Title 08, Title 08: Banking and Insurance

§ 4491. Review All decisions and findings of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation made under the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to review by appeal to the Supreme Court. (Added 1959, No. 197, § 31, eff. Nov. 22, 1959; amended 1989, No. 225 (Adj. Sess.), § 25; 199…

§ 4492. Funds (a) All assets shall be held, invested, and disbursed for the use and benefit of the society, and a member or beneficiary shall not have or acquire individual rights in such assets or become entitled to any apportionment or the surrender of any part of such assets, …

§ 4493. Investments A society shall invest its funds only in such investments as are authorized by the laws of this State for the investment of assets of life insurance companies and subject to the limitations thereon. Any foreign or alien society permitted or seeking to do busin…

§ 4494. Reports and valuations Reports shall be filed and synopses of annual statements shall be published in accordance with the provisions of this section. (1) Every society transacting business in this State shall annually, on or before March 1, unless for cause shown such tim…

§ 4495. Examination of domestic societies The Commissioner of Financial Regulation, or any person he or she may appoint, shall have the power of visitation and examination into the affairs of any domestic society, and he or she shall make the examination at least once in every th…

§ 4496. Examination of foreign and alien societies The Commissioner of Financial Regulation, or any person whom he or she may appoint, may examine any foreign or alien society transacting or applying for admission to transact business in this State. He or she may employ assistant…

§ 4497. No adverse publications Pending, during, or after an examination or investigation of a society, either domestic, foreign, or alien, the Commissioner of Financial Regulation shall make public no financial statement, report, or finding, nor shall he or she permit to become …

§ 4498. Misrepresentation (a) No person shall cause or permit to be made, issued, or circulated in any form: (1) any misrepresentation or false or misleading statement concerning the terms, benefits, or advantages of any fraternal insurance contract now issued or to be issued in …

§ 4499. Discrimination and rebates (a) No society doing business in this State shall make or permit any unfair discrimination between insured members of the same class and equal expectation of life in the premiums charged for certificates of insurance, in the dividends or other b…

§ 4500. Taxation Every society organized or licensed under this chapter is hereby declared to be a charitable and benevolent institution, and all of its funds shall be exempt from all and every state, county, district, municipal, and school tax other than taxes on real estate and…

§ 4501. Exemptions (a) Except as provided in this section, societies are governed by this chapter and are exempt from all other provisions of the insurance laws of this State, not only in governmental relations with the State, but for every other purpose. No law enacted after the…

§ 4502. Exemption of certain societies (a) Nothing contained in this chapter shall be so construed as to affect or apply to: (1) grand or subordinate lodges of societies, orders, or associations now doing business in this State that provide benefits exclusively through local or s…

§ 4503. Penalties (a) Any person who willfully makes a false or fraudulent statement in or relating to an application for membership or for the purpose of obtaining money from or a benefit in a society, shall be fined not less than $500.00 nor more than $2,000.00 or imprisoned no…

§ 4511. Purposes and definition A corporation may be organized for the purpose of establishing, maintaining, and operating a nonprofit hospital service plan through which hospital care may be provided by a hospital maintained by a corporation organized for hospital purposes to me…

§ 4512. Powers (a) Such hospital service corporation shall be a nonprofit sharing corporation without capital stock. It shall be maintained and operated solely for the benefit of the subscribers thereof and shall not be authorized to pay money in lieu of hospital service. A perso…

§ 4513. Permit to engage in business; foreign corporations (a) At least three-fourths of the board of directors of a corporation organized under this chapter shall be composed of subscribers and members of the public. The remainder may be providers. The subscriber members of the …

§ 4514. Required contract provisions A contract entered into by a hospital service corporation shall be in writing, one copy of which shall be furnished to the subscriber, and shall contain the following provisions: (1) A statement of the amount payable to the corporation by the …

§ 4514a. Part-time employees A nonprofit hospital service corporation shall not exclude part-time employees and shall offer the same insurance benefits to part-time employees as it offers to the employee groups of which the part-time employees would be members if they were full-t…

§ 4515. Form of contract In every such contract made, issued, or delivered in this State: (1) all printed portions shall be plainly printed in type of which the face is not smaller than 10 point; (2) there shall be a brief description of the contract on its first page and on its …

§ 4515a. Form and rate filing; filing fees Every contract or certificate form, or amendment thereof, including the rates proposed to be charged by the corporation, shall be filed with the Commissioner or the Green Mountain Care Board established in 18 V.S.A. chapter 220, as appro…

§ 4516. Annual report to Commissioner Annually, on or before March 1, a hospital service corporation shall file with the Commissioner of Financial Regulation a statement sworn to by the president and treasurer of the corporation showing its condition on December 31. The statement…

§ 4517. Investments Funds of a hospital service corporation may be invested in any prudent investment as permitted for an insurance company formed under chapter 101 of this title. The corporation shall file and obtain the Commissioner’s prior approval of its investment guidelines…

§ 4518. Tax exemption A hospital service corporation shall be exempt from all forms of taxation except the health care claims tax assessed pursuant to 32 V.S.A. § 10402. (Amended 2003, No. 70 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. March 1, 2004; 2019, No. 6, § 67, eff. April 22, 2019.)

