20-1404

20-1404. Blanket disability insurance;
definitions

A. Blanket disability insurance is that form of disability insurance covering
special groups of persons as enumerated in one of the following paragraphs:

1. Under a policy or contract issued to any common carrier, which shall be deemed
the policyholder, covering a group defined as all persons who may become passengers on
such common carrier.

2. Under a policy or contract issued to an employer, who shall be deemed the
policyholder, covering all employees or any group of employees defined by reference to
exceptional hazards incident to such employment. Dependents of the employees and guests
of the employer may also be included where exposed to the same hazards.

3. Under a policy or contract issued to a college, school or other institution of
learning or to the head or principal thereof, who or which shall be deemed the
policyholder, covering students or teachers.

4. Under a policy or contract issued in the name of any volunteer fire department
or first aid or other such volunteer group, or agency having jurisdiction thereof, which
shall be deemed the policyholder, covering all of the members of such fire department or
group.

5. Under a policy or contract issued to a creditor, who shall be deemed the
policyholder, to insure debtors of the creditor.

6. Under a policy or contract issued to a sports team or to a camp or sponsor
thereof, which team or camp or sponsor thereof shall be deemed the policyholder, covering
members or campers.

7. Under a policy or contract that is issued to any other substantially similar
group and that, in the discretion of the director, may be subject to the issuance of a
blanket disability policy or contract.

B. An individual application need not be required from a person covered under a
blanket disability policy or contract, nor shall it be necessary for the insurer to
furnish each person with a certificate.

C. All benefits under any blanket disability policy shall be payable to the person
insured, or to the insured's designated beneficiary or beneficiaries, or to the insured's
estate, except that if the person insured is a minor, such benefits may be made payable
to the insured's parent or guardian or any other person actually supporting the insured,
and except that the policy may provide that all or any portion of any indemnities
provided by any such policy on account of hospital, nursing, medical or surgical
services, at the insurer's option, may be paid directly to the hospital or person
rendering such services, but the policy may not require that the service be rendered by a
particular hospital or person. Payment so made shall discharge the insurer's obligation
with respect to the amount of insurance so paid.

D. Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to affect the legal liability
of policyholders for the death of or injury to any member of the group.

E. Any policy or contract, except accidental death and dismemberment, applied for
that provides family coverage, as to such coverage of family members, shall also provide
that the benefits applicable for children shall be payable with respect to a newly born
child of the insured from the instant of such child's birth, to a child adopted by the
insured, regardless of the age at which the child was adopted, and to a child who has
been placed for adoption with the insured and for whom the application and approval
procedures for adoption pursuant to section 8-105 or 8-108 have been completed to the
same extent that such coverage applies to other members of the family. The coverage for
newly born or adopted children or children placed for adoption shall include coverage of
injury or sickness including necessary care and treatment of medically diagnosed
congenital defects and birth abnormalities. If payment of a specific premium is required
to provide coverage for a child, the policy or contract may require that notification of
birth, adoption or adoption placement of the child and payment of the required premium
must be furnished to the insurer within thirty-one days after the date of birth, adoption
or adoption placement in order to have the coverage continue beyond the thirty-one day
period.

F. Each policy or contract shall be so written that the insurer shall pay benefits:

1. For performance of any surgical service that is covered by the terms of such
contract, regardless of the place of service.

2. For any home health services that are performed by a licensed home health agency
and that a physician has prescribed in lieu of hospital services, as defined by the
director, providing the hospital services would have been covered.

3. For any diagnostic service that a physician has performed outside a hospital in
lieu of inpatient service, providing the inpatient service would have been covered.

4. For any service performed in a hospital's outpatient department or in a
freestanding surgical facility, providing such service would have been covered if
performed as an inpatient service.

G. A blanket disability insurance policy that provides coverage for the surgical
expense of a mastectomy shall also provide coverage incidental to the patient's covered
mastectomy for the expense of reconstructive surgery of the breast on which the
mastectomy was performed, surgery and reconstruction of the other breast to produce a
symmetrical appearance, prostheses, treatment of physical complications for all stages of
the mastectomy, including lymphedemas, and at least two external postoperative prostheses
subject to all of the terms and conditions of the policy.

