Full Text of HB0650 96th General Assembly
HB0650eng 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning insurance.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Illinois Insurance Code is amended by | 5 |
| changing Section 367f as follows:
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| (215 ILCS 5/367f) (from Ch. 73, par. 979f)
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| Sec. 367f. Firemen's continuance privilege. As used in this | 8 |
| Section:
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| 1. The terms "municipality", "deferred pensioner" and | 10 |
| "creditable service"
shall have the meaning ascribed to such | 11 |
| terms by Sections 4-103, 4-105a and
4-108, respectively, of the | 12 |
| Illinois Pension Code, as now or hereafter amended.
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| 2. The terms "fireman" and "firemen" shall have the meaning | 14 |
| ascribed
to the term "firefighter" by Section 4-106 of the | 15 |
| Illinois
Pension Code, and include those persons under the | 16 |
| coverage of Article 4 of
that Code, as heretofore or hereafter | 17 |
| amended.
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| 3. The "retirement or disability period" of a fireman means | 19 |
| the period:
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| a. which begins on the day the fireman is removed from | 21 |
| a municipality's
fire department payroll because of the | 22 |
| occurrence of any of the following
events, to wit: (i) the | 23 |
| fireman retires as a deferred pensioner under Section
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| 4-105a of the Illinois Pension Code, (ii) the fireman | 2 |
| retires from active
service as a fireman with an attained | 3 |
| age and accumulated creditable service
which together | 4 |
| qualify the fireman for immediate receipt of retirement | 5 |
| pension
benefits under Section 4-109 of the Illinois | 6 |
| Pension Code, or (iii) the
fireman's disability is | 7 |
| established under Section 4-112 of the Illinois
Pension | 8 |
| Code; and
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| b. which ends on the first to occur of any of the | 10 |
| following events,
to wit: (i) the fireman's reinstatement | 11 |
| or reentry into active service
on the municipality's fire | 12 |
| department as provided for under Article 4 of
the Illinois | 13 |
| Pension Code, (ii) the fireman's exercise of any refund | 14 |
| option
available under Section 4-116 of the Illinois | 15 |
| Pension Code, (iii) the fireman's
loss pursuant to Section | 16 |
| 4-138 of the Illinois Pension Code of any benefits
provided | 17 |
| for in Article 4 of that Code, or (iv) the fireman's death | 18 |
| or --
if at the time of the fireman's death the fireman is | 19 |
| survived by a spouse
who, in that capacity, is entitled to | 20 |
| receive a surviving spouse's monthly
pension pursuant to | 21 |
| Article 4 of the Illinois Pension Code -- then the death
or | 22 |
| remarriage of that spouse ; and .
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| c. during which, notwithstanding subsections 3a or 3b | 24 |
| of this Section, the disabled or retired fireman, if not | 25 |
| enrolled in the municipal group insurance plan at the time | 26 |
| of disability or retirement, may elect to enroll in the |
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| municipal group insurance plan during an open enrollment | 2 |
| period; the disabled or retired fireman, if not enrolled
in | 3 |
| the municipal group insurance plan at the time of
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| disability or retirement, may elect to enroll in the | 5 |
| municipal group insurance plan during an open enrollment | 6 |
| period but not after the fireman becomes eligible for | 7 |
| federal Medicare coverage and not more than once; the | 8 |
| fireman must be insurable and must pay the cost of the | 9 |
| insurance premium at a rate set in accordance with this | 10 |
| Code in order to reenter the municipal group insurance | 11 |
| plan. | 12 |
| No policy of group accident and health insurance under | 13 |
| which firemen
employed by a municipality are insured for their | 14 |
| individual benefit shall
be issued or delivered in this State | 15 |
| to any municipality unless such group
policy provides for the | 16 |
| election of continued group insurance coverage for
the | 17 |
| retirement or disability period of each fireman or an election | 18 |
| exercised under subsection 3c of this Section during any open | 19 |
| enrollment period who is insured under the
provisions of the | 20 |
| group policy on the day immediately preceding the day
on which | 21 |
| the retirement or disability period of such fireman begins . So
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| long as any required premiums for continued group insurance | 23 |
