House Bill 1603 amends RCW 48.66.055 to define who is eligible for guaranteed-issue Medicare supplement (medigap) policies and to set procedures for obtaining those policies. The bill requires applicants to apply no later than 63 days after the specified termination or disenrollment event and to submit evidence of the date of termination/disenrollment or evidence of Medicare Part D enrollment. It prohibits issuers, with respect to eligible persons, from denying or conditioning issuance or effectiveness of available medigap policies, from discriminating in pricing on the basis of health status, claims, or medical condition, and from imposing preexisting-condition benefit exclusions for such policies. The bill also sets notice requirements for terminating organizations and issuers/administrators about individuals’ rights under this section. The bill specifies detailed guaranteed-issue timing rules for the categories listed in subsection (3) (including those coming off employer-sponsored supplemental plans, Medicare Advantage or PACE enrollments, certain demonstration or contractor arrangements, medigap insolvency or issuer violations, and situations involving Medicare Part D). Different start and end rules apply depending on whether the disenrollment or termination was voluntary or involuntary (for example, voluntary disenrollments generally trigger a period beginning 60 days before the effective date and ending 63 days after it; many involuntary terminations begin on notice and end 63 days after coverage termination). It also treats certain subsequent enrollments as initial enrollments for the purposes of these rules and limits that treatment after a two-year period; the text references federal Social Security Act sections and includes limited effective-date cross-references (for example, plan C/F to D/G mapping for individuals newly eligible on or after January 1, 2020). This is a modification of existing state law (an amendment to RCW 48.66.055) creating procedural rights and guaranteed-issue entitlements and prohibiting certain issuer practices; no changes to criminal penalties are stated in the provided text. The provided excerpts end mid-sentence and do not include the full amended section, any complete list of limitations or exclusions, or an explicit effective date, so some details and any additional provisions elsewhere in the bill are not available in the material provided.

If enacted, the bill would make more people who lose or leave certain Medicare-related coverage eligible to buy guaranteed-issue Medicare supplement (medigap) policies and prevent issuers from denying coverage, charging higher prices based on health status, or imposing preexisting-condition exclusions for those eligible. Individuals must apply within 63 days of the specified termination or disenrollment and supply proof, and terminating organizations and issuers must give timely notices (contemporaneous or within ten working days). The law also sets specific guaranteed-issue start and end dates for different loss or disenrollment situations (generally ending 63 days after termination, with some voluntary disenrollments starting 60 days before the effective date). The groups most affected are Medicare beneficiaries who lose employer-sponsored supplemental plans, Medicare Advantage enrollees who are involuntarily terminated or voluntarily disenroll, PACE participants, people whose medigap policies end because of issuer insolvency or misconduct, and insurers and plan sponsors (issuers, Medicare Advantage organizations, PACE providers, employers, and producers). Beneficiaries will likely have improved, time-limited access to medigap options; issuers will lose certain underwriting and pricing controls for these applicants and face administrative duties to accept timely applications and follow notice timelines, which could increase their claims risk and operational costs. Some implementation details and the full scope for certain categories are not present here, so exact obligations and timing for all situations remain partly unclear.