Rhode Island General Laws 28-33-44. Continuation of health insurance benefits
(a) No employer shall cancel but shall be obligated to continue to provide any employee’s health insurance benefits for a period of two (2) years from the date of the employee’s receiving weekly compensation benefits pursuant to a preliminary determination or a decision of the workers’ compensation court, or the filing at the department of a memorandum of agreement or notice of direct payment for injuries occurring on or before February 28, 1986. The provisions of this section shall not apply if:
(1) The employee is no longer receiving compensation pursuant to a preliminary determination or a decision of the workers’ compensation court;
(2) The employee has accepted suitable alternative employment;
(3) The employee fails to pay any contribution toward the healthcare benefits that he or she was required to pay prior to the injury;
(4) A petition for a commutation or a structured settlement, as defined in § 28-33-25, is granted;
(5) The employee is a beneficiary of an equivalent health insurance policy of his or her spouse; or
(6) The employee is employed in the construction industry and is a participant in a multi-employer welfare plan as defined in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C. § 1002 et seq., and which the Internal Revenue Service has determined under the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. § 101 et seq., is tax exempt as to contributions received and as to benefits received by its participants.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 28-33-44
- Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
- Department: means the department of labor and training. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-29-2
- Employee: means any person who has entered into the employment of or works under contract of service or apprenticeship with any employer, except that in the case of a city or town other than the city of Providence it shall only mean that class or those classes of employees as may be designated by a city, town, or regional school district in a manner provided in this chapter to receive compensation under chapters 29 — 38 of this title. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-29-2
- Injury: means and refers to personal injury to an employee arising out of and in the course of his or her employment, connected and referable to the employment. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-29-2
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- Suitable alternative employment: means employment or an actual offer of employment that the employee is physically able to perform and will not exacerbate the employee's health condition and that bears a reasonable relationship to the employee's qualifications, background, education, and training. See Rhode Island General Laws 28-29-2
(b) In the event any employer fails to comply with the provisions of this section, and not its workers’ compensation insurance carrier, then the employer shall be liable for hospital and medical costs that would have been paid by the hospital or medical insurance plan afforded the employee had he or she been covered by the plan.
(c) The provisions of this section shall only apply to claims for injuries sustained on or after July 1, 1984.
History of Section.
P.L. 1984, ch. 142, art. 5, § 6; P.L. 1984 (s.s.), ch. 450, § 3; P.L. 1985, ch. 425, § 1; P.L. 1986, ch. 507, § 7; P.L. 1987, ch. 242, § 1; P.L. 1988, ch. 79, § 1; P.L. 1991, ch. 206, § 4; P.L. 1992, ch. 31, § 5; P.L. 2019, ch. 218, § 1; P.L. 2019, ch. 248, § 1.