Sent from Daran Kiefer, Esq. of NASP, www.subrogation.org

The Chicago Bar Association is following the footsteps of the Ohio Bar as its Insurance Law Committee votes today at 1:00 P.M. Central Time whether to support a bill to limit health and medical payments subrogation rights in Illinois. This proposed change has been recommended by the Civil Practice Committee and is pending review by the Insurance Law Committee today. The Chicago Bar Association Legislative Liaison urged the committee members to vote against recommending the bill.

The bill seeks to amend the “Health Care Services Lien Act” to limit health insurers and medical payments insurers to no more than 40% aggregate of any settlement, judgment, award, verdict or compromise. This would mean that unpaid hospitals, doctors, health insurers and medical payments insurers would collectively be limited to 40% to split amongst themselves – irrespective of the claim or recovery. The Chicago Bar Association is considering adding the words “as well as insurer reimbursement claims” to the “Health Care Services Act”. The bill goes on to say “This Act shall also apply to insurers and their reimbursement claims and/or rights”.

Legislative Liaison Walter Giblin believes that the bill will “cause insurance rates to rise”; “the proposed legislation is poorly drafted and has ambiguities that could cause harm”; “it can destroy the Insurers’ claims against the Tortfeasor “; and “it will limit the enforceability of the health insurer’s lien”.

URGENT ACTION NEEDED: If you are an attorney who belongs to the Chicago Bar Association Insurance Law Committee or you are an insurer with Chicago Counsel who may be members and you want to oppose this action, please contact them ASAP and ask them to vote “opposed” to the Insurance Law Committee recommending this proposed legislation. Email votes can be sent to WalterGiblin@aol.com.

The NASP Amicus Committee will update you as this proposed bill makes its way through the Chicago Bar Association. We will attempt to follow this bill to see if the Illinois Bar Association takes it up and if the Chicago Bar Association starts to lobby for such changes.

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This entry was posted by Adam V. Russo on Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010 at 12:32 pm and is filed under Illinois, Subrogation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.