Relates to membership of volunteer fire and volunteer ambulance members in group or blanket accident and health insurance policies; provides that such members must be added to a contract to provide health insurance if the public corporation elects to provide such insurance notwithstanding the fact that such members may not meet the definition of "employee".

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S3465-2013 Actions

• Feb 4, 2013: REFERRED TO INSURANCE

S3465-2013 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S3465

TITLE  OF  BILL:    An  act  to  amend the insurance law, in relation to
membership in group or blanket accident and health insurance policies

PURPOSE:  To require providers of health insurance services  to  provide
health  insurance  to volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers whose
public corporation has elected to extend such coverage to them  pursuant
to section 92-a of the general municipal law.

SUMMARY  OF  PROVISIONS:    Amends  section 3221 of the insurance law to
require providers of health insurance services to add members of  volun-
teer  fire  and  ambulance companies to be added to contracts to provide
health insurance if a public corporation elects to provide  such  insur-
ance  to  such members pursuant to section 92-a of the general municipal
law, notwithstanding the fact that such members may not meet  the  defi-
nition  of an "employee that may be contained in a contract of insurance
between such public corporation  and  a  provider  of  health  insurance
services.

JUSTIFICATION:    Chapters 331 of the laws of 2008 and Chapter 71 of the
Laws of 2009 allowed municipal corporations  to  allow  volunteer  fire-
fighters  and ambulance workers to participate in their health insurance
programs, provided that the volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers
paid the total cost of participating in these plans. Since then, several
HMOs and insurance companies have refused to  extend  this  coverage  to
volunteer  firefighters  and  ambulance workers on the grounds that they
are not employees of the participating public  corporations.  This  bill
corrects this defect in the law.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: S.5092 of 2011-12

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None

LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None

EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately

S3465-2013 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                    3465

                         2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                              February 4, 2013
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sen.  SEWARD -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
    printed to be committed to the Committee on Insurance

  AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to membership in group or
    blanket accident and health insurance policies

    THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section 1. Paragraph 3 of subsection (a) of section 3221 of the insur-
  ance law is amended to read as follows:

    (3)  That all new employees or new members in the classes eligible for
  insurance must be added to such  class  for  which  they  are  eligible.
  ACTIVE  MEMBERS OF VOLUNTEER FIRE AND VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE COMPANIES MUST
  BE ADDED TO A CONTRACT OR CONTRACTS TO PROVIDE  HEALTH  INSURANCE  IF  A
  PUBLIC  CORPORATION  ELECTS  TO PROVIDE HEALTH INSURANCE TO SUCH MEMBERS
  PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION SEVEN OF SECTION  NINETY-TWO-A  OF  THE  GENERAL
  MUNICIPAL  LAW,  NOTWITHSTANDING THE FACT THAT SUCH MEMBERS MAY NOT MEET
  THE DEFINITION OF AN "EMPLOYEE" THAT MAY BE CONTAINED IN A  CONTRACT  OF
  INSURANCE  BETWEEN  SUCH  PUBLIC  CORPORATION  AND  A PROVIDER OF HEALTH
  INSURANCE SERVICES.
    S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.





   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD06618-01-3