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> Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield 2009 Rate Filing > Procedural Order
STATE OF MAINE
In accordance with the provisions of Maine Insurance Rule Chapter 350(3)(A), Superintendent of Insurance Mila Kofman hereby establishes the following procedures for the conduct of this proceeding. In addition to the procedures set forth in this Order, this proceeding also will be conducted pursuant to the provisions of Maine Administrative Procedure Act, 5 M.R.S.A. Chapter 375, subchapter 4; 24-A M.R.S.A. §§ 229 to 236; and any orders of the Superintendent that may be issued from time to time. The provisions of Maine Insurance Rule Chapter 350 also shall apply to the extent not inconsistent with this Order. Unless and until otherwise ordered by the Superintendent, the provisions of Insurance Rule Chapter 350(5) shall govern the computation of any period of time prescribed by the Superintendent in this proceeding. For purposes of complying with filing deadlines, the Superintendent will accept official documents filed by electronic mail, but will not accept any such documents filed by facsimile transmission. Unless otherwise ordered by the Superintendent, all documents due to be filed by a date certain must be filed no later than 3:00 p.m. of the due date. Filings made after that time will be considered filed late and will be date stamped as having been received the next day. I. PARTIES AND INTERVENTION At this time, the parties to this proceeding are Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and the Maine Attorney General. By filing of January 27, 2009, the Maine Attorney General sought intervenor status as of right in this proceeding. The Superintendent hereby grants such intervention as of right to the Attorney General. No other person has made a timely application for intervention. II. SCHEDULE OF PROCEEDING The schedule of the proceeding is set forth below, consistent with the dates established in the January 16, 2009, Notice of Pending Proceeding and Hearing. All persons are advised that this schedule is subject to change and prospectively should verify the current schedule as necessary.
III. FORM AND SERVICE OF DOCUMENTS A. Where to File All filings and other correspondence relating to this proceeding should be either hand delivered to the Superintendent, during business hours, at the offices of the Bureau of Insurance, 124 Northern Avenue, Gardiner, Maine, or mailed to the Superintendent at the following address:
B. Method of Filing All documents filed by parties in this proceeding must meet the following criteria: 1. Hard Copies:
2. Electronic Copies:
C. Service on Other Parties A service list will be established and maintained by the Superintendent. Each party shall provide the Superintendent immediately with the name, address, telephone number, FAX number, and e-mail address of one person upon whom service for that party is to be made. Service on parties shall be made electronically, with hard copy promptly posted for mail delivery. If service is made on a party both electronically and by hard copy, the document shall be considered received on the earliest date of receipt and the time to respond shall be calculated using the date the document is first received. Unless otherwise ordered by the Superintendent, all documents due to be filed and served by a date certain must be delivered no later than 3:00 p.m. of the due date. The service of all other documents where there is no service or filing deadline also shall be made by 3:00 p.m. Unless otherwise ordered by the Superintendent, service after 3:00 p.m. will be considered as having been made on the following business day. Each party must include a certification of service on other parties as part of any filing or submission made to the Superintendent. Service on other parties shall be simultaneous with filing with the Superintendent (i.e., delivered to the party for receipt on the same day as delivery is made on the Superintendent). Neither the Superintendent nor Bureau of Insurance staff will be responsible for providing copies of filings or other documents to the service list. If a party fails to serve all other parties on the designated service list, the filing will not be accepted by the Superintendent until proof of service on all parties is provided. D. Format of Filing All documents created electronically by or on behalf of a party must be served and filed in a printable format which does not convert text to graphics and does not convert formulas to values, subject to the right to request an appropriate protective order if one or more formulas are bona fide trade secrets. Format shall either be the format in which the document was created, an equivalent Microsoft Office format, or PDF if the document is not a spreadsheet. Acceptable formats include filing an original Microsoft Office Word document or to use Adobe Acrobat or a third-party equivalent to create a PDF directly from the Word document, without scanning (thereby creating a non-imaged, non-converted text document). Scanning a paper document to create a PDF results in a “converted text” document (i.e., an imaged document), which is unacceptable for filing with the Superintendent. Non-substantive graphic content (i.e., logos and facsimile signatures) are discouraged if they materially increase the file size, especially if it adds more than 25 KB to the file size. All spreadsheets shall be filed in electronic operational form, in addition to the hard-copy reproductions (paper versions). The electronic files shall contain all the embedded data, formulas, assumptions, and underlying electronic workpapers. All documents filed by parties to the proceeding shall be appropriately captioned following the caption format at the top of the first page of this Order, specifically including the Docket Number assigned by the Superintendent to the proceeding, INS-09-1000. All filings made by parties in this proceeding must include a table of contents only if more than one document is contained within the filing, or if one document contains multiple sections. In addition, all documents filed by parties must include a separate cover sheet that includes all of the information set forth below:
