August 6,
2008
To the Honorable Members of the
Illinois House of Representatives
95th General Assembly
Pursuant
to Article IV, Section 9(e) of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby
return House Bill 5285, entitled “AN ACT concerning regulation.”, with the
following specific recommendations for change:
on
page 1, line 14, by replacing “and 356z.11” with “356z.11, and
356z.12”; and
on
page 2, line 8, by replacing “and 356z.11” with “356z.11, and 356z.12”;
and
on
page 3, line 3, by replacing “and 356z.11” with “356z.11, and 356z.12”;
and
on
page 3, line 20, by replacing “and 356z.11” with “356z.11, and
356z.12”; and
on page 4, line 1, by replacing “Section 356z.11”
with “Section 356z.11 and Section 356z.12”; and
on page 4, immediately below line 25, by inserting
the following:
“(215 ILCS 5/356z.12 new)
Sec. 356z.12. Dependent Coverage.
(a) A group or individual policy of accident and health insurance
or managed care plan that provides coverage for dependents and that is amended,
delivered, issued or renewed after the effective date of this amendatory Act of
the 95th General Assembly shall not terminate coverage or deny the election of
coverage for an unmarried dependent by reason of the dependent’s age before the
dependent’s 26th birthday.
(b) A policy or plan subject to
this Section shall, upon amendment, delivery, issuance, or renewal, establish
an initial enrollment period of not less than 90 days during which an insured
may make a written election for coverage of an unmarried person as a dependent
under this Section. After the initial enrollment period, enrollment by a
dependent pursuant to this Section shall be consistent with the enrollment
terms of the plan or policy.
(c) A policy or plan subject to
this Section shall allow for dependent coverage during the annual open
enrollment date or the annual renewal date if the dependent, as of the date on
which the insured elects dependent coverage under this subsection, has:
(1) a period of continuous
creditable coverage of 90 days or more; and
(2) not been without creditable
coverage for more than 63 days.
An insured may elect coverage for a dependent who does not
meet the continuous creditable coverage requirements of this subsection (c) and
that dependent shall not be denied coverage due to age.
For purposes of this subsection
(c), “creditable coverage” shall have the meaning provided under subsection
(C)(1) of Section 20 of the Illinois Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act.
(d) Military Personnel. A group or
individual policy of accident and health insurance or managed care plan that provides
coverage for dependents and that is amended, delivered, issued or renewed after
the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall
not terminate coverage or deny the election of coverage for an unmarried
dependent by reason of the dependent’s age before the dependent’s 30th birthday
if the dependent (i) is an Illinois resident, (ii) served as a member of the
active or reserve components of any of the branches of the Armed Forces of the
United States, and (iii) has received a release or discharge other than a dishonorable
discharge. To be eligible for coverage under this subsection (d), the eligible
dependent shall submit to the insurer a form approved by the Illinois
Department of Veterans Affairs stating the date on which the dependent was released
from service.
(e) Calculation of the cost of
coverage provided to an unmarried dependent under this Section shall be
identical.
(f) Nothing in this Section shall
prohibit an employer from requiring an employee to pay all or part of the cost
of coverage provided under this Section.
(g) No exclusions or limitations
may be applied to coverage elected pursuant to this Section that do not apply
to all dependents covered under the policy.
(h) A policy or plan subject to
this Section shall not condition eligibility for dependent coverage provided
pursuant to this Section on enrollment in any educational institution.
(i) Notice regarding coverage for a
dependent as provided pursuant to this Section shall be provided to an insured
by the insurer:
(1) upon application
or enrollment;
(2) in the certificate of coverage or
equivalent document prepared for an insured and delivered on or about the date
on which the coverage commences; and
(3) in a notice delivered to an insured on a
semi-annual basis.”; and
on page 5, line 10, by replacing “356z.11”
with “356z.11, 356z.12”; and
on page 10, line 7, by replacing “356z.11”
with “356z.11, 356z.12”.
With these changes, House Bill 5285 will have my approval.
I respectfully request your concurrence.
Sincerely,
ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH
Governor
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