Senate Bill No. 544
(By Senator Craigo, Unger, Sharpe, Minard, Ross, Minear, Walker,
Bailey, Dittmar and Anderson)
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[Introduced February 18, 2000; referred to the Committee
on Banking and Insurance.]
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A BILL to amend article four, chapter thirty-three of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twenty-one, relating to prohibiting certain health insurers
in the state from penalizing or discriminating against
subscribers who use the 911 emergency telephone system to
obtain emergency ambulance services.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article four, chapter thirty-three of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twenty-one, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
§33-4-21. Prohibited acts.
Except as exempted under this code, all health insurers,
nonprofit health service plans, managed care plans or other
individuals or groups providing for the payment of medical services
and goods shall not:
(a) In any way penalize or discriminate against a subscriber
for accessing the 911 telephone system to obtain emergency
ambulance services; or
(b) Use false or misleading language in enrollment sales
materials or in any other materials provided to subscribers or
potential subscribers to discourage or prohibit subscribers from
accessing the 911 telephone system for emergency ambulance
services.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit certain health
insurers, nonprofit health service plans, health maintenance
organizations and others from establishing or promoting an
emergency system in competition with the 911 service and from
providing false or misleading information to discourage or prevent
subscribers from utilizing the 911 system.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.