Text of VA HB 1267 (2018)
State employee health plan; coverage for gender transition services.
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As introduced
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18100980D
HOUSE BILL NO. 1267
Offered January 10, 2018
Prefiled January 10, 2018
A BILL to amend and reenact §2.2-2818 of the Code of
Virginia, relating to the state employee health insurance program; coverage for
gender transition services.
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Patron-- Sickles
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Committee Referral Pending
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §2.2-2818 of the Code of Virginia is amended and
reenacted as follows:
§2.2-2818. Health and related insurance for state employees.
A. The Department of Human Resource Management shall establish
a plan, subject to the approval of the Governor, for providing health insurance
coverage, including chiropractic treatment, hospitalization, medical, surgical
and major medical coverage, for state employees and retired state employees
with the Commonwealth paying the cost thereof to the extent of the coverage
included in such plan. The same plan shall be offered to all part-time state
employees, but the total cost shall be paid by such part-time employees. The
Department of Human Resource Management shall administer this section. The plan
chosen shall provide means whereby coverage for the families or dependents of
state employees may be purchased. Except for part-time employees, the
Commonwealth may pay all or a portion of the cost thereof, and for such portion
as the Commonwealth does not pay, the employee, including a part-time employee,
may purchase the coverage by paying the additional cost over the cost of
coverage for an employee.
Such contribution shall be financed through appropriations
provided by law.
B. The plan shall:
1. Include coverage for low-dose screening mammograms for
determining the presence of occult breast cancer. Such coverage shall make
available one screening mammogram to persons age 35 through 39, one such
mammogram biennially to persons age 40 through 49, and one such mammogram
annually to persons age 50 and over and may be limited to a benefit of $50 per
mammogram subject to such dollar limits, deductibles, and coinsurance factors
as are no less favorable than for physical illness generally.
The term "mammogram" shall mean an X-ray examination
of the breast using equipment dedicated specifically for mammography, including
but not limited to the X-ray tube, filter, compression device, screens, film,
and cassettes, with an average radiation exposure of less than one rad
mid-breast, two views of each breast.
In order to be considered a screening mammogram for which
coverage shall be made available under this section:
a. The mammogram shall be (i) ordered by a health care
practitioner acting within the scope of his licensure and, in the case of an
enrollee of a health maintenance organization, by the health maintenance
organization provider; (ii) performed by a registered technologist; (iii)
interpreted by a qualified radiologist; and (iv) performed under the direction
of a person licensed to practice medicine and surgery and certified by the
American Board of Radiology or an equivalent examining body. A copy of the
mammogram report shall be sent or delivered to the health care practitioner who
ordered it;
b. The equipment used to perform the mammogram shall meet the
standards set forth by the Virginia Department of Health in its radiation
protection regulations; and
c. The mammography film shall be retained by the radiologic
facility performing the examination in accordance with the American College of
Radiology guidelines or state law.
2. Include coverage for postpartum services providing
inpatient care and a home visit or visits that shall be in accordance with the
medical criteria, outlined in the most current version of or an official update
to the "Guidelines for Perinatal Care" prepared by the American
Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists or the "Standards for Obstetric-Gynecologic Services" prepared
by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Such coverage shall
be provided incorporating any changes in such Guidelines or Standards within
six months of the publication of such Guidelines or Standards or any official
amendment thereto.
3. Include an appeals process for resolution of complaints
that shall provide reasonable procedures for the resolution of such complaints
and shall be published and disseminated to all covered state employees. The
appeals process shall be compliant with federal rules and regulations governing
nonfederal, self-insured governmental health plans. The appeals process shall
include a separate expedited emergency appeals procedure that shall provide
resolution within time frames established by federal law. For appeals involving
adverse decisions as defined in §32.1-137.7, the Department shall contract
with one or more independent review organizations to review such decisions.
Independent review organizations are entities that conduct independent external
review of adverse benefit determinations. The Department shall adopt
regulations to assure that the independent review organization conducting the
reviews has adequate standards, credentials and experience for such review. The
independent review organization shall examine the final denial of claims to
determine whether the decision is objective, clinically valid, and compatible
with established principles of health care. The decision of the independent
review organization shall (i) be in writing, (ii) contain findings of fact as
to the material issues in the case and the basis for those findings, and (iii)
be final and binding if consistent with law and policy.
Prior to assigning an appeal to an independent review
organization, the Department shall verify that the independent review
organization conducting the review of a denial of claims has no relationship or
association with (i) the covered person or the covered person's authorized
representative; (ii) the treating health care provider, or any of its employees
or affiliates; (iii) the medical care facility at which the covered service
would be provided, or any of its employees or affiliates; or (iv) the
development or manufacture of the drug, device, procedure or other therapy that
is the subject of the final denial of a claim. The independent review
organization shall not be a subsidiary of, nor owned or controlled by, a health
plan, a trade association of health plans, or a professional association of
health care providers. There shall be no liability on the part of and no cause
of action shall arise against any officer or employee of an independent review
organization for any actions taken or not taken or statements made by such
officer or employee in good faith in the performance of his powers and duties.
