§ 58-65-45. Public hearings on revision of existing schedule or establishment of new schedule; publication of notice.
§58‑65‑45. Public hearings on revision of existing schedule orestablishment of new schedule; publication of notice.
Whenever any hospital servicecorporation licensed under this Article and Article 66 of this Chapter makes arate filing or any proposal to revise an existing rate schedule or contractform, the effect of which is to increase or decrease the charge for itscontracts, or to set up a new rate schedule, and such rate schedule is subjectto the approval of the Commissioner, such hospital service corporation shallfile its proposed rate change or contract form and supporting data with thecommissioner, who shall review the filing in accordance with the standards inG.S. 58‑65‑40. Such rate revision or new rate schedule withrespect to individual subscriber contracts shall be guaranteed by the insurer,as to the contract and certificate holders thereby affected, for a period ofnot less than 12 months; or with respect to individual subscriber contracts asan alternative to giving such guarantee, such rate revision or new rateschedule may be made applicable to all individual contracts at one time if thecorporation chooses to apply for such relief with respect to such contracts nomore frequently than once in any 12‑month period. Such rate revision ornew rate schedule shall be applicable to all contracts of the same type;provided that no rate revision or new rate schedule may become effective forany contract holder unless the corporation has given written notice of the raterevision or new rate schedule not less than 30 days prior to the effective dateof such revision or new rate schedule. The contract holder thereafter must paythe revised rate or new rate schedule in order to continue the contract inforce. The Commissioner may promulgate reasonable rules, after notice andhearing, to require the submission of supporting data and such information asis deemed necessary to determine whether such rate revisions meet thesestandards. At any time within 60 days after the date of any filing under thissection or G.S. 58‑65‑40, the Commissioner may give written noticeto the corporation of a fixed time and place for a hearing on the filing, whichtime shall be no less than 20 days after notice is given. In the event nonotice of hearing is issued within 60 days from the date of any filing, thefiling shall be deemed to be approved, subject to modification by theCommissioner as authorized by G.S. 58‑65‑40. In the event theCommissioner gives notice of a hearing, the corporation making the filing shall,not less than 10 days before the time of the hearing, cause to be published ina daily newspaper or newspapers published in North Carolina, and in accordancewith the rules and regulations of the Commissioner of Insurance, a notice, inthe form and content approved by the Commissioner, setting forth the nature andeffect of such proposal and the time and place of the public hearing to beheld. If the Commissioner does not issue an order within 45 days after the dayon which the hearing began, the filing shall be deemed to be approved, subjectto modification by the Commissioner as authorized by G.S. 58‑65‑40.(1953, c. 1118; 1985, c. 666, s. 60; 1989, c. 485, s. 58.)