Chapter 58

This Article shall be known and may be cited as the "Fire-Safety Standard and Firefighter Protection Act." (2007-451, s. 1.)

For the purposes of this Article: (1) "Agent" means any person authorized by the Department of Revenue to pay the excise tax on packages of cigarettes. (1a) "Brand style" means a variety of cigarettes distinguished by the tobacco used, tar and nicotine content, flavoring used, si…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (o) of this section, no cigarettes may be sold or offered for sale in this State or offered for sale or sold to persons located in this State unless the cigarettes have been tested in accordance with the test method and meet the performance st…

(a) Each manufacturer shall submit to the Commissioner a written certification attesting both of the following: (1) Each cigarette listed in the certification has been tested in accordance with G.S. 58-92-15. (2) Each cigarette listed in the certification meets the performance st…

(a) Cigarettes that are certified by a manufacturer in accordance with G.S. 58-92-20 shall be marked to indicate compliance with the requirements of G.S. 58-92-15. The marking shall be in eight-point type or larger and consist of one of the following: (1) Modification of the prod…

(a) A manufacturer, distributor, agent, or any other person or entity who knowingly sells or offers to sell cigarettes, other than through retail sale, in violation of G.S. 58-92-15, shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each pack of …

(a) The Commissioner may adopt rules, pursuant to Chapter 150B of the General Statutes, necessary to effectuate the purposes of this Article. (b) The Department of Revenue in the regular course of conducting inspections of distributors, agents, and retail dealers, as authorized u…

To enforce the provisions of this Article, the Attorney General, the Department of Revenue, and the Commissioner, their duly authorized representatives, and other law enforcement personnel may examine the books, papers, invoices, and other records of any person in possession, con…

The clear proceeds of civil penalties and forfeitures provided for in this Article shall be remitted to the Civil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund in accordance with G.S. 115C-457.2. (2007-451, s. 1.)

The General Assembly finds: (1) Cigarettes are the leading cause of fire deaths in this State and the nation. (2) Each year in the United States, 700-900 persons are killed due to cigarette fires, and 3,000 are injured in fires ignited by cigarettes, while in this State, there we…

Nothing in this Article shall be construed to prohibit any person or entity from manufacturing or selling cigarettes that do not meet the requirements of G.S. 58-92-15 if the cigarettes are or will be stamped for sale in another state or are packaged for sale outside the United S…

This Article does not apply if a federal reduced cigarette ignition propensity standard that preempts this Article is enacted and becomes effective, but such inapplicability does not affect any liability for forfeiture or penalties accrued prior to the effective date of the feder…

This Article may be cited as the Prepaid Health Plan Licensing Act. (2018-49, s. 1(a).)

The Commissioner shall work with DHHS to maximize federal reimbursement of the Department's expenses in administering this Article to the extent that federal reimbursement is allowed under federal law. (2018-49, s. 1(a).)

(a) The Commissioner may, in addition to or in lieu of suspending or revoking a license under G.S. 58-93-85, proceed under G.S. 58-2-70, provided that the PHP has reasonable time to remedy the defect in its operations that gave rise to the procedure under G.S. 58-2-70. (b) Violat…

(a) All applications, filings, and reports required under this Article shall be treated as public documents unless otherwise determined by the Commissioner to be proprietary information. (b) Information shared between the Department and DHHS under this Article is confidential and…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this Article, provisions of this Chapter do not apply to either of the following: (1) A PHP that is not a licensed health organization. (2) A PHP that is a licensed health organization in regards to activities that relate solely to the PHP's Me…

The Commissioner may adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this Article. (2018-49, s. 1(a).)

