Issuance, cancellation, nonrenewal, and replacement.

(1)(a) An insurer issuing Medicare supplement policies in this state shall offer the opportunity of enrolling in a Medicare supplement policy, without conditioning the issuance or effectiveness of the policy on, and without discriminating in the price of the policy based on, the medical or health status or receipt of health care by the individual:

1. To any individual who is 65 years of age or older, or under 65 years of age and eligible for Medicare by reason of disability or end-stage renal disease, and who resides in this state, upon the request of the individual during the 6-month period beginning with the first month in which the individual has attained 65 years of age and is enrolled in Medicare Part B, or is eligible for Medicare by reason of a disability or end-stage renal disease, and is enrolled in Medicare Part B; or

2. To any individual who is 65 years of age or older, or under 65 years of age and eligible for Medicare by reason of a disability or end-stage renal disease, who is enrolled in Medicare Part B, and who resides in this state, upon the request of the individual during the 2-month period following termination of coverage under a group health insurance policy.

(b) The 6-month period to enroll in a Medicare supplement policy for an individual who is under 65 years of age and is eligible for Medicare by reason of disability or end-stage renal disease and otherwise eligible under subparagraph (a)1. or subparagraph (a)2. and first enrolled in Medicare Part B before October 1, 2009, begins on October 1, 2009.

(c) A company that has offered Medicare supplement policies to individuals under 65 years of age who are eligible for Medicare by reason of disability or end-stage renal disease before October 1, 2009, may, for one time only, effect a rate schedule change that redefines the age bands of the premium classes without activating the period of discontinuance required by s. 627.410(6)(e)2.

(d) As a part of an insurer’s rate filings, before and including the insurer’s first rate filing for a block of policy forms in 2015, notwithstanding the provisions of s. 627.410(6)(e)3., an insurer shall consider the experience of the policies or certificates for the premium classes including individuals under 65 years of age and eligible for Medicare by reason of disability or end-stage renal disease separately from the balance of the block so as not to affect the other premium classes. For filings in such time period only, credibility of that experience shall be as follows: if a block of policy forms has 1,250 or more policies or certificates in force in the age band including ages under 65 years of age, full or 100-percent credibility shall be given to the experience; and if fewer than 250 policies or certificates are in force, no or zero-percent credibility shall be given. Linear interpolation shall be used for in-force amounts between the low and high values. Florida-only experience shall be used if it is 100-percent credible. If Florida-only experience is not 100-percent credible, a combination of Florida-only and nationwide experience shall be used. If Florida-only experience is zero-percent credible, nationwide experience shall be used. The insurer may file its initial rates and any rate adjustment based upon the experience of these policies or certificates or based upon expected claim experience using experience data of the same company, other companies in the same or other states, or using data publicly available from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services if the insurer’s combined Florida and nationwide experience is not 100-percent credible, separate from the balance of all other Medicare supplement policies.

A Medicare supplement policy issued to an individual under subparagraph (a)1. or subparagraph (a)2. may not exclude benefits based on a preexisting condition if the individual has a continuous period of creditable coverage, as defined in s. 627.6562(3), of at least 6 months as of the date of application for coverage.

(2) For both individual and group Medicare supplement policies:

(a) An insurer shall neither cancel nor nonrenew a Medicare supplement policy or certificate for any reason other than nonpayment of premium or material misrepresentation.

(b) If it is not replacing an existing policy, a Medicare supplement policy shall not limit or preclude liability under the policy for a period longer than 6 months because of a health condition existing before the policy is effective. The policy may not define a preexisting condition more restrictively than a condition for which medical advice was given or treatment was recommended by or received from a physician within 6 months before the effective date of coverage.

(c) If a Medicare supplement policy or certificate replaces another Medicare supplement policy or certificate or creditable coverage as defined in s. 627.6562(3), the replacing insurer shall waive any time periods applicable to preexisting conditions, waiting periods, elimination periods, and probationary periods in the new Medicare supplement policy for similar benefits to the extent such time was spent under the original policy.

(3) For group Medicare supplement policies:

(a) If a group Medicare supplement insurance policy is terminated by the group policyholder and not replaced as provided in paragraph (c), the insurer shall offer certificateholders an individual Medicare supplement policy. The insurer shall offer the certificateholder at least the following choices:

1. An individual Medicare supplement policy that provides for continuation of the benefits contained in the group policy.

2. An individual Medicare supplement policy that provides only the benefits required to meet the minimum standards.

(b) If membership in a group is terminated, the insurer shall:

1. Offer the certificateholder conversion opportunities specified in paragraph (a); or

2. At the option of the group policyholder, offer the certificateholder continuation of coverage under the group policy.

(c) If a group Medicare supplement policy is replaced by another group Medicare supplement policy purchased by the same policyholder, the succeeding insurer shall offer coverage to all persons covered under the old group policy on its date of termination. Coverage under the new group policy may not result in any exclusion for preexisting conditions that would have been covered under the group policy being replaced.

(4) If a policy is canceled, the insurer must return promptly the unearned portion of any premium paid. If the insured cancels the policy, the earned premium shall be computed by the use of the short-rate table last filed with the state official having supervision of insurance in the state where the insured resided when the policy was issued. If the insurer cancels, the earned premium shall be computed pro rata. Cancellation shall be without prejudice to any claim originating prior to the effective date of the cancellation.

(5) The commission shall by rule prescribe standards relating to the guaranteed issue of coverage, without exclusions for preexisting conditions, for continuously covered individuals consistent with the provisions of 42 U.S.C. s. 1395ss(s)(3).

(6) An insurer offering a Medicare supplement policy under this part is not prohibited from entering into an agreement through a network with inpatient facilities that agree to waive the Medicare Part A deductible in whole or in part. An insurer is not required to file a copy of the network agreement with, and such network agreements are not subject to approval of, the office.