(a) At any time after
confirmation of the plan but before the completion of payments under such
plan, the plan may be modified, upon request of the
debtor, the trustee, or the holder
of an allowed unsecured
claim, to—
(1) increase or reduce
the amount of payments on
claims of
a particular class provided for by the plan;
(2) extend or reduce the time
for such payments;
(3) alter the amount of the
distribution to a
creditor whose
claim is provided for by the plan
to the extent necessary to take account of any payment of such
claim other than under the plan; or
(4)
reduce amounts to be paid under the plan by the actual amount expended by
the
debtor to purchase health insurance
for the
debtor (and for any
dependent of the
debtor if such
dependent does not otherwise have
health insurance coverage) if the
debtor
documents the cost of such insurance and demonstrates that—
(A)
such expenses are reasonable and necessary;
(B)(i)
if the
debtor previously paid for
health insurance, the amount is not materially larger than the cost the
debtor previously paid or the cost
necessary to maintain the lapsed policy; or
(ii)
if the
debtor did not have health
insurance, the amount is not materially larger than the reasonable cost
that would be incurred by a
debtor
who purchases health insurance, who has similar income, expenses, age, and
health status, and who lives in the same geographical location with the
same number of
dependents who do not
otherwise have health insurance coverage; and
(C)
the amount is not otherwise allowed for purposes of determining disposable
income under section
1325(b) of this title;
and upon request of any party in interest, files proof that a health insurance
policy was purchased.
(b)(1) Sections
1322(a),
1322(b), and
1323(c) of this title and the requirements of section
1325(a) of this title apply to any modification under
subsection (a) of this section.
(2) The plan as modified
becomes the plan unless,
after notice
and a hearing, such modification is disapproved.
(c) A plan modified under this
section
may not provide for payments
over a period that expires after the applicable commitment period under
section
1325(b)(1)(B) after the time that the
first payment under the original confirmed plan was due, unless the court,
for cause, approves a longer period, but the court
may not approve a period that expires
after five years after such time.
(Pub. L.
95-598, Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2651; Pub. L. 98-353, title III, § 319, 533, July 10, 1984, 98 Stat. 357, 389; Pub. L.
109-8, Title I, § 102(i), Title III, § 318(4), April 20, 2005,
119 Stat. 34, 94.)
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