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| | 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB2478 Introduced , by Rep. Lou Lang SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
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215 ILCS 5/367f | from Ch. 73, par. 979f |
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Amends the Illinois Insurance Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the firemen's continuance privilege.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| | HB2478 | | LRB099 07609 JLS 27739 b |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning insurance.
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| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | | Section 5. The Illinois Insurance Code is amended by |
| 5 | | changing Section 367f as follows:
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| 6 | | (215 ILCS 5/367f) (from Ch. 73, par. 979f)
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| 7 | | Sec. 367f. Firemen's continuance privilege. As used in this |
| 8 | | Section:
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| 9 | | 1. The The terms "municipality", "deferred pensioner" and |
| 10 | | "creditable service"
shall have the meaning ascribed to such |
| 11 | | terms by Sections 4-103, 4-105a and
4-108, respectively, of the |
| 12 | | Illinois Pension Code, as now or hereafter amended.
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| 13 | | 2. The terms "fireman" and "firemen" shall have the meaning |
| 14 | | ascribed
to the term "firefighter" by Section 4-106 of the |
| 15 | | Illinois
Pension Code, and include those persons under the |
| 16 | | coverage of Article 4 of
that Code, as heretofore or hereafter |
| 17 | | amended.
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| 18 | | 3. The "retirement or disability period" of a fireman means |
| 19 | | the period:
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| 20 | | a. which begins on the day the fireman is removed from |
| 21 | | a municipality's
fire department payroll because of the |
| 22 | | occurrence of any of the following
events, to wit: (i) the |
| 23 | | fireman retires as a deferred pensioner under Section
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| 1 | | 4-105a of the Illinois Pension Code, (ii) the fireman |
| 2 | | retires from active
service as a fireman with an attained |
| 3 | | age and accumulated creditable service
which together |
| 4 | | qualify the fireman for immediate receipt of retirement |
| 5 | | pension
benefits under Section 4-109 of the Illinois |
| 6 | | Pension Code, or (iii) the
fireman's disability is |
| 7 | | established under Section 4-112 of the Illinois
Pension |
| 8 | | Code; and
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| 9 | | b. which ends on the first to occur of any of the |
| 10 | | following events,
to wit: (i) the fireman's reinstatement |
| 11 | | or reentry into active service
on the municipality's fire |
| 12 | | department as provided for under Article 4 of
the Illinois |
| 13 | | Pension Code, (ii) the fireman's exercise of any refund |
| 14 | | option
available under Section 4-116 of the Illinois |
| 15 | | Pension Code, (iii) the fireman's
loss pursuant to Section |
| 16 | | 4-138 of the Illinois Pension Code of any benefits
provided |
| 17 | | for in Article 4 of that Code, or (iv) the fireman's death |
| 18 | | or --
if at the time of the fireman's death the fireman is |
| 19 | | survived by a spouse
who, in that capacity, is entitled to |
| 20 | | receive a surviving spouse's monthly
pension pursuant to |
| 21 | | Article 4 of the Illinois Pension Code -- then the death
or |
| 22 | | remarriage of that spouse.
