SLS 22RS-246 ORIGINAL
2022 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 164
BY SENATOR TALBOT
HEALTH/ACC INSURANCE. Provides relative to unfair discrimination in group health
insurance against retired fire employees. (1/1/23)
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 22:36 to unfair discrimination in group health insurance against retired fire
3 employees; to provide for the acceptance of non-Medicare eligible fire employees;
4 to provide for no discrimination between active and retired fire employees; and to
5 provide for related matters.
6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 22:36 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
8 ยง36. Discrimination; fire employees
9 A. No health insurance issuer shall refuse to accept for enrollment any
10 fire employee formerly employed by a municipality, parish, or fire protection
11 district, if the health insurance issuer maintains a policy of group health
12 insurance coverage where the fire employee is no longer employed by the
13 municipality, parish, or fire protection district as a result of retirement and the
14 fire employee is not yet eligible for Medicare.
15 B. No health insurance issuer shall discriminate between an active fire
16 employee and a retired fire employee on the basis of their active or retired
17 status.
Page 1 of 2
Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 164
SLS 22RS-246 ORIGINAL
1 C. This Section shall not require coverage of a retired fire employee
2 under circumstances in which an active fire employee could lawfully be denied
3 coverage, nor shall this Section require a health insurance issuer to offer terms,
4 rates, or benefits to a retired fire employee that a health insurance issuer is not
5 required by law to offer to an active fire employee.
6 Section 2. This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2023.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Beth O'Quin.
DIGEST
SB 164 Original 2022 Regular Session Talbot
Proposed law provides health insurance issuers cannot refuse to accept enrollment of a fire
employee formerly employed by a municipality, parish, or fire protection district if the
health insurance issuer maintains a policy of group health insurance coverage in the location
where the fire employee is no longer employed by the municipality, parish, or fire protection
district as a result of the fire employee retiring and not yet eligible for Medicare.
Proposed law provides health insurance issuers cannot discriminate between an active fire
employee and a retired fire employee on the basis of their active or retired status.
Proposed law provides that proposed law cannot require a health insurance issuer provide
coverage for a retired fire employee under circumstances in which an active fire employee
could lawfully be denied coverage, and cannot be interpreted to require a health insurance
issuer offer terms, rates, or benefits to a retired fire employee that the health insurance issuer
is not, by law, required to offer an active fire employee.
Effective January 1, 2023.
(Adds R.S. 22:36)
Page 2 of 2
Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.