TITLE 41

INSURANCE

CHAPTER 47

SMALL EMPLOYER HEALTH INSURANCE AVAILABILITY ACT

41-4703.  Definitions. As used in this chapter:

(1)  "Actuarial certification" means a written statement by a member of the American academy of actuaries or other individual acceptable to the director that a small employer carrier is in compliance with the provisions of section 41-4706, Idaho Code, based upon the person’s examination and including a review of the appropriate records and the actuarial assumptions and methods used by the small employer carrier in establishing premium rates for applicable health benefit plans.

(2)  "Affiliate" or "affiliated" means any entity or person who directly or indirectly through one (1) or more intermediaries, controls or is controlled by, or is under common control with, a specified entity or person.

(3)  "Agent" means a producer as defined in section 41-1003(8), Idaho Code.

(4)  "Base premium rate" means, for each class of business as to a rating period, the lowest premium rate charged or that could have been charged under a rating system for that class of business by the small employer carrier to small employers with similar case characteristics for health benefit plans with the same or similar coverage.

(5)  "Board" means the board of directors of the small employer reinsurance program and the individual high risk reinsurance pool as provided for in section 41-5502, Idaho Code.

(6)  "Carrier" means any entity that provides, or is authorized to provide, health insurance in this state. For the purposes of this chapter, carrier includes an insurance company, a hospital or professional service corporation, a fraternal benefit society, a health maintenance organization, any entity providing health insurance coverage or benefits to residents of this state as certificate holders under a group policy issued or delivered outside of this state, and any other entity providing a plan of health insurance or health benefits subject to state insurance regulation.

(7)  "Case characteristics" means demographic or other objective characteristics of a small employer that are considered by the small employer carrier in the determination of premium rates for the small employer, provided that claim experience, health status and duration of coverage shall not be case characteristics for the purposes of this chapter.

(8)  "Catastrophic health benefit plan" means a higher limit health benefit plan developed pursuant to section 41-4712, Idaho Code.

(9)  "Class of business" means all or a separate grouping of small employers established pursuant to section 41-4705, Idaho Code.

(10) "Control" shall be defined in the same manner as in section 41-3802(2), Idaho Code.

(11) "Dependent" in any new or renewing plan means a spouse, an unmarried child under the age of twenty-five (25) years and who receives more than one-half (1/2) of his financial support from the parent, or an unmarried child of any age who is medically certified as disabled and dependent upon the parent.

(12) "Director" means the director of the department of insurance of the state of Idaho.

(13) "Eligible employee" means an employee who works on a full-time basis and has a normal work week of thirty (30) or more hours or, by agreement between the employer and the carrier, an employee who works between twenty (20) and thirty (30) hours per week. The term includes a sole proprietor, a partner of a partnership, and an independent contractor, if the sole proprietor, partner or independent contractor is included as an employee under a health benefit plan of a small employer, but does not include an employee who works on a part-time, temporary, seasonal or substitute basis. The term eligible employee may include public officers and public employees without regard to the number of hours worked when designated by a small employer.

(14) "Established geographic service area" means a geographic area, as approved by the director and based on the carrier’s certificate of authority to transact insurance in this state, within which the carrier is authorized to provide coverage.

(15) "Health benefit plan" means any hospital or medical policy or certificate, any subscriber contract provided by a hospital or professional service corporation, or managed care organization subscriber contract. Health benefit plan does not include policies or certificates of insurance for specific disease, hospital confinement indemnity, accident-only, credit, dental, vision, medicare supplement, long-term care, or disability income insurance, student health benefits only coverage issued as a supplement to liability insurance, worker’s compensation or similar insurance, automobile medical payment insurance or nonrenewable short-term coverage issues for a period of twelve (12) months or less.

(16) "Index rate" means, for each class of business as to a rating period for small employers with similar case characteristics, the arithmetic average of the applicable base premium rate and the corresponding highest premium rate.

(17) "Late enrollee" means an eligible employee or dependent who requests enrollment in a health benefit plan of a small employer following the initial enrollment period during which the individual is entitled to enroll under the terms of the health benefit plan, provided that the initial enrollment period is a period of at least thirty (30) days. However, an eligible employee or dependent shall not be considered a late enrollee if:

(a)  The individual meets each of the following:

(i)   The individual was covered under qualifying previous coverage at the time of the initial enrollment;

(ii)  The individual lost coverage under qualifying previous coverage as a result of termination of employment or eligibility, or the involuntary termination of the qualifying previous coverage; and

(iii) The individual requests enrollment within thirty (30) days after termination of the qualifying previous coverage.