The following provisions of this Chapter are applicable to PHPs in the manner in which they are applicable to insurers: (1) G.S. 58-2-131, Examinations to be made; authority, scope, scheduling, and conduct of examinations. (2) G.S. 58-2-132, Examination reports. (3) G.S. 58-2-133…

(a) The Commissioner may contract with consultants and other professionals to expedite and complete the application process, examinations, and other regulatory activities required under this Article. Costs of contracts entered into under this section shall be reimbursed by the ap…

(a) Any commercial plan or provider-led entity may apply to the Commissioner for a license to operate as a PHP in compliance with this Article. (b) Each license application shall be verified by an officer or authorized representative of the applicant, shall be in a form prescribe…

(a) Before issuing or continuing any PHP license, the Commissioner of Insurance may make any examination as the Commissioner deems expedient. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c) of G.S. 58-93-20, the Commissioner shall issue a license upon the payment of the applicatio…

The Commissioner shall charge an application fee of two thousand dollars ($2,000) for entities filing an application to be licensed as a PHP under this Article. The Commissioner shall charge an annual PHP license continuation fee of five thousand dollars ($5,000). The PHP license…

(a) All deposits required by this section shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of Article 5 of this Chapter. (b) The Commissioner shall require a minimum deposit of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) or such higher amount as the Commissioner determines to…

(a) No PHP shall enter into an exclusive management or custodial agreement unless the agreement is first filed with the Commissioner and approved under this section within (i) 45 days after filing or (ii) a reasonable extended period as specified by notice from the Commissioner g…

Any director, officer, trustee, manager, or partner of a PHP who receives, collects, disburses, or invests funds in connection with the activities of the PHP shall be responsible for those funds in a fiduciary relationship to the enrollees and to the State. (2018-49, s. 1(a).)

The following definitions apply in this Article: (1) Commercial Plan. - Any person, entity, or organization, profit or nonprofit, that (i) undertakes to provide or arrange for the delivery of health care services to enrollees on a prepaid basis except for enrollee responsibility …

Every PHP subject to this Article is subject to G.S. 58-2-165. (2018-49, s. 1(a).)

(a) With the exception of investments made in accordance with subsection (b) of this section, the funds of a PHP shall be invested or maintained only in securities, other investments, or other assets permitted by the laws of this State for the investment of assets constituting th…

The Commissioner may make an examination of the affairs of any PHP as often as the Commissioner determines it to be necessary for the protection of the interests of the enrollees or the State but not less frequently than once every five years. The Commissioner shall notify DHHS p…

(a) Whenever the financial condition of any PHP indicates a condition such that the continued operation of the PHP might be hazardous to its enrollees, creditors, the general public, or the State, the Commissioner may order the PHP to take action as may be reasonably necessary to…

(a) The Commissioner shall require deposits in accordance with the provisions of G.S. 58-93-35. (b) Each PHP shall maintain a minimum capital and surplus equal to the greater of one million dollars ($1,000,000) or the amount required under the risk-based capital provisions of Art…

The Commissioner shall require that each PHP have a plan for handling insolvency. The plan must allow for health care services to be provided to enrollees until the PHP's capitated contract is terminated by DHHS and all enrollees required under G.S. 108D-40 to enroll in a PHP are…

(a) Every PHP shall, when determining liability, include an amount estimated in the aggregate to provide for (i) any unearned capitation payment, (ii) the payment of all claims for health care expenditures that have been incurred, whether reported or unreported, that are unpaid a…

(a) The Commissioner may suspend or revoke a PHP license if the Commissioner finds that a PHP meets any of the following: (1) Is operating significantly in contravention of its organizational document, or in a manner contrary to that described in and reasonably inferred from any …

(a) Any rehabilitation or liquidation of a PHP shall be deemed to be the rehabilitation or liquidation of an insurance company and shall be conducted under the supervision of the Commissioner pursuant to Article 30 of this Chapter. The Commissioner may apply for an order directin…

(a) When the Commissioner has cause to believe that grounds for the denial of an application for a license exist, or that grounds for the suspension or revocation of a license exist, notification shall be given to the PHP in writing and a copy of the notice shall be provided to D…