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| 23 | | No policy of group accident and health insurance under |
| 24 | | which firemen
employed by a municipality are insured for their |
| 25 | | individual benefit shall
be issued or delivered in this State |
| 26 | | to any municipality unless such group
policy provides for the |
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| 1 | | election of continued group insurance coverage for
the |
| 2 | | retirement or disability period of each fireman who is insured |
| 3 | | under the
provisions of the group policy on the day immediately |
| 4 | | preceding the day
on which the retirement or disability period |
| 5 | | of such fireman begins. So
long as any required premiums for |
| 6 | | continued group insurance coverage are
paid in accordance with |
| 7 | | the provisions of the group policy, an election
made pursuant |
| 8 | | to this Section shall provide continued group insurance
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| 9 | | coverage for a fireman throughout the retirement or disability |
| 10 | | period of
the fireman and, unless the fireman otherwise elects |
| 11 | | and subject to any
other provisions of the group policy which |
| 12 | | relate either to the provision
or to the termination of |
| 13 | | dependents' coverage and which are not
inconsistent with this |
| 14 | | Section, for any dependents of the fireman who are
insured |
| 15 | | under the group policy on the day immediately preceding the day |
| 16 | | on
which the retirement or disability period of the fireman |
| 17 | | begins; provided,
however, that when such continued group |
| 18 | | insurance coverage is in effect
with respect to a fireman on |
| 19 | | the date
of the fireman's death but the retirement or |
| 20 | | disability period of the fireman
does not end with such |
| 21 | | fireman's death, then the deceased fireman's surviving
spouse |
| 22 | | upon whose death or remarriage such retirement or disability |
| 23 | | period
will end shall be entitled, without further election and |
| 24 | | upon payment of
any required premiums in accordance with the |
| 25 | | provisions of the group policy,
to maintain such continued |
| 26 | | group
insurance coverage in effect until the end of such |
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| 1 | | retirement or disability
period. Continued group insurance |
| 2 | | coverage shall be provided in accordance
with this Section at |
| 3 | | the same premium rate from time to time charged for
equivalent |
| 4 | | coverage provided under the group policy with respect to |
| 5 | | covered
firemen whose retirement or disability period has not |
| 6 | | begun, and no distinction
or discrimination in the amount or |
| 7 | | rate of premiums or in any waiver of premium
or other benefit |
| 8 | | provision shall be made between continued group insurance
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| 9 | | coverage elected pursuant to this Section and equivalent |
| 10 | | coverage provided
to firemen under the group policy other than |
| 11 | | pursuant to the provisions
of this Section; provided that no |
| 12 | | municipality shall be required by reason
of any provision of |
| 13 | | this Section to pay any group insurance premium other
than one |
| 14 | | that may be negotiated in a collective bargaining agreement.
If |
| 15 | | a person electing continued coverage under this Section becomes
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| 16 | | eligible for medicare coverage, benefits under the group policy |
| 17 | | may
continue as a supplement to the medicare coverage upon |
| 18 | | payment of any
required premiums to maintain the benefits of |
| 19 | | the group policy as
supplemental coverage.
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| 20 | | Within 15 days of the beginning of the retirement or |
| 21 | | disability period
of any fireman entitled to elect continued |
| 22 | | group insurance coverage under any
group policy affected by |
| 23 | | this Section, the municipality last employing such
fireman |
| 24 | | shall give written notice of such beginning by certified mail, |
| 25 | | return
receipt requested to the insurance company issuing such |
| 26 | | policy. The notice
shall include the fireman's name and last |
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| 1 | | known place of residence and the
beginning date of the |
| 2 | | fireman's retirement or disability period.
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| 3 | | Within 15 days of the date of receipt of such notice from |
| 4 | | the municipality,
the insurance company by certified mail, |
| 5 | | return receipt requested, shall
give written notice to the |
| 6 | | fireman at the fireman's last known place of
residence that |
| 7 | | coverage under the group policy may be continued for the
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| 8 | | retirement or disability period of the fireman as provided in |
| 9 | | this Section.
Such notice shall set forth: (i) a statement of |
| 10 | | election to be filed by
the fireman if the fireman wishes to |
| 11 | | continue such group insurance coverage,
(ii) the amount of |
| 12 | | monthly premium, including a statement of the portion
of such |
| 13 | | monthly premium attributable to any dependents' coverage which |
| 14 | | the
fireman may elect, and (iii) instructions as to the return |
| 15 | | of the election
form to the insurance company issuing such |
| 16 | | policy. Election shall be made,
if at all, by returning the |
| 17 | | statement of election to the insurance company by
certified |
| 18 | | mail, return receipt requested within 15 days after having |
| 19 | | received it.