| coverage are
paid in accordance with the provisions of the | 24 |
| group policy, an election
made pursuant to this Section shall | 25 |
| provide continued group insurance
coverage for a fireman | 26 |
| throughout the retirement or disability period of
the fireman |
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| and, unless the fireman otherwise elects and subject to any
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| other provisions of the group policy which relate either to the | 3 |
| provision
or to the termination of dependents' coverage and | 4 |
| which are not
inconsistent with this Section, for any | 5 |
| dependents of the fireman who are
insured under the group | 6 |
| policy on the day immediately preceding the day on
which the | 7 |
| retirement or disability period of the fireman begins ; | 8 |
| provided,
however, that when such continued group insurance | 9 |
| coverage is in effect
with respect to a fireman on the date
of | 10 |
| the fireman's death but the retirement or disability period of | 11 |
| the fireman
does not end with such fireman's death, then the | 12 |
| deceased fireman's surviving
spouse upon whose death or | 13 |
| remarriage such retirement or disability period
will end shall | 14 |
| be entitled, without further election and upon payment of
any | 15 |
| required premiums in accordance with the provisions of the | 16 |
| group policy,
to maintain such continued group
insurance | 17 |
| coverage in effect until the end of such retirement or | 18 |
| disability
period. Continued group insurance coverage shall be | 19 |
| provided in accordance
with this Section at the same premium | 20 |
| rate from time to time charged for
equivalent coverage provided | 21 |
| under the group policy with respect to covered
firemen whose | 22 |
| retirement or disability period has not begun, and no | 23 |
| distinction
or discrimination in the amount or rate of premiums | 24 |
| or in any waiver of premium
or other benefit provision shall be | 25 |
| made between continued group insurance
coverage elected | 26 |
| pursuant to this Section and equivalent coverage provided
to |
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| firemen under the group policy other than pursuant to the | 2 |
| provisions
of this Section; provided that no municipality shall | 3 |
| be required by reason
of any provision of this Section to pay | 4 |
| any group insurance premium other
than one that may be | 5 |
| negotiated in a collective bargaining agreement.
If a person | 6 |
| electing continued coverage under this Section becomes
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| eligible for medicare coverage, benefits under the group policy | 8 |
| may
continue as a supplement to the medicare coverage upon | 9 |
| payment of any
required premiums to maintain the benefits of | 10 |
| the group policy as
supplemental coverage.
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| Within 15 days of the beginning of the retirement or | 12 |
| disability period
of any fireman entitled to elect continued | 13 |
| group insurance coverage under any
group policy affected by | 14 |
| this Section, the municipality last employing such
fireman | 15 |
| shall give written notice of such beginning by certified mail, | 16 |
| return
receipt requested to the insurance company issuing such | 17 |
| policy. The notice
shall include the fireman's name and last | 18 |
| known place of residence and the
beginning date of the | 19 |
| fireman's retirement or disability period.
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| Within 15 days of the date of receipt of such notice from | 21 |
| the municipality,
the insurance company by certified mail, | 22 |
| return receipt requested, shall
give written notice to the | 23 |
| fireman at the fireman's last known place of
residence that | 24 |
| coverage under the group policy may be continued for the
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| retirement or disability period of the fireman as provided in | 26 |
| this Section.
Such notice shall set forth: (i) a statement of |
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| election to be filed by
the fireman if the fireman wishes to | 2 |
| continue such group insurance coverage,
(ii) the amount of | 3 |
| monthly premium, including a statement of the portion
of such | 4 |
| monthly premium attributable to any dependents' coverage which | 5 |
| the
fireman may elect, and (iii) instructions as to the return | 6 |
| of the election
form to the insurance company issuing such | 7 |
| policy. Election shall be made,
if at all, by returning the | 8 |
| statement of election to the insurance company by
certified | 9 |
| mail, return receipt requested within 15 days after having | 10 |
| received it.
