Kan. Gov. Sebelius Pens Insurance-Related Bills

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has signed 17 bills into law and vetoed one. During the 2005 session, she has signed 152 bills and vetoed four. Among the signed bills related to the insurance industry:

Clarifications to health insurance policies

HB 2203 amends KSA 40-19c06 by adding language that permits nonprofit medical and hospital service corporations to cancel health insurance policies without offering continuation coverage if the policy is terminated for cause as permitted by the group policy or the certificate of coverage issued by the Commissioner of Insurance. The bill changes the schedule of tax credits and adds health savings accounts to the employer contributions that qualify for a tax credit. The provisions apply to small employers who have not contributed to a covered employee’s health insurance premium or health savings account in the previous two years.

Self audits of insurance companies

HB 2357 enacts new law relating to self audits conducted by insurance companies. The bill makes an insurance compliance self-evaluative audit document privileged information and, therefore, not subject to discovery or admissible as evidence in any civil, criminal, or administrative proceeding. It also clarifies in which situations the privileges are not applied.

Inspection reports of adult care homes

SB 100 amends existing law, KSA 39-935, related to inspection reports of adult care homes. It allows facilities to establish a risk management program that consists of a system for investigation and analysis of the frequency and causes of reportable incidents within the facility; measures to minimize the occurrence of reportable incidents and the resulting injuries within the facility; and a reporting system based upon the duty of all health care providers staffing the facility and all agents and employees of the facility directly involved in the delivery of health care services to report reportable incidents to the chief of the medical staff, chief administrative officer, or risk manager of the facility. The bill also provides that nothing relating to the establishment and maintenance of a risk management program shall be construed to limit or impair a person’s or entity’s discovery of or access to any such report, record, inspection, or survey under state or federal law; limit or impair the authority of the Kansas Department on Aging to investigate complaints or reportable incidents under state or federal law; or diminish or expand the Department’s discovery of or access to Quality Assessment and Assurance Committee records under state or federal law.

Expansion of “employee” definition in Kansas Tort Claims Act

SB 161 amends the Kansas Tort Claims Act to expand the definition of employee to the extent that employee includes private not-for-profit corporations or charitable or social service organizations, for claims arising from the performance of community service work when the court has assigned persons to perform community service work for a governmental entity.