Relates to membership of volunteer fire and volunteer ambulance members in group or blanket accident and health insurance policies

2 Co-sponsors

• Kathleen A. Marchione
• Marc Panepinto

BILL NUMBER:S2356

Title of bill

An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to membership in group or blanket accident and health insurance policies

Purpose

To require providers of health insurance services to provide health insurance to volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers whose public corporation has elected to extend such coverage to them pursuant to section 92-a of the general municipal law.

Summary of provisions

Amends section 3221 of the insurance law to require providers of health insurance services to add members of volunteer fire and ambulance companies to be added to contracts to provide health insurance if a public corporation elects to provide such insurance to such members pursuant to section 92-a of the general municipal law, notwithstanding the fact that such members may not meet the definition of an "employee" that may be contained in a contract of insurance between such public corporation and a provider of health insurance services.

Justification

Chapters 331 of the laws of 2008 and Chapter 71 of the Laws of 2009 allowed municipal corporations to allow volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers to participate in their health insurance programs, provided that the volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers paid the total cost of participating in these plans. Since then, several HMOs and insurance companies have refused to extend this coverage to volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers on the grounds that they are not employees of the participating public corporations. This bill corrects this defect in the law.

Legislative history

S.3465 of 2013-14; S.5092 of 2011-12

Fiscal implications

None

Local fiscal implications

None

Effective date

Immediately