(b)  The individual is employed by an employer which offers multiple health benefit plans and the individual elects a different plan during an open enrollment period.

(c)  A court has ordered coverage be provided for a spouse or minor or dependent child under a covered employee’s health benefit plan and request for enrollment is made within thirty (30) days after issuance of the court order.

(d)  The individual first becomes eligible.

(e)  If an individual seeks to enroll a dependent during the first sixty (60) days of eligibility, the coverage of the dependent shall become effective:

(i)   In the case of marriage, not later than the first day of the first month beginning after the date the completed request for enrollment is received;

(ii)  In the case of a dependent’s birth, as of the date of such birth; or

(iii) In the case of a dependent’s adoption or placement for adoption, the date of such adoption or placement for adoption.

(18) "New business premium rate" means, for each class of business as to a rating period, the lowest premium rate charged or offered or which could have been charged or offered by the small employer carrier to small employers with similar case characteristics for newly issued health benefit plans with the same or similar coverage.

(19) "Plan of operation" means the plan of operation of the program established pursuant to section 41-4711, Idaho Code.

(20) "Plan year" means the year that is designated as the plan year in the plan document of a group health benefit plan, except that if the plan document does not designate a plan year or if there is no plan document, the plan year is:

(a)  The deductible/limit year used under the plan;

(b)  If the plan does not impose deductibles or limits on a yearly basis, then the plan year is the policy year;

(c)  If the plan does not impose deductibles or limits on a yearly basis or the insurance policy is not renewed on an annual basis, then the plan year is the employer’s taxable year; or

(d)  In any other case, the plan year is the calendar year.

(21) "Premium" means all moneys paid by a small employer and eligible employees as a condition of receiving coverage from a small employer carrier, including any fees or other contributions associated with the health benefit plan.

(22) "Program" means the Idaho small employer reinsurance program created in section 41-4711, Idaho Code.

(23) "Qualifying previous coverage" and "qualifying existing coverage" mean benefits or coverage provided under:

(a)  Medicare or medicaid, civilian health and medical program for uniformed services (CHAMPUS), the Indian health service program, a state health benefit risk pool or any other similar publicly sponsored program; or

(b)  Any other group or individual health insurance policy or health benefit arrangement whether or not subject to the state insurance laws, including coverage provided by a health maintenance organization, hospital or professional service corporation, or a fraternal benefit society, that provides benefits similar to or exceeding benefits provided under the basic health benefit plan.

(24) "Rating period" means the calendar period for which premium rates established by a small employer carrier are assumed to be in effect.

(25) "Reinsuring carrier" means a small employer carrier participating in the reinsurance program pursuant to section 41-4711, Idaho Code.

(26) "Restricted network provision" means any provision of a health benefit plan that conditions the payment of benefits, in whole or in part, on the use of health care providers that have entered into a contractual arrangement with the carrier to provide health care services to covered individuals.

(27) "Risk-assuming carrier" means a small employer carrier whose application is approved by the director pursuant to section 41-4710, Idaho Code.

(28) "Small employer" means any person, firm, corporation, partnership or association that is actively engaged in business that employed an average of at least two (2) but no more than fifty (50) eligible employees on business days during the preceding calendar year and that employs at least two (2) but no more than fifty (50) eligible employees on the first day of the plan year, the majority of whom were and are employed within this state. In determining the number of eligible employees, companies that are affiliated companies, or that are eligible to file a combined tax return for purposes of state taxation, shall be considered one (1) employer.

(29) "Small employer basic health benefit plan" means a lower cost health benefit plan developed pursuant to section 41-4712, Idaho Code.

(30) "Small employer carrier" means a carrier that offers health benefit plans covering eligible employees of one (1) or more small employers in this state.

(31) "Small employer catastrophic health benefit plan" means a higher limit health benefit plan developed pursuant to section 41-4712, Idaho Code.

(32) "Small employer standard health benefit plan" means a health benefit plan developed pursuant to section 41-4712, Idaho Code.

History:

[41-4703, added 1993, ch. 176, sec. 1, p. 435; am. 1994, ch. 427, sec. 2, p. 1349; am. 1995, ch. 360, sec. 2, p. 1237; am. 1997, ch. 321, sec. 12, p. 964; am. 1998, ch. 143, sec. 1, p. 507; am. 2000, ch. 472, sec. 2, p. 1604; am. 2001, ch. 296, sec. 8, p. 1064; am. 2003, ch. 267, sec. 1, p. 707; am. 2007, ch. 148, sec. 2, p. 428; am. 2009, ch. 125, sec. 8, p. 398; am. 2013, ch. 266, sec. 13, p. 689.]