Senate Bill 19-041 Summary

• Requires health insurance contracts to include a provision that policyholders pay premiums for each individual covered under their policy through the date the individual is no longer eligible or covered.

• Allows policyholders to notify carriers within ten business days after an individual becomes ineligible due to leaving employment without notice or termination for gross misconduct, with "gross misconduct" defined as deliberate wrongdoing that undermines employer-employee trust.

• Exempts dependent coverage changes involving enrollment in the children's basic health plan from the ten-day notification rule, requiring instead thirty days' prior notice.

• Permits carriers and policyholders to agree to alternative eligibility termination dates and allows the insurance commissioner to promulgate rules for consistency in eligibility notifications.

• Amends carrier claim adjustment rules to prevent retroactive eligibility-based adjustments unless the policyholder notified the carrier of ineligibility under the new provisions.

• Takes effect August 2, 2019, unless subject to a referendum petition, in which case it requires voter approval at the November 2020 general election.