Kansas SB 474: Enacting the Kansas short-term, limited duration insurance act; establishing definitions, disclosure, premiums, renewal and underwriting requirements relating thereto and authorizing the commissioner of insurance to adopt rules and regulations to implement and oversee the act.

Bill Text

Session of 2026
SENATE BILL No. 474
By Senator Sykes
2-4
AN ACT concerning insurance; relating to accident and health coverage;
enacting the Kansas short-term limited duration insurance act;
establishing definitions, disclosure, premium, renewal and underwriting
requirements related thereto; authorizing the commissioner of insurance
to adopt rules and regulations to implement and administer the act;
amending K.S.A. 40-2,193 and repealing the existing section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
New Section 1. (a) This act shall be known and may be cited as the
Kansas short-term limited duration insurance act.
(b) As used in this act:
(1) "Covered individual" means an individual entitled to coverage
under a short-term insurance plan.
(2) "PPACA" means the federal patient protection and affordable care
act, public law 111-148, as amended by the federal health care and
education reconciliation act of 2010, public law 111-152.
(3) "Short-term insurance plan" means a policy of health insurance
that:
(A) May be renewed for the greater of:
(i) 36 months; or
(ii) the maximum period permitted under federal law;
(B) has a term of not more than 364 days; and
(C) has an annual limit of at least $2,000,000.
(c) A short-term insurance plan shall include coverage for the
following:
(1) Ambulatory patient services;
(2) hospitalization;
(3) emergency services; and
(4) laboratory services.
(d) (1) This subsection applies to an insurer that issues a short-term
insurance plan and undertakes a preferred provider plan to render
healthcare services to covered individuals under the short-term insurance
plan.
(2) An insurer described in paragraph (1) shall ensure that the
preferred provider plan meets the following requirements:
(A) The plan includes essential community providers in accordance
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with the PPACA;
(B) except for mental health and substance abuse treatment providers,
the preferred provider plan is sufficient in number and types of providers
to ensure that covered individuals have access to all healthcare services
without unreasonable delay; and
(C) the plan is consistent with the network adequacy requirements
that:
(i) Apply to qualified health plan issuers under 45 C.F.R. §
156.230(a) and 45 C.F.R. § 156.230(b); and
(ii) each qualified health plan issuer satisfy the requirements under 45
C.F.R. § 156.230(a)(1) and (2).
(e) (1) An insurer that issues a short-term insurance plan shall
disclose to an applicant in bold 12-point type, that:
(A) The short-term insurance plan is not required to include coverage
for all 10 of the essential health benefits required under the PPACA;
(B) the short-term insurance plan does not necessarily provide the full
coverage that is required under PPACA; and
(C) the full coverage required by the PPACA may be obtained during
the next PPACA annual open enrollment, which typically commences on
November 1 and can be found at https://www.healthcare.gov/quick-
guide/dates-and-deadlines/; and
(2) an insurer shall obtain the signature of an applicant to whom the
disclosures required by paragraph (1) are made.
(f) An insurer shall not, as a condition of enrollment or continued
enrollment in a short-term insurance plan, require an individual to pay a
premium or contribution greater than the premium or contribution for a
similarly situated individual enrolled in the short-term insurance plan on
the basis of a health status-related factor in relation to the individual or a
dependent of the individual.
(g) This act does not prevent an insurer from establishing a premium
discount, rebate or out-of-pocket payment modification in return for
adherence to programs of health promotion and disease prevention.
(h) The commissioner shall adopt rules and regulations required to
implement and administer the provisions of this act and may adopt rules
and regulations regulating short-term limited duration plans that are
consistent with the provisions of this act.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 40-2,193 is hereby amended to read as follows: 40-
2,193. (a) For the purposes of this section:
(1) "Specially designed policy'' means an insurance policy that by
design may not meet all or part of the definitions of a group or individual
sickness and accident insurance policy and includes temporary sickness
and accident insurance on a short-term basis.
(2) "Short-term insurance plan'' or "short-term policy" means an
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insurance policy period of six months or 12 months, based upon policy
design, which offers not more than one renewal period with or without a
requirement of medical re-underwriting or medical requalification the
same as defined in section 2, and amendments thereto.
(A) Because a short-term policy addresses the special needs for
temporary coverage, a short-term policy is not su