H. A contract that provides coverage for surgical services for a mastectomy shall
also provide coverage for mammography screening performed on dedicated equipment for
diagnostic purposes on referral by a patient's physician, subject to all of the terms and
conditions of the policy and according to the following guidelines:

1. A baseline mammogram for a woman from age thirty-five to thirty-nine.

2. A mammogram for a woman from age forty to forty-nine every two years or more
frequently based on the recommendation of the woman's physician.

3. A mammogram every year for a woman fifty years of age and over.

I. Any contract that is issued to the insured and that provides coverage for
maternity benefits shall also provide that the maternity benefits apply to the costs of
the birth of any child legally adopted by the insured if all the following are true:

1. The child is adopted within one year of birth.

2. The insured is legally obligated to pay the costs of birth.

3. All preexisting conditions and other limitations have been met by the insured.

4. The insured has notified the insurer of his acceptability to adopt children
pursuant to section 8-105, within sixty days after such approval or within sixty days
after a change in insurance policies, plans or companies.

J. The coverage prescribed by subsection I of this section is excess to any other
coverage the natural mother may have for maternity benefits except coverage made
available to persons pursuant to title 36, chapter 29, but not including coverage made
available to persons defined as eligible under section 36-2901, paragraph 6, subdivisions
(b), (c), (d) and (e). If such other coverage exists the agency, attorney or individual
arranging the adoption shall make arrangements for the insurance to pay those costs that
may be covered under that policy and shall advise the adopting parent in writing of the
existence and extent of the coverage without disclosing any confidential information such
as the identity of the natural parent. The insured adopting parents shall notify their
insurer of the existence and extent of the other coverage.

K. Any contract that provides maternity benefits shall not restrict benefits for
any hospital length of stay in connection with childbirth for the mother or the newborn
child to less than forty-eight hours following a normal vaginal delivery or ninety-six
hours following a cesarean section. The contract shall not require the provider to obtain
authorization from the insurer for prescribing the minimum length of stay required by
this subsection. The contract may provide that an attending provider in consultation
with the mother may discharge the mother or the newborn child before the expiration of
the minimum length of stay required by this subsection. The insurer shall not:

1. Deny the mother or the newborn child eligibility or continued eligibility to
enroll or to renew coverage under the terms of the contract solely for the purpose of
avoiding the requirements of this subsection.

2. Provide monetary payments or rebates to mothers to encourage those mothers to
accept less than the minimum protections available pursuant to this subsection.

3. Penalize or otherwise reduce or limit the reimbursement of an attending provider
because that provider provided care to any insured under the contract in accordance with
this subsection.

4. Provide monetary or other incentives to an attending provider to induce that
provider to provide care to an insured under the contract in a manner that is
inconsistent with this subsection.

5. Except as described in subsection L of this section, restrict benefits for any
portion of a period within the minimum length of stay in a manner that is less favorable
than the benefits provided for any preceding portion of that stay.

L. Nothing in subsection K of this section:

1. Requires a mother to give birth in a hospital or to stay in the hospital for a
fixed period of time following the birth of the child.

2. Prevents an insurer from imposing deductibles, coinsurance or other cost sharing
in relation to benefits for hospital lengths of stay in connection with childbirth for a
mother or a newborn child under the contract, except that any coinsurance or other cost
sharing for any portion of a period within a hospital length of stay required pursuant to
subsection K of this section shall not be greater than the coinsurance or cost sharing
for any preceding portion of that stay.

3. Prevents an insurer from negotiating the level and type of reimbursement with a
provider for care provided in accordance with subsection K of this section.

M. Any contract that provides coverage for diabetes shall also provide coverage for
equipment and supplies that are medically necessary and that are prescribed by a health
care provider including:

1. Blood glucose monitors.

2. Blood glucose monitors for the legally blind.

3. Test strips for glucose monitors and visual reading and urine testing strips.

4. Insulin preparations and glucagon.

5. Insulin cartridges.

6. Drawing up devices and monitors for the visually impaired.

7. Injection aids.

8. Insulin cartridges for the legally blind.

9. Syringes and lancets including automatic lancing devices.

10. Prescribed oral agents for controlling blood sugar that are included on the plan
formulary.

11. To the extent coverage is required under medicare, podiatric appliances for
prevention of complications associated with diabetes.