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| If the fireman elects to continue coverage, it shall be the | 12 |
| obligation
of the fireman to pay the monthly premium directly | 13 |
| to the municipality which
shall forward it to the insurance | 14 |
| company
issuing the group insurance policy, or as otherwise | 15 |
| directed by the insurance
company; provided, however, that the | 16 |
| fireman shall be entitled to designate
on the statement of | 17 |
| election required to be filed with the insurance company
that | 18 |
| the total monthly premium, or such portion thereof as is not
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| contributed by a municipality, be deducted by a Firefighter's | 20 |
| Pension
Fund from any monthly pension payment otherwise payable
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| to or on behalf of the fireman pursuant to Article 4 of the | 22 |
| Illinois Pension
Code, and be remitted by such Pension Fund to | 23 |
| the insurance company. The
portion, if any, of the monthly | 24 |
| premium contributed by a
municipality for such continued group | 25 |
| insurance coverage shall be paid by
the municipality directly | 26 |
| to the insurance company issuing the group insurance
policy, or |
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| as otherwise directed by the insurance company. Such continued
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| group insurance coverage shall relate back to the beginning of | 3 |
| the fireman's
retirement or disability period.
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| The amendment, renewal or extension of any group insurance | 5 |
| policy affected
by this Section shall be deemed to be the | 6 |
| issuance of a new policy of insurance
for purposes of this | 7 |
| Section.
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| In the event that a municipality makes a program of | 9 |
| accident, health,
hospital or medical benefits available to its | 10 |
| firemen through
self-insurance, or by participation in a pool | 11 |
| or reciprocal insurer, or by
contract in a form other than a | 12 |
| policy of group insurance with one or more
medical service | 13 |
| plans, health care service corporations, health maintenance
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| organizations, or any other professional corporations or plans | 15 |
| under which
health care or reimbursement for the costs thereof | 16 |
| is
provided, whether the cost of such benefits is borne by the | 17 |
| municipality or
the firemen or both, such firemen and their | 18 |
| surviving spouses shall have
the same right to elect continued | 19 |
| coverage under such program of benefits
as they would have if | 20 |
| such benefits were provided by a policy of group
accident and | 21 |
| health insurance. In such cases, the notice of right to elect
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| continued coverage shall be sent by the municipality; the | 23 |
| statement of
election shall be sent to the municipality; and | 24 |
| references to the required
premium shall refer to that portion | 25 |
| of the cost of such benefits which is not
borne by the | 26 |
| municipality, either voluntarily or pursuant to the provisions
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| of a collective bargaining agreement. In the case of a | 2 |
| municipality
providing such benefits through self-insurance or | 3 |
| participation in a pool or
reciprocal insurer, the right to | 4 |
| elect continued coverage which is provided
by this paragraph | 5 |
| shall be implemented and made available to the firemen of
the | 6 |
| municipality and qualifying surviving spouses not later than | 7 |
| July 1, 1985.
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| The amendment, renewal or extension of any such contract in | 9 |
| a form other
than a policy of group insurance policy shall be | 10 |
| deemed the formation of a
new contract for the purposes of this | 11 |
| Section.
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| This Section shall not limit the exercise of any conversion | 13 |
| privileges
available under Section 367e.
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| Pursuant to paragraphs (h) and (i) of Section 6 of Article | 15 |
| VII of the
Illinois Constitution, this Section specifically | 16 |
| denies and limits the
exercise by a home rule unit of any power | 17 |
| which is inconsistent with this
Section and all existing laws | 18 |
| and ordinances which are inconsistent with
this Section are | 19 |
| hereby superseded. This Section does not preempt the
concurrent | 20 |
| exercise by home rule units of powers consistent herewith. | 21 |
| The Division of Insurance of the Department of Financial | 22 |
| and Professional Regulation shall enforce the provisions of | 23 |
| this Section, including provisions relating to municipality | 24 |
| self-insured benefit plans.
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| (Source: P.A. 94-858, eff. 6-15-06.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
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| becoming law.
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