Introduced Version
Senate Bill 411 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
Senate Bill No. 411
(By Senator Stollings)
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[Introduced March 1, 2013; referred to the Committee on Banking
and Insurance; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary .]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto six new sections, designated §48-14-1101,
§48-14-1102, §48-14-1103, §48-14-1104, §48-14-1105 and
§48-14-1106, all relating to establishing a child support
insurance match program
that will assist the Bureau for Child
Support Enforcement
in determining whether a claimant has a
child support obligation
; requiring certain insurance
companies to notify the
bureau
of nonrecurring insurance
settlements; providing exemptions; setting forth additional
information insurance companies must provide; setting forth
the bureau's and the insurance companies' respective
obligations; requiring
health insurance companies to
participate in a data matching program with the bureau to
assist in determining the availability of sources of health
care insurance or coverage for beneficiaries of the child support program
; setting forth what information is to be
supplied by the insurance companies and providing exceptions;
exempting insurance companies from liability for providing the
requested information; granting the bureau enforcement
responsibilities; establishing monetary penalties; and
authorizing rulemaking.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto six new sections, designated §48-14-1101,
§48-14-1102, §48-14-1103, §48-14-1104, §48-14-1105 and §48-14-1106,
all to read as follows:
PART XI. CHILD SUPPORT INSURANCE MATCH.
ARTICLE 14. CHILD SUPPORT INSURANCE MATCH PROGRAM.
§48-14-1101. Applicability; definitions.
(a) This article applies to insurance companies authorized to
issue policies in this state for liability insurance or workers'
compensation coverage. For the purposes of this article an
insurance company authorized to issue policies in this state for
workers' compensation coverage includes employers that have been
approved pursuant to section nine, article two, chapter
twenty-three of this code to self-insure their workers'
compensation risk and to third party administrators that administer
claims for those employers.
(b) As used in this article:
"Bureau" means the Bureau for Child Support Enforcement within
the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources created
by article eighteen, chapter forty-eight of this code.
"Claimant" means a person who has filed a claim for personal
injury, personal damages, workers compensation, wrongful or
accidental death, lost wages or disability under a liability
insurance or workers' compensation policy.
"Health insurance company" or "insurance company" means any
insurance company or other entity that is authorized to transact
health insurance business and is currently transacting health
insurance business in this state pursuant to any article under
chapter thirty-three of this code, including, but not limited to,
self-insured plans, group health plans as defined in Section 607(1)
of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.
§1167(1)), service benefit plans, mutual insurance companies,
managed care organizations, health care corporations, health
maintenance organizations, pharmacy benefit managers, third-party
administrators and any other parties that are, by statute,
contract, or agreement, legally responsible for payment of a claim
for a health care item or service.
"Past-due support" or "arrearages" means the total of any
matured, unpaid installments of child support required to be paid
by an order entered or modified by a court of competent
jurisdiction as described in section two hundred four, article one, chapter forty-eight of this code.
"Secretary" means the Secretary of the West Virginia
Department of Health and Human Resources.
§48-14-1102. General provisions.
(a) Insurance companies licensed to do business in the State
of West Virginia that are authorized to issue liability insurance
or workers' compensation coverage shall participate in an
information data match program with the bureau.
(b) Insurance companies that participate in the federal Office
of Child Support Enforcement's Federal Case Registry Insurance
match program, the Child Support Lien Network operated by the State
of Rhode Island or any other similar program approved by the
secretary by rule meet the reporting requirements of this section.
(c) Any insurance company required by subsection (a) of this
section to participate in the information data match program that
does not utilize any of the options set forth in subsection (b) of
this section shall participate in the following manner:
(1) The insurance company shall notify the bureau in a manner
specified by the bureau by legislative rule of any settlement for
a nonrecurring payment of insurance proceeds that are not otherwise
exempt from the requirements of this article in an amount equal to
or in excess of $2,500. Notice shall be provided to the bureau at
least thirty days prior to making the payment or as soon as the
payment is authorized, whichever is sooner.
(2) The insurance company shall provide to the bureau all
available identifying information that will assist the bureau in
determining whether the claimant has a child support obligation.
The secretary shall promulgate legislative rules pursuant to
article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, the information
required for identification and matching purposes. This information
shall include, at a minimum, the claimant's name, address, social
security number and date of birth. The identifying information
shall be submitted in a manner and format specified in the
legislative rule.
(3) If payment of the claim is in the form of a structured
settlement or annuity, the insurance company is responsible for
reporting to the bureau the information required by this article
prior to placing any funds in the settlement or annuity.
(d) The bureau shall notify the insurance company if the
payment is subject to withholding pursuant to article fourteen,
chapter forty-eight of this code, for unpaid child support or
spousal support and provide the insurance company the amount of any
support arrearage or obligation that must be withheld from the
settlement proceeds.
(e) Upon notice from the bureau, the insurance company shall
remit to the bureau the funds otherwise payable to the claimant up
to the amount of the past-due support.
(f) The income withholding notice for past-due child support has priority over all other liens or levies upon the payment with
the exception of:
(1) Legal services and medical services guaranteed pursuant to
such representation provided by a third party in relation to the
claim;
(2) Security interests in lost or damaged property covered by
the claim to the extent that such security interest would otherwise
have precedence over the income withholding; and
(3) One half of any payments made for lost wages under a
liability or workers compensation policy.
(g) If an income withholding notice is not received from the
bureau within thirty days of the insurance company's notification
of intent to disburse funds, the insurance company shall disburse
the payment to the claimant in accordance with the contract of
insurance and is not liable to the claimant or the bureau for any
failure to withhold child support obligations as set forth by this
article.