§ 4519. Application of chapter (a) Hospital service corporations or associations formed prior to April 7, 1939 may continue their existence and may fulfill their contracts and enter into new contracts as now written, including provisions in their contracts for medical, surgical, …

§ 4520. Reciprocal provisions A corporation organized under the laws of another state or country that, except as to state of organization, is a hospital service corporation as defined by section 4511 of this title, and that the Commissioner finds has fully complied with the laws …

§ 4521. Effect on liability under workers’ compensation law The provisions of this chapter or any contract for hospital service shall in no way affect the liability of an employer under the provisions of the workers’ compensation law. (Amended 1981, No. 165 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)

§ 4522. Exempt organizations Fraternal benefit societies and life or accident insurance companies are not affected by this chapter.

§ 4523. Change in control; material transactions; redomestication; establishment or acquisition of control of insurance company subsidiary (a)(1) No corporation permitted to engage in business under this chapter shall merge or consolidate with; sell, transfer, or exchange more th…

§ 4581. Incorporation of medical service corporations (a) Three or more persons licensed by the State Board of Medical Practice to practice medicine and surgery may incorporate under the general law of this State governing corporations for the purpose of forming a medical service…

§ 4582. Incorporation of dental and other service corporations Three or more persons duly licensed under the laws of this State to practice dentistry, osteopathy, chiropractic, podiatry, or optometry may incorporate for the purpose of establishing a dental, osteopathic, chiroprac…

§ 4583. Purposes and definition A medical service corporation is a nonprofit sharing corporation without capital stock, organized under the laws of this State for the purpose of establishing, maintaining, and operating a plan through which medical or medical and dental services m…

§ 4584. Application for permit (a) A corporation incorporated under this chapter shall immediately, after filing its articles of association, apply to the Commissioner of Financial Regulation for a permit to operate. The application shall be made to the Commissioner upon forms to…

§ 4585. Required contract provisions Contracts entered into by a medical service corporation shall be in writing, one copy of which shall be furnished to the subscriber. The contract shall contain the following provisions: (1) A statement of the amount payable to the corporation …

§ 4585a. Optometrists; visual services Whenever any policy of insurance or any medical service plan or hospital service contract or hospital and medical service contract provides for reimbursement for any visual service that is within the lawful scope of practice of a duly licens…

§ 4586. Form and contents of contract In every such contract made, issued, or delivered in this State: (1) all printed portions shall be plainly printed in type of which the face is not smaller than 10 point; (2) there shall be a brief description of the contract on its first pag…

§ 4587. Filing and approval of contracts A medical service corporation that has received a permit from the Commissioner of Financial Regulation under section 4584 of this title shall not thereafter issue a contract to a subscriber or charge a rate that is different from copies of…

§ 4588. Annual report to Commissioner Annually, on or before March 1, a medical service corporation shall file with the Commissioner of Financial Regulation a statement sworn to by the president and treasurer of the corporation showing its condition on December 31, which shall be…

§ 4589. Investments Funds of a medical service corporation may be invested in any prudent investment as permitted for an insurance company formed under chapter 101 of this title. The corporation shall file and obtain the Commissioner’s prior approval of its investment guidelines.…

§ 4590. Tax exemption A medical service corporation shall be exempt from all forms of taxation except the health care claims tax assessed pursuant to 32 V.S.A. § 10402. (Amended 2003, No. 70 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. March 1, 2004; 2019, No. 6, § 68, eff. April 22, 2019.)

§ 4591. Effect on liability under workers’ compensation law The provisions of this chapter or any contract for medical service shall in no way affect the liability of an employer under the provisions of the workers’ compensation law. (Amended 1981, No. 165 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)

§ 4592. Exempt organizations Fraternal benefit societies and life or accident insurance companies are not affected by this chapter.

§ 4593. Reciprocal provisions A corporation organized under the laws of another state or country that, except as to state of organization, is a medical service corporation as defined by section 4583 of this title, and that the Commissioner finds has fully complied with the laws o…

§ 4594. Part-time employees A nonprofit medical service corporation shall not exclude part-time employees and shall offer the same insurance benefits to part-time employees as it offers to the employee groups of which the part-time employees would be members if they were full-tim…

§ 4595. Change in control; material transactions; redomestication; establishment or acquisition of control of insurance company subsidiary (a)(1) No corporation permitted to engage in business under this chapter shall merge or consolidate with, sell, transfer, or exchange more th…

§ 4671. Definitions As used in this subchapter: (1) “Accident” means any occurrence with a motor vehicle involving the applicant, insured, or any operator of a private passenger type motor vehicle currently a resident in the same household that results in physical contact between…

§ 4672. Accidents A surcharge to a private passenger automobile policy may only be applied during the experience period for an accident in which the insurer makes a payment for: (1) death; (2) personal injury, where the net payment for any accident exceeds $900.00; or (3) propert…