513C.10  Iowa individual health benefit reinsurance association.

1.  A nonprofit corporation is established to be known as the Iowa individual health benefit reinsurance association. All persons that provide health benefit plans in this state including insurers providing accident and sickness insurance under chapter 509, 514, or 514A; fraternal benefit societies providing hospital, medical, or nursing benefits under chapter 512B; and health maintenance organizations, organized delivery systems, and all other entities providing health insurance or health benefits subject to state insurance regulation shall be members of this association. The association shall be incorporated under chapter 504A, shall operate under a plan of operation established and approved pursuant to chapter 504A, and shall exercise its powers through a board of directors established under this section.

2.  The initial board of directors of the association shall consist of seven members appointed by the commissioner as follows:

a.  Four members shall be representatives of the four largest domestic carriers of individual health insurance in the state as of the calendar year ending December 31, 1994.

b.  Three members shall be representatives of the three largest carriers of health insurance in the state, excluding Medicare supplement coverage premiums, which are not otherwise represented. In the event a carrier to be represented pursuant to this paragraph does not appoint a representative, the board member shall be a representative of the next largest carrier which satisfies the criteria.

After an initial term, board members shall be nominated and elected by the members of the association.

Members of the board may be reimbursed from the funds of the association for expenses incurred by them as members, but shall not otherwise be compensated by the association for their services.

3.  The association shall submit to the commissioner a plan of operation for the association and any amendments to the association's articles of incorporation necessary and appropriate to assure the fair, reasonable, and equitable administration of the association. The plan shall provide for the sharing of losses related to basic and standard plans, if any, on an equitable and proportional basis among the members of the association. If the association fails to submit a suitable plan of operation within one hundred eighty days after the appointment of the board of directors, the commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to implement this section. The rules shall continue in force until modified by the commissioner or superseded by a plan submitted by the association and approved by the commissioner. In addition to other requirements, the plan of operation shall provide for all of the following:

a.  The handling and accounting of assets and funds of the association.

b.  The amount of and method for reimbursing the expenses of board members.

c.  Regular times and places for meetings of the board of directors.

d.  Records to be kept relating to all financial transactions, and annual fiscal reporting to the commissioner.

e.  Procedures for selecting the board of directors.

f.  Additional provisions necessary or proper for the execution of the powers and duties of the association.

4.  The plan of operation may provide that the powers and duties of the association may be delegated to a person who will perform functions similar to those of the association. A delegation under this section takes effect only upon the approval of the board of directors.

5.  The association has the general powers and authority enumerated by this section and executed in accordance with the plan of operation approved by the commissioner under subsection 3. In addition, the association may do any of the following:

a.  Enter into contracts as necessary or proper to administer this chapter.

b.  Sue or be sued, including taking any legal action necessary or proper for recovery of any assessments for, on behalf of, or against members of the association or other participating persons.

c.  Appoint from among members appropriate legal, actuarial, and other committees as necessary to provide technical assistance in the operation of the association, including the hiring of independent consultants as necessary.

d.  Perform any other functions within the authority of the association.

6.  Rates for basic and standard coverages as provided in this chapter shall be determined by each carrier or organized delivery system as the product of a basic and standard factor and the lowest rate available for issuance by that carrier or organized delivery system adjusted for rating characteristics and benefits. Basic and standard factors shall be established annually by the Iowa individual health benefit reinsurance association board with the approval of the commissioner. Multiple basic and standard factors for a distinct grouping of basic and standard policies may be established. A basic and standard factor is limited to a minimum value defined as the ratio of the average of the lowest rate available for issuance and the maximum rate allowable by law divided by the lowest rate available for issuance. A basic and standard factor is limited to a maximum value defined as the ratio of the maximum rate allowable by law divided by the lowest rate available for issuance. The maximum rate allowable by law and the lowest rate available for issuance is determined based on the rate restrictions under this chapter. However, to maintain assessable loss assessments at or below one percent of total health insurance premiums or payments as determined in accordance with subsection 10, the Iowa individual health benefit reinsurance association board with the approval of the commissioner may increase the value for any basic and standard factor greater than the maximum value and with the approval of the commissioner may increase cost sharing provisions including, but not limited to, basic and standard plan deductibles, coinsurance, or copayments.

7.  Following the close of each calendar year, the association, in conjunction with the commissioner, shall require each carrier or organized delivery system to report the amount of earned premiums and the associated paid losses for all basic and standard plans issued by the carrier or organized delivery system. The reporting of these amounts must be certified by an officer of the carrier or organized delivery system.

8.  The board shall develop procedures and make assessments and distributions as required to equalize the individual carrier and organized delivery system gains or losses so that each carrier or organized delivery system receives the same ratio of paid claims to ninety percent of earned premiums as the aggregate of all basic and standard plans insured by all carriers and organized delivery systems in the state.

9.  If the statewide aggregate ratio of paid claims to ninety percent of earned premiums is greater than one, the dollar difference between ninety percent of earned premiums and the paid claims shall represent an assessable loss.

10.  The assessable loss plus necessary operating expenses for the association, plus any additional expenses as provided by law, shall be assessed by the association to all members in proportion to their respective shares of total health insurance premiums or payments for subscriber contracts received in Iowa during the second preceding calendar year, or with paid losses in the year, coinciding with or ending during the calendar year, or on any other equitable basis as provided in the plan of operation. In sharing losses, the association may abate or defer any part of the assessment of a member, if, in the opinion of the board, payment of the assessment would endanger the ability of the member to fulfill its contractual obligations. The association may also provide for an initial or interim assessment against the members of the association to meet the operating expenses of the association until the next calendar year is completed.

11.  The board shall develop procedures for distributing the assessable loss assessments to each carrier and organized delivery system in proportion to the carrier's and organized delivery system's respective share of premium for basic and standard plans to the statewide total premium for all basic and standard plans.

12.  The board shall ensure that procedures for collecting and distributing assessments are as efficient as possible for carriers and organized delivery systems. The board may establish procedures which combine, or offset, the assessment from, and the distribution due to, a carrier or organized delivery system.

13.  A carrier or an organized delivery system may petition the association board to seek remedy from writing a significantly disproportionate share of basic and standard policies in relation to total premiums written in this state for health benefit plans. Upon a finding that a carrier or organized delivery system has written a disproportionate share, the board may agree to compensate the carrier or organized delivery system either by paying to the carrier or organized delivery system an additional fee not to exceed two percent of earned premiums from basic and standard policies for that carrier or organized delivery system or by petitioning the commissioner or director, as appropriate, for remedy.

14. a.  The commissioner, upon a finding that the acceptance of the offer of basic and standard coverage by individuals pursuant to this chapter would place the carrier in a financially impaired condition, shall not require the carrier to offer coverage or accept applications for any period of time the financial impairment is deemed to exist.

b.  The director, upon a finding that the acceptance of the offer of basic and standard coverage by individuals pursuant to this chapter would place the organized delivery system in a financially impaired condition, shall not require the organized delivery system to offer coverage or accept applications for any period of time the financial impairment is deemed to exist.

Section History: Recent form

  95 Acts, ch 5, §12; 2000 Acts, ch 1023, §21

Internal References

  Referred to in § 513C.5, 513C.9, 513C.11


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