(1) If the Oregon Medical Insurance Pool Board determines at any time that funds in the Oregon Medical Insurance Pool Account are or will become insufficient for payment of expenses of the pool in a timely manner, the board shall determine the amount of funds needed and shall impose and collect assessments against insurers, as provided in this section, in the amount of the funds determined to be needed.
(2) Each insurer’s assessment shall be determined by multiplying the total amount to be assessed by a fraction, the numerator of which equals the number of Oregon insureds and certificate holders insured or reinsured by each insurer, and the denominator of which equals the total of all Oregon insureds and certificate holders insured or reinsured by all insurers, all determined as of March 31 each year.
(3) The board shall ensure that each insured and certificate holder is counted only once with respect to any assessment. For that purpose, the board shall require each insurer that obtains reinsurance for its insureds and certificate holders to include in its count of insureds and certificate holders all insureds and certificate holders whose coverage is reinsured in whole or part. The board shall allow an insurer who is a reinsurer to exclude from its number of insureds those that have been counted by the primary insurer or the primary reinsurer for the purpose of determining its assessment under this subsection.
(4) Each insurer shall pay its assessment as required by the board.
(5) If assessments exceed the amounts actually needed, the excess shall be held and invested and, with the earnings and interest, used by the board to offset future net losses or to reduce pool premiums. For purposes of this subsection, “future net losses” includes reserves for claims incurred but not reported.
(6) Each insurer’s proportion of participation in the pool shall be determined by the board based on annual statements and other reports deemed necessary by the board and filed by the insurer with the board. The board may use any reasonable method of estimating the number of insureds and certificate holders of an insurer if the specific number is unknown. With respect to insurers that are reinsurers, the board may use any reasonable method of estimating the number of persons insured by each reinsurer.
(7) The board may abate or defer, in whole or in part, the assessment of an insurer if, in the opinion of the board, payment of the assessment would endanger the ability of the insurer to fulfill the insurer’s contractual obligations. In the event an assessment against an insurer is abated or deferred in whole or in part, the amount by which the assessment is abated or deferred may be assessed against the other insurers in a manner consistent with the basis for assessments set forth in this section. The insurer receiving the abatement or deferment shall remain liable to the board for the deficiency for four years.
(8) The board shall abate or defer assessments authorized by this section if a court orders that assessments cannot be made applicable to reinsurers. However, if a court orders that assessments cannot be made applicable to reinsurers, the board may continue to assess insurers to the end of the biennium in which the determination is made.
(9) Subject to the approval of the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, the board may develop a program for adjusting the assessment of an insurer in the individual health benefits market based on that insurer’s contribution to reducing the enrollment in the Oregon Medical Insurance Pool. When developing the program, the board may consider, but is not limited to, the following factors:
(a) The insurer’s level of participation;
(b) Level of health benefit plan coverage offered; and
(c) Assumption of risk in the individual health benefits market. [1989 c.838 §4; 1991 c.333 §1; 1995 c.603 §28; 2005 c.304 §1; 2005 c.635 §1]
Section: Previous 735.490 735.492 735.495 735.600 735.605 735.610 735.612 735.614 735.615 735.616 735.620 735.625 735.630 735.635 735.640 NextLast modified: August 7, 2008