All documents filed with the Superintendent by parties to the proceeding must be paginated, to the extent practicable. IV. SUBMISSION OF CONFIDENTIAL AND/OR PRIVILEGED INFORMATION A. Submission All confidential or privileged documents or portions of documents for which a party seeks protection from public disclosure must be filed separately. Hard copy filings of documents under claim of confidentiality and/or privilege must be made with red covers. Electronic copy filings of documents must conspicuously identify in the e-mail subject line the claim of confidentiality and/or privilege. All pages of any documents for which confidentiality and/or privilege is asserted must be prominently labeled or stamped as confidential and/or privileged. All submissions properly identified in accordance with this paragraph will be maintained as confidential and/or privileged unless and until the Superintendent rules otherwise. B. Presumption of Public Access Under both the Maine Insurance Code and Maine’s Freedom of Access law, the Superintendent is required to disclose public records. See 24-A M.R.S.A. § 216(2); 1 M.R.S.A. §§ 401, 408(1). The presumption is that citizens have a right of free access to documents filed with the Superintendent. Thus, the public has a right of access to Bureau records unless it is demonstrated that such information meets one of the strictly construed exceptions to disclosure. See 1 M.R.S.A. § 402(3)(A)-(O). C. Memorandum in Support The party requesting confidentiality and/or privilege must provide the Superintendent with a memorandum of law in support of the request. Except with leave of the Superintendent, the memorandum in support must be submitted with the documents for which confidentiality and/or privilege is requested. The memorandum must clearly identify those documents, or portions of documents, for which confidentiality and/or privilege is requested, the reason for the request, and any supporting legal authority. Specifically, the memorandum of law shall include detailed legal analysis as to why the information is not a public record pursuant to the provisions of Maine’s Freedom of Access law, including identification of which statutory exception protects the information from being made publicly available. D. Challenges to Confidentiality Assertions If an assertion of confidentiality and/or privilege is challenged, the party claiming confidentiality and/or privilege will be notified and provided an opportunity to argue in favor of continued protection. E. Protective Order All information or documentation for which protection from public disclosure is provided by the Superintendent, and all parties to the proceeding, are subject to the terms of any protective order(s) that the Superintendent may issue. V. MOTIONS Every request or motion for an order or ruling of any kind by the Superintendent shall be in writing, unless made on the record during a hearing to which the request or motion is related. Every request or motion should include or be accompanied by a clear statement of the support for the order or other action sought. The statement supporting the request or motion also should include any arguments with respect to policy or law that have a bearing on the request. Requests or motions and their supporting papers should be clearly labeled on the first page and in the caption with a title that includes “motion” or “request,” a short description of the action or order requested, and language in the caption sufficient to identify the matter to which the request or motion relates. If legal arguments are advanced, the supporting statement accompanying the motion shall include citations to all supporting authorities relied upon by the moving party. Any party opposing a request or motion shall file a statement in opposition to the motion or request within four (4) days after receipt of the motion, unless the Superintendent establishes some other period. The Superintendent may rule on any request or motion prior to the expiration of the deadline for filing statements in opposition. VI. DISCOVERY PROCEDURES Copies of all discovery requests and responses to discovery requests must be served on all parties and submitted to the Superintendent according to the same standards and procedures applicable to any other filing in this proceeding. All parties are prohibited from making requests for information that are duplicative of prior requests made by any party. To the extent that documents have been provided previously in this proceeding in response to a discovery request, those documents may be referenced in subsequent responses and need not be produced again. Should any party oppose any part of an information request served, that party and the requesting party shall confer promptly and in good faith to attempt to resolve the dispute, before submitting an objection to the Superintendent. Any objection to a request for discovery must be submitted to the Superintendent within two (2) business days of the date on which the request was served. The Superintendent shall rule promptly on any objection submitted to her, with or without a hearing, within the discretion of the Superintendent. Responses to discovery requests shall be made within the later of