Other Languages1. The Washington State Health Insurance Pool is an entity created by statute for specified state purposes and lacks the authority to assume the form of a non-profit corporation. 2. The Washington State Health Insurance Pool cannot effectively, through amending its plan of operation and obtaining the approval of the Insurance Commissioner, change the extent to which its board members, officers, or employees are liable for their actions.
The insurance commissioner has the authority to notify insurers that the term "physician" as used in a policy of disability insurance is ambiguous and must be considered to include chiropodists unless otherwise expressly excluded by definition.
1. If an employer offers its employees a health care package that includes prescription drug coverage, it is an “unfair practice” contrary to state statute (and in many cases also to federal law) to exclude coverage of prescription contraceptives, even on the basis of the “conscientious objector” statute, RCW 48.43.065. 2. The insurance commissioner has authority to require health care insurance carriers to include the cost of prescription contraceptives as a component in the rate setting actuarial analysis, where an employer raises a conscientious objection to paying these costs directly as part of that employer’s employee health care benefit package.
1. RCW 48.02.065(1), making certain records provided to the Insurance Commissioner privileged and confidential, is mandatory and does not grant the Commissioner discretion to release the records in response to a public disclosure request. 2. The confidential and privileged status conferred by RCW 48.02.065(1) and (6) extends to working papers, documents, materials, or information disclosed in the course of a financial or market conduct examination to a contractor or consultant acting under the direction of the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. 3. Records rendered confidential and privileged under RCW 48.02.065 remain confidential and privileged, even if the Insurance Commissioner does not issue any financial or market conduct examination report relating to such records.
1. RCW 48.21.200, as amended, does not require a secondary insurer to pay the full policy amount to an insured who has dual or multiple coverage, whether the policies in question are individual or group policies. 2. In enacting amendments to RCW 48.21.200, the Legislature intended to allow insurers to reduce overall health insurance cost by coordinating benefits in cases of dual or multiple coverage, subject to implementing regulations to be adopted by the insurance commissioner.
1. Employers have a statutory right to exclude coverage of specific procedures or services when they provide health insurance to employees, but this right is limited by other state statutes and federal laws if the exercise of the right results in discrimination on the basis of gender. 2. WAC 284-43-822 does not supersede the “conscience” rights of employers under RCW 48.43.065 but may (along with the statutes it implements) limit the ways in which the “conscience” rights are exercised.
The public notice and hearing provisions of chapter 42.32 RCW are not applicable when changes in insurance rates are filed with and reviewed by the insurance commissioner; however, any member of the public affected by an increase or a threatened increase in his insurance rates may demand a full hearing before the commissioner.
The Washington Life and Disability Insurance Guaranty Association, with the approval of the state insurance commissioner, may continue to impose the lien on life insurance policies previously imposed by the Federal Old Line Insurance Company; and it may impose a similar lien on policies issued by Federal Old Line on or after April 1, 1949; the Guaranty Association may also discontinue a past practice of Federal Old Line of waiving certain liens upon death claims and maturities; and it may limit the payment of interest declared by Federal Old Line to October 7, 1968.
Where, in the process of selling an automobile on a conditional sales contract, a dealer solicits and obtains an application for group credit life and/or health and accident insurance from the automobile purchaser which the dealer then forwards, together with an assignment of the conditional sales contract, to a bank which holds the master group insurance policy, the dealer is required to be licensed as an insurance agent under RCW 48.17.060 if by arrangement the assignee bank discounts the conditional sales contract at a more favorable discount rate than when the conditional sales contract is not accompanied by an insurance application for coverage under the bank's master group insurance policy.
The insurance commissioner has the authority in the exercise of his discretion to issue a solicitation permit for subsequent financing under RCW 48.06.180 for an initial effective period in excess of two years.