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| 20 | | If the fireman elects to continue coverage, it shall be the |
| 21 | | obligation
of the fireman to pay the monthly premium directly |
| 22 | | to the municipality which
shall forward it to the insurance |
| 23 | | company
issuing the group insurance policy, or as otherwise |
| 24 | | directed by the insurance
company; provided, however, that the |
| 25 | | fireman shall be entitled to designate
on the statement of |
| 26 | | election required to be filed with the insurance company
that |
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| 1 | | the total monthly premium, or such portion thereof as is not
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| 2 | | contributed by a municipality, be deducted by a Firefighter's |
| 3 | | Pension
Fund from any monthly pension payment otherwise payable
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| 4 | | to or on behalf of the fireman pursuant to Article 4 of the |
| 5 | | Illinois Pension
Code, and be remitted by such Pension Fund to |
| 6 | | the insurance company. The
portion, if any, of the monthly |
| 7 | | premium contributed by a
municipality for such continued group |
| 8 | | insurance coverage shall be paid by
the municipality directly |
| 9 | | to the insurance company issuing the group insurance
policy, or |
| 10 | | as otherwise directed by the insurance company. Such continued
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| 11 | | group insurance coverage shall relate back to the beginning of |
| 12 | | the fireman's
retirement or disability period.
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| 13 | | The amendment, renewal or extension of any group insurance |
| 14 | | policy affected
by this Section shall be deemed to be the |
| 15 | | issuance of a new policy of insurance
for purposes of this |
| 16 | | Section.
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| 17 | | In the event that a municipality makes a program of |
| 18 | | accident, health,
hospital or medical benefits available to its |
| 19 | | firemen through
self-insurance, or by participation in a pool |
| 20 | | or reciprocal insurer, or by
contract in a form other than a |
| 21 | | policy of group insurance with one or more
medical service |
| 22 | | plans, health care service corporations, health maintenance
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| 23 | | organizations, or any other professional corporations or plans |
| 24 | | under which
health care or reimbursement for the costs thereof |
| 25 | | is
provided, whether the cost of such benefits is borne by the |
| 26 | | municipality or
the firemen or both, such firemen and their |
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| 1 | | surviving spouses shall have
the same right to elect continued |
| 2 | | coverage under such program of benefits
as they would have if |
| 3 | | such benefits were provided by a policy of group
accident and |
| 4 | | health insurance. In such cases, the notice of right to elect
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| 5 | | continued coverage shall be sent by the municipality; the |
| 6 | | statement of
election shall be sent to the municipality; and |
| 7 | | references to the required
premium shall refer to that portion |
| 8 | | of the cost of such benefits which is not
borne by the |
| 9 | | municipality, either voluntarily or pursuant to the provisions
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| 10 | | of a collective bargaining agreement. In the case of a |
| 11 | | municipality
providing such benefits through self-insurance or |
| 12 | | participation in a pool or
reciprocal insurer, the right to |
| 13 | | elect continued coverage which is provided
by this paragraph |
| 14 | | shall be implemented and made available to the firemen of
the |
| 15 | | municipality and qualifying surviving spouses not later than |
| 16 | | July 1, 1985.
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| 17 | | The amendment, renewal or extension of any such contract in |
| 18 | | a form other
than a policy of group insurance policy shall be |
| 19 | | deemed the formation of a
new contract for the purposes of this |
| 20 | | Section.
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| 21 | | This Section shall not limit the exercise of any conversion |
| 22 | | privileges
available under Section 367e.
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| 23 | | Pursuant to paragraphs (h) and (i) of Section 6 of Article |
| 24 | | VII of the
Illinois Constitution, this Section specifically |
| 25 | | denies and limits the
exercise by a home rule unit of any power |
| 26 | | which is inconsistent with this
Section and all existing laws |
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| 1 | | and ordinances which are inconsistent with
this Section are |
| 2 | | hereby superseded. This Section does not preempt the
concurrent |
| 3 | | exercise by home rule units of powers consistent herewith. |
| 4 | | The Division of Insurance of the Department of Financial |
| 5 | | and Professional Regulation shall enforce the provisions of |
| 6 | | this Section, including provisions relating to municipality |
| 7 | | self-insured benefit plans.
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| 8 | | (Source: P.A. 94-858, eff. 6-15-06.)
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