4. Include coverage for early intervention services. For
purposes of this section, "early intervention services" means
medically necessary speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physical
therapy and assistive technology services and devices for dependents from birth
to age three who are certified by the Department of Behavioral Health and
Developmental Services as eligible for services under Part H of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. §1471 et seq.). Medically necessary
early intervention services for the population certified by the Department of
Behavioral Health and Developmental Services shall mean those services designed
to help an individual attain or retain the capability to function
age-appropriately within his environment, and shall include services that
enhance functional ability without effecting a cure.
For persons previously covered under the plan, there shall be
no denial of coverage due to the existence of a preexisting condition. The cost
of early intervention services shall not be applied to any contractual
provision limiting the total amount of coverage paid by the insurer to or on
behalf of the insured during the insured's lifetime.
5. Include coverage for prescription drugs and devices
approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for use as
contraceptives.
6. Not deny coverage for any drug approved by the United
States Food and Drug Administration for use in the treatment of cancer on the
basis that the 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
drug has been prescribed, if the drug has been recognized as safe and effective
for treatment of that specific type of cancer in one of the standard reference
compendia.
7. Not deny coverage for any drug prescribed to treat a
covered indication so long as the drug has been approved by the United States
Food and Drug Administration for at least one indication and the drug is
recognized for treatment of the covered indication in one of the standard
reference compendia or in substantially accepted peer-reviewed medical
literature.
8. Include coverage for equipment, supplies and outpatient
self-management training and education, including medical nutrition therapy,
for the treatment of insulin-dependent diabetes, insulin-using diabetes,
gestational diabetes and noninsulin-using diabetes if prescribed by a health
care professional legally authorized to prescribe such items under law. To
qualify for coverage under this subdivision, diabetes outpatient
self-management training and education shall be provided by a certified,
registered or licensed health care professional.
9. Include coverage for reconstructive breast surgery. For
purposes of this section, "reconstructive breast surgery" means
surgery performed on and after July 1, 1998, (i) coincident with a mastectomy
performed for breast cancer or (ii) following a mastectomy performed for breast
cancer to reestablish symmetry between the two breasts. For persons previously
covered under the plan, there shall be no denial of coverage due to preexisting
conditions.
10. Include coverage for annual pap smears, including
coverage, on and after July 1, 1999, for annual testing performed by any
FDA-approved gynecologic cytology screening technologies.
11. Include coverage providing a minimum stay in the hospital
of not less than 48 hours for a patient following a radical or modified radical
mastectomy and 24 hours of inpatient care following a total mastectomy or a
partial mastectomy with lymph node dissection for treatment of breast cancer.
Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as requiring the provision of
inpatient coverage where the attending physician in consultation with the
patient determines that a shorter period of hospital stay is appropriate.
12. Include coverage (i) to persons age 50 and over and (ii)
to persons age 40 and over who are at high risk for prostate cancer, according
to the most recent published guidelines of the American Cancer Society, for one
PSA test in a 12-month period and digital rectal examinations, all in
accordance with American Cancer Society guidelines. For the purpose of this
subdivision, "PSA testing" means the analysis of a blood sample to
determine the level of prostate specific antigen.
13. Permit any individual covered under the plan direct access
to the health care services of a participating specialist (i) authorized to
provide services under the plan and (ii) selected by the covered individual.
The plan shall have a procedure by which an individual who has an ongoing
special condition may, after consultation with the primary care physician,
receive a referral to a specialist for such condition who shall be responsible
for and capable of providing and coordinating the individual's primary and
specialty care related to the initial specialty care referral. If such an
individual's care would most appropriately be coordinated by such a specialist,
the plan shall refer the individual to a specialist. For the purposes of this
subdivision, "special condition" means a condition or disease that is
(i) life-threatening, degenerative, or disabling and (ii) requires specialized
medical care over a prolonged period of time. Within the treatment period
authorized by the referral, such specialist shall be permitted to treat the
individual without a further referral from the individual's primary care
provider and may authorize such referrals, procedures, tests, and other medical
services related to the initial referral as the individual's primary care
provider would otherwise be permitted to provide or authorize. The plan shall
have a procedure by which an individual who has an ongoing special condition
that requires ongoing care from a specialist may receive a standing referral to
such specialist for the treatment of the special condition. If the primary care
provider, in consultation with the plan and the specialist, if any, determines
that such a standing referral is appropriate, the plan or issuer shall make
such a referral to a specialist. Nothing contained herein shall prohibit the
plan from requiring a participating specialist to provide written notification
to the covered individual's primary care physician of any visit to such
specialist. Such notification may include a description of the health care
services rendered at the time of the visit.
14. Include provisions allowing employees to continue
receiving health care services for a period of up to 90 days from the date of
the primary care physician's notice of termination from any of the plan's
provider panels. The plan shall notify any provider at least 90 days prior to
the date of termination of the provider, except when the provider is terminated
for cause.