12. Any other device, medication, equipment or supply for which coverage is required
under medicare from and after January 1, 1999. The coverage required in this paragraph
is effective six months after the coverage is required under medicare.

N. Nothing in subsection M of this section prohibits a blanket disability insurer
from imposing deductibles, coinsurance or other cost sharing in relation to benefits for
equipment or supplies for the treatment of diabetes.

O. Any contract that provides coverage for prescription drugs shall not limit or
exclude coverage for any prescription drug prescribed for the treatment of cancer on the
basis that the prescription drug has not been approved by the United States food and drug
administration for the treatment of the specific type of cancer for which the
prescription drug has been prescribed, if the prescription drug has been recognized as
safe and effective for treatment of that specific type of cancer in one or more of the
standard medical reference compendia prescribed in subsection P of this section or
medical literature that meets the criteria prescribed in subsection P of this section.
The coverage required under this subsection includes covered medically necessary services
associated with the administration of the prescription drug. This subsection does not:

1. Require coverage of any prescription drug used in the treatment of a type of
cancer if the United States food and drug administration has determined that the
prescription drug is contraindicated for that type of cancer.

2. Require coverage for any experimental prescription drug that is not approved for
any indication by the United States food and drug administration.

3. Alter any law with regard to provisions that limit the coverage of prescription
drugs that have not been approved by the United States food and drug administration.

4. Require reimbursement or coverage for any prescription drug that is not included
in the drug formulary or list of covered prescription drugs specified in the contract.

5. Prohibit a contract from limiting or excluding coverage of a prescription drug,
if the decision to limit or exclude coverage of the prescription drug is not based
primarily on the coverage of prescription drugs required by this section.

6. Prohibit the use of deductibles, coinsurance, copayments or other cost sharing
in relation to drug benefits and related medical benefits offered.

P. For the purposes of subsection O of this section:

1. The acceptable standard medical reference compendia are the following:

(a) The American hospital formulary service drug information, a publication of the
American society of health system pharmacists.

(b) The national comprehensive cancer network drugs and biologics compendium.

(d) Elsevier gold standard's clinical pharmacology compendium.

(e) Other authoritative compendia as identified by the secretary of the United
States department of health and human services.

2. Medical literature may be accepted if all of the following apply:

(a) At least two articles from major peer reviewed professional medical journals
have recognized, based on scientific or medical criteria, the drug's safety and
effectiveness for treatment of the indication for which the drug has been prescribed.

(b) No article from a major peer reviewed professional medical journal has
concluded, based on scientific or medical criteria, that the drug is unsafe or
ineffective or that the drug's safety and effectiveness cannot be determined for the
treatment of the indication for which the drug has been prescribed.

(c) The literature meets the uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to
biomedical journals established by the international committee of medical journal editors
or is published in a journal specified by the United States department of health and
human services as acceptable peer reviewed medical literature pursuant to section
186(t)(2)(B) of the social security act (42 United States Code section 1395x(t)(2)(B)).

Q. Any contract that is offered by a blanket disability insurer and that contains a
prescription drug benefit shall provide coverage of medical foods to treat inherited
metabolic disorders as provided by this section.

R. The metabolic disorders triggering medical foods coverage under this section
shall:

1. Be part of the newborn screening program prescribed in section 36-694.

2. Involve amino acid, carbohydrate or fat metabolism.

3. Have medically standard methods of diagnosis, treatment and monitoring including
quantification of metabolites in blood, urine or spinal fluid or enzyme or DNA
confirmation in tissues.

4. Require specially processed or treated medical foods that are generally
available only under the supervision and direction of a physician who is licensed
pursuant to title 32, chapter 13 or 17 or a registered nurse practitioner who is
licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 15, that must be consumed throughout life and
without which the person may suffer serious mental or physical impairment.

S. Medical foods eligible for coverage under this section shall be prescribed or
ordered under the supervision of a physician licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 13 or
17 or a registered nurse practitioner who is licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 15 as
medically necessary for the therapeutic treatment of an inherited metabolic disease.