four (4) business days of the date on which the request was served or within two (2) business days of the Superintendent’s denial of an objection to a request for discovery. Discovery requests and responses do not become part of the record of the proceeding unless admitted as exhibits during the hearing or as a late-filed exhibit. VII. PREFILED TESTIMONY On the deadline established for pre-filed testimony and exhibits, any party wishing to submit evidence shall pre-file with the Superintendent written testimony and exhibits of each witness whom they propose to present in support of their direct cases. A copy of all testimony and exhibits must be served on all other parties to the proceeding in accordance with the requirements set forth above. Such testimony can be admitted as an exhibit at the hearing only if the witness, under oath, affirms the pre-filed testimony and is subject to cross-examination. The pre-filed testimony shall be in question and answer format, double-spaced and with each line numbered for ease of reference; summary or other non-testimonial material shall not be accepted. Such pre-filed testimony and exhibits are subject to objection when offered at the hearing, but in no event may be admitted unless the witness submitting the testimony is available at the hearing for cross-examination. The scope of said pre-filed testimony and exhibits should be limited to the issues and subject matters outlined in the applicable statutes, and by such further order of the Superintendent. VIII. COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE BUREAU Except as otherwise noted in this section, parties shall not communicate with respect to this proceeding with the Superintendent, Bureau Staff advising the Superintendent in this proceeding, or consultants retained by the Superintendent without notice and opportunity for all parties to be present. Parties may direct questions of a strictly ministerial nature to Pat Galouch, Legal Secretary. Procedural queries should be directed only to Thomas Sturtevant, Assistant Attorney General and counsel to the Superintendent in this proceeding. At her discretion, the Superintendent may direct a member of her staff to develop independent evidence pertaining to all or part of the submissions in this proceeding. That independent evidence shall be made part of the record in this case and the staff member shall be subject to cross-examination at the hearing. The Superintendent may hire consultants to assist her in this proceeding. Any such consultants shall be deemed agents of the Bureau, and the rules applicable to ex parte communications and cross-examination shall apply equally to them. Nothing in this Order shall permit the Superintendent, when rendering a decision, to rely upon any evidence or other factual information outside of that made part of the record. IX. INTERESTED PERSONS LIST The Superintendent is maintaining an interested persons list with respect to this proceeding. Persons on the interested persons list will receive copies of Notices of any Prehearing Conferences and Hearings with respect to this proceeding, but will not receive other pleadings and correspondence except as the Superintendent, in her discretion, may direct. Persons may direct requests to be placed on the interested persons list to Pat Galouch, Legal Secretary, Maine Bureau of Insurance, 34 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0034. E-mail requests to be place on the interested persons list should be addressed to Pat.Galouch@maine.gov. X. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC Communications from the general public for the Superintendent’s consideration will not be subject to formal filing requirements. In the interest of maintaining a complete record, communications from the general public in connection with this proceeding and any responses from the Superintendent or her Staff will be maintained as part of the record of the proceeding. As provided by 5 M.R.S.A. § 9057, such communications will not constitute evidence unless sworn to by the author and the author is available for cross-examination or subject to subpoena, except for good cause shown. Communications from the general public and responses thereto will not be copied to the parties. Any such documents will be available for review by the parties during the regular business hours of the Bureau. Representative communications between the general public and the Superintendent and/or his staff may be made available on the Bureau’s webpage. XI. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH LAWS, RULES, AND ORDERS Should any party or participant violate or disregard any provisions of the Maine Insurance Code, Bureau Rule, or order of the Superintendent, the Superintendent shall have and may exercise the option to impose an appropriate sanction without further notice, including but not limited to denial of any party or participant request; striking material from the record; or consideration and reduction or elimination of that party’s or participant’s participation in the proceeding. XII. SPECIAL NEEDS The Department of Professional and Financial Regulation does not discriminate on the basis of disability in admission to, access to, or operation of its programs, services, or activities. Individuals in need of auxiliary aid or with other special needs for effective communication with respect to any aspect of this proceeding are invited to make their needs and preference known to Pat Galouch, tel. 207-624-8437, sufficiently in advance of the hearing so that appropriate arrangements may be made. PER ORDER OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF INSURANCE
Last Updated: January 20, 2009 |
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