For a period of at least 90 days from the date of the notice
of a provider's termination from any of the plan's provider panels, except when
a provider is terminated for cause, a provider shall be permitted by the plan
to render health care services to any of the covered employees who (i) were in
an active course of treatment from the provider prior to the notice of
termination and (ii) request to continue receiving health care services from
the provider.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision, any provider
shall be permitted by the plan to continue rendering health services to any
covered employee who has entered the second trimester of pregnancy at the time
of the provider's termination of participation, except when a provider is
terminated for cause. Such treatment shall, at the covered employee's option,
continue through the provision of postpartum care directly related to the
delivery.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision, any
provider shall be permitted to continue rendering health services to any
covered employee who is determined to be terminally ill (as defined under §
1861(dd)(3)(A) of the Social Security Act) at the time of a provider's
termination of participation, except when a provider is terminated for cause.
Such treatment shall, at the covered employee's option, continue for the
remainder of the employee's life for care directly related to the treatment of
the terminal illness.
A provider who continues to render health care services
pursuant to this subdivision shall be reimbursed in accordance with the
carrier's agreement with such provider existing immediately before the
provider's termination of participation.
15. Include coverage for patient costs incurred during
participation in clinical trials for treatment studies on cancer, including
ovarian cancer trials.
The reimbursement for patient costs incurred during
participation in clinical trials for treatment studies on cancer shall be
determined in the same manner as reimbursement is determined for other medical
and surgical procedures. Such coverage shall have durational limits, dollar
limits, deductibles, copayments and coinsurance factors that are no less
favorable than for physical illness generally.
For purposes of this subdivision:
"Cooperative group" means a formal network of
facilities that collaborate on research projects and have an established
NIH-approved peer review program operating within the group. "Cooperative
group" includes (i) the National Cancer Institute Clinical Cooperative
Group and (ii) the National Cancer Institute Community Clinical Oncology
Program.
"FDA" means the Federal Food and Drug
Administration.
"Multiple project assurance contract" means a
contract between an institution and the federal Department of Health and Human
Services that defines the relationship of the institution to the federal
Department of Health and Human Services and sets out the responsibilities of
the institution and the procedures that will be used by the institution to
protect human subjects.
"NCI" means the National Cancer Institute.
"NIH" means the National Institutes of Health.
"Patient" means a person covered under the plan
established pursuant to this section.
"Patient cost" means the cost of a medically
necessary health care service that is incurred as a result of the treatment
being provided to a patient for purposes of a clinical trial. "Patient
cost" does not include (i) the cost of nonhealth care services that a
patient may be required to receive as a result of the treatment being provided
for purposes of a clinical trial, (ii) costs associated with managing the
research associated with the clinical trial, or (iii) the cost of the
investigational drug or device.
Coverage for patient costs incurred during clinical trials for
treatment studies on cancer shall be provided if the treatment is being
conducted in a Phase II, Phase III, or Phase IV clinical trial. Such treatment
may, however, be provided on a case-by-case basis if the treatment is being
provided in a Phase I clinical trial.
The treatment described in the previous paragraph shall be
provided by a clinical trial approved by:
a. The National Cancer Institute;
b. An NCI cooperative group or an NCI center;
c. The FDA in the form of an investigational new drug
application;
d. The federal Department of Veterans Affairs; or
e. An institutional review board of an institution in the
Commonwealth that has a multiple project assurance contract approved by the
Office of Protection from Research Risks of the NCI.
The facility and personnel providing the treatment shall be capable
of doing so by virtue of their experience, training, and expertise.
Coverage under this subdivision shall apply only if:
(1) There is no clearly superior, noninvestigational treatment
alternative;
(2) The available clinical or preclinical data provide a
reasonable expectation that the treatment will be at least as effective as the
noninvestigational alternative; and
(3) The patient and the physician or health care provider who
provides services to the patient under the plan conclude that the patient's
participation in the clinical trial would be appropriate, pursuant to
procedures established by the plan.
16. Include coverage providing a minimum stay in the hospital
of not less than 23 hours for a covered employee following a
laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy and 48 hours for a covered employee
following a vaginal hysterectomy, as outlined in Milliman & Robertson's
nationally recognized guidelines. Nothing in this subdivision shall be
construed as requiring the provision of the total hours referenced when the
attending physician, in consultation with the covered employee, determines that
a shorter hospital stay is appropriate.
17. Include coverage for biologically based mental illness.
For purposes of this subdivision, a "biologically based mental
illness" is any mental or nervous condition caused by a biological
disorder of the brain that results in a clinically significant syndrome that
substantially limits the person's functioning; specifically, the following
diagnoses are defined as biologically based mental illness as they apply to
adults and children: schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder,
major depressive disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder,
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, and drug and alcoholism
addiction.
Coverage for biologically based mental illnesses shall neither
be different nor separate from coverage for any other illness, condition or
disorder for purposes of determining deductibles, benefit year or lifetime
durational limits, benefit year or lifetime dollar limits, lifetime episodes or
treatment limits, copayment and coinsurance factors, and benefit year maximum
for deductibles and copayment and coinsurance factors.
Nothing shall preclude the undertