, three hundred ten, three hundred eleven, three
52 hundred twelve, and three hundred thirteen of this chapter, and may also
53 require special reports from a municipal cooperative health benefit plan
54 as specified in section three hundred eight of this chapter.
A. 6600 4
1 (c) The governing board of every municipal cooperative health benefit
2 plan shall be responsible for the maintenance of accurate records and
3 books of account in regard to the plan.
4 (d) In the case of a municipal cooperative health benefit plan estab-
5 lished by the county of Suffolk, the superintendent shall not be enti-
6 tled to examination of such benefit plan nor may the superintendent
7 exercise the powers set forth in sections three hundred four, three
8 hundred five, three hundred six, three hundred eight, three hundred ten,
9 three hundred eleven, three hundred twelve, and three hundred thirteen
10 of this chapter, and may also not require special reports from a munici-
11 pal cooperative health benefit plan as specified in section three
12 hundred eight of this chapter in regard to such plan.
13 § 11. Section 4713 of the insurance law is amended by adding a new
14 subsection (d) to read as follows:
15 (d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to the dissolution
16 of a municipal cooperative health benefit plan established by the county
17 of Suffolk.
18 § 12. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day
19 after it shall have become a law.
