Bill Text: NY A00160 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Creates the office of insurance consumer advocate within the department of financial services; provides that the office shall consist of five members; describes powers and duties; provides that such office be funded by an assessment upon domestic insurers and licensed U.S. branches of alien insurers domiciled in NYS.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to insurance [A00160 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A00160-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                           160
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 9, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. CAHILL -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Insurance
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  insurance  law, in relation to establishing the
          office of insurance consumer advocate within the department of  finan-
          cial services and describing its powers and duties
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section  210-a
     2  to read as follows:
     3    §  210-a.  Office  of insurance consumer advocate. (a) There is hereby
     4  created within the department the office of insurance consumer advocate,
     5  hereafter referred to in this section as the office. Such  office  shall
     6  consist  of five members, three of whom shall be appointed by the secre-
     7  tary of state and two of whom shall be appointed by the  superintendent.
     8  Members of the office shall receive no compensation for their service as
     9  members,  but  shall  be  allowed  their  actual  and necessary expenses
    10  incurred in the performance of their duties.
    11    (b) The office, together with the department of state, shall:
    12    (1) Assess the impact of insurance  regulatory  actions  on  New  York
    13  consumers.  Such assessment shall include the review of applications for
    14  subscriber rate changes filed by  health  insurance  providers  licensed
    15  pursuant  to  article forty-three of this chapter and article forty-four
    16  of the public health law.
    17    (2) Appear at public hearings as a representative of consumers, treat-
    18  ed as a class, with respect to rate-setting matters that are before  the
    19  superintendent that affect the consuming public.
    20    (3)  Possess  all rights and powers of any party at interest appearing
    21  before the department with regard to examination  and  cross-examination
    22  of witnesses and presentation of evidence.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01892-01-9

        A. 160                              2
     1    (4)  Have  access as any party, other than staff, to all records gath-
     2  ered by the department including nonprivileged material which  is  rele-
     3  vant  to  the  subject  matter  involved  in such proceedings before the
     4  department.
     5    (5)  Recommend  insurance-related  legislation  to  the legislature in
     6  consultation with the department of state that  in  its  judgment  would
     7  positively affect the interests of consumers.
     8    The  office  shall  not preempt the appearance of other consumer advo-
     9  cates at any official proceedings.
    10    (c) The office shall be funded by  an  assessment  upon  all  domestic
    11  insurers and all licensed United States branches of alien insurers domi-
    12  ciled  in  this  state  in the same manner as such insurers are assessed
    13  pursuant to section three hundred thirty-three  of  this  chapter.  Such
    14  assessment  shall be for the purpose of defraying the costs of creating,
    15  administering and operating the office.
    16    § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
    17  have become a law.
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