T. An insurer shall cover at least fifty per cent of the cost of medical foods
prescribed to treat inherited metabolic disorders and covered pursuant to this section.
An insurer may limit the maximum annual benefit for medical foods under this section to
five thousand dollars which applies to the cost of all prescribed modified low protein
foods and metabolic formula.

U. Any blanket disability policy that provides coverage for:

1. Prescription drugs shall also provide coverage for any prescribed drug or device
that is approved by the United States food and drug administration for use as a
contraceptive. A blanket disability insurer may use a drug formulary, multitiered drug
formulary or list but that formulary or list shall include oral, implant and injectable
contraceptive drugs, intrauterine devices and prescription barrier methods if the blanket
disability insurer does not impose deductibles, coinsurance, copayments or other cost
containment measures for contraceptive drugs that are greater than the deductibles,
coinsurance, copayments or other cost containment measures for other drugs on the same
level of the formulary or list.

2. Outpatient health care services shall also provide coverage for outpatient
contraceptive services. For the purposes of this paragraph, "outpatient contraceptive
services" means consultations, examinations, procedures and medical services provided on
an outpatient basis and related to the use of approved United States food and drug
administration prescription contraceptive methods to prevent unintended pregnancies.

V. Notwithstanding subsection U of this section, a religious employer whose
religious tenets prohibit the use of prescribed contraceptive methods may require that
the insurer provide a blanket disability policy without coverage for all United States
food and drug administration approved contraceptive methods. A religious employer shall
submit a written affidavit to the insurer stating that it is a religious employer. On
receipt of the affidavit, the insurer shall issue to the religious employer a blanket
disability policy that excludes coverage of prescription contraceptive methods. The
insurer shall retain the affidavit for the duration of the blanket disability policy and
any renewals of the policy. Before a policy is issued, every religious employer that
invokes this exemption shall provide prospective insureds written notice that the
religious employer refuses to cover all United States food and drug administration
approved contraceptive methods for religious reasons. This subsection shall not exclude
coverage for prescription contraceptive methods ordered by a health care provider with
prescriptive authority for medical indications other than to prevent an unintended
pregnancy. An insurer may require the insured to first pay for the prescription and then
submit a claim to the insurer along with evidence that the prescription is for a
noncontraceptive purpose. An insurer may charge an administrative fee for handling these
claims under this subsection. A religious employer shall not discriminate against an
employee who independently chooses to obtain insurance coverage or prescriptions for
contraceptives from another source.

W. For the purposes of:

1. This section:

(a) "Inherited metabolic disorder" means a disease caused by an inherited
abnormality of body chemistry and includes a disease tested under the newborn screening
program prescribed in section 36-694.

(b) "Medical foods" means modified low protein foods and metabolic formula.

(i) Formulated to be consumed or administered enterally under the supervision of a
physician who is licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 13 or 17 or a registered
nurse practitioner who is licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 15.

(ii) Processed or formulated to be deficient in one or more of the nutrients
present in typical foodstuffs.

(iii) Administered for the medical and nutritional management of a person who has
limited capacity to metabolize foodstuffs or certain nutrients contained in the
foodstuffs or who has other specific nutrient requirements as established by medical
evaluation.

(iv) Essential to a person's optimal growth, health and metabolic homeostasis.

(d) "Modified low protein foods" means foods that are all of the following:

(ii) Processed or formulated to contain less than one gram of protein per unit of
serving, but does not include a natural food that is naturally low in protein.

(iv) Essential to a person's optimal growth, health and metabolic homeostasis.

2. Subsection E of this section, the term "child", for purposes of initial coverage
of an adopted child or a child placed for adoption but not for purposes of termination of
coverage of such child, means a person under the age of eighteen years.

3. Subsection V of this section, "religious employer" means an entity for which all
of the following apply:

(a) The entity primarily employs persons who share the religious tenets of the
entity.

(b) The entity serves primarily persons who share the religious tenets of the
entity.

(c) The entity is a nonprofit organization as described in section 6033(a)(2)(A)(i)
or (iii) of the internal revenue code of 1986, as amended.