§48-14-1103. Exemptions.
(a) This article does not apply to insurance payments made for
claims for property damage, surgical or medical bills and expenses
paid on a liability claim; nonliability first-party claims for
health, hospital surgical or other medical insurance; or claims for
life insurance, long-term care, disability insurance, credit
disability income or mortgage disability income.
(b) Upon request from an insurance company, the secretary may
grant further exemptions to the requirements of this article upon
a showing of undue hardship, financial burdens or other factors
that the secretary, in his or her discretion, determines to be
appropriate.
§48-14-1104. Medical insurance reporting.
(a) In order to fulfill the state's obligations imposed by
state and federal law, rule or regulation regarding the
establishment and enforcement of medical support for children in
this state, the Legislature finds that it is necessary for certain
health insurance policy information be released to the bureau.
(b) Health insurance companies in this state shall participate
in a data matching program with the bureau to assist in determining
the availability of sources of health care insurance or coverage
for beneficiaries of the child support program.
(c) The bureau may send to health insurance companies a
request for review of policies to determine whether specifically
designated individuals are covered under any medical or health
insurance policy. This request shall be sent in a manner specified
by legislative rule. The request shall be limited to only those
individuals who have been ordered by a court of competent
jurisdiction to provide health insurance coverage to their children
or dependents. The health insurance company shall provide to the
bureau or a vendor under contract to the bureau, electronic reports of those individuals, if any, who are covered by any health
insurance policy issued by the company. These reports shall
include at a minimum the nature of coverage provided, the policy
holder's social security number, address, date of birth, policy
holder name, policy identification number, group number, effective
dates and any other information requested by the secretary that
will assist in identifying coverage for establishing, modifying and
enforcing medical child support orders administered by the bureau.
The information, if available, shall be provided in a format
suitable for electronic data matches conducted under the direction
of the bureau and in a manner specified by the bureau by
legislative rule.
(d) The bureau shall send, at least annually, requests for
policy reviews to health insurance companies. Requests may also be
made on a periodic basis or as prescribed by the secretary by rule.
The health insurer shall respond within thirty working days after
receipt of a written request for enrollment data from the bureau or
its designee.
(e) This section does not apply to limited benefit health and
accident insurance, fixed indemnity insurance, long-term care
insurance, Medicare supplement insurance and Medicare Advantage
insurance.
(f) The bureau, after obtaining information from a health
insurer, may disclose that health insurance policy information to another party solely for the purpose of, and to the extent
necessary, to establish, modify or enforce a medical support
obligation for a minor child.
§48-14-1105. Liability and penalties.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, an insurance company, including any agent of an insurer,
is not liable under any federal or state law, rules or regulations
to the bureau, a claimant or any other interested party for:
(1) Disclosing any insurance record of an individual, as
required by this article, to the bureau, the federal Office of
Child Support Enforcement's Federal Case Registry insurance match,
the Child Support Lien Network operated by the State of Rhode
Island or any other data matching program approved by the
secretary;
(2) Disclosing health insurance policy information to the
bureau or a vendor under contract with the bureau;
(3) Encumbering or surrendering assets held by such insurance
company as required by this section;
(4) The sufficiency of payments made based upon information
provided through an intercept matching system, regardless of the
accuracy of the information;
(5) Any delay in payment that results from compliance with
this article; or
(6) Any other action taken in good faith to comply with this article.
(b) The bureau is solely responsible for the enforcement of
the requirements of this article and may file a petition in any
circuit court to seek relief and damages against any insurance
company that fails to participate in the data matching program or
make any required payment. An insurance company that fails or
refuses to provide information as required by this article may have
a civil penalty assessed of $500 per violation by the bureau. Per
violation means per person not reported.
(c) If an insurance company has received notice of a child
support income withholding obligation from the bureau and fails or
refuses to surrender property subject to the income withholding,
the insurance company is liable to the bureau for the amount of
support included in the notice.
(d) Information provided by the bureau to an insurance company
under this article may only be used for the purpose of assisting
the bureau in collecting past-due child support and in
establishing, modifying or enforcing a medical support order. Any
individual or company who uses such information for any other
purpose is subject to a penalty of up to $1,000 per violation to be
accessed by the bureau. Per violation means per person not
reported.
(e) A delay in payment of insurance proceeds to a claimant as
a result of an insurance company's compliance with this article is not an unfair or deceptive act or practice defined in section four,
article eleven, chapter thirty-three of this code
or to chapter
twenty-three relating to workers' compensation claims handling or
related administrative rules.
§48-14-1106. Rule-making.
The secretary may propose rules in accordance with article
three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code that are necessary to
effectuate the requirements and purposes of this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish a child support
insurance match program
that will assist the Bureau for Child
Support Enforcement
in determining whether a claimant has a child
support obligation
. The bill provides exemptions. The bill sets
forth additional information insurance companies must provide. The
bill sets forth the bureau's and the insurance companies'
respective obligations. The bill requires
health insurance
companies to participate in a data matching program with the bureau
to assist in determining the availability of sources of health care
insurance or coverage for beneficiaries of the child support
program
. The bill sets forth what information is to be supplied by
the insurance companies and provides exceptions. The bill exempts
insurance companies from liability for providing the requested
information. The bill grants the bureau enforcement
responsibilities. The bill establishes monetary penalties. The bill
authorizes rule-making.
§48-14-1101, §48-14-1102, §48-14-1103, §48-14-1104,
§48-14-1105 and §48-14-1106 are new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.