WAC 284-180-210. Registration and renewal fees

(1) The commissioner must establish fees for registration and renewal in an amount that ensures the program for the registration, renewal, and oversight activities of the health care benefit managers is self-supporting. Each health care benefit manager must contribute a sufficient amount to the commissioner's regulatory account to pay for the reasonable costs, including overhead, of regulating health care benefit managers.

(2) The initial registration fee is $500.

(3) For the renewal fee, the commissioner will charge a proportional share of the annual cost of the insurance commissioner's renewal and oversight activities of health care benefit managers. Each health care benefit managers' proportional share of the program annual operating costs will be based on their Washington state annual gross income of their health care benefit manager business for the previous calendar year. The renewal fee is $750, at a minimum, and may increase based on a proportional share of each health care benefit manager's Washington state annual gross income as reported to the insurance commissioner.

(4) If an unexpended balance of health care benefit manager registration and renewal funds remain in the insurance commissioner's regulatory account at the close of a fiscal year, the commissioner will carry the unexpended funds forward and use them to reduce future renewal fees.

(5) Carriers are exempt from the definition of health care benefit manager under RCW 48.200.020 .

(a) An entity that is owned or controlled by a holding company that owns or controls a carrier is not exempt from registration as a health care benefit manager.

(b) Under RCW 48.200.050 , when a carrier, i.e., "carrier A," acts as a health care benefit manager for another carrier, i.e., "carrier B," carrier B is responsible for the conduct of carrier A with respect to its action as a health care benefit manager on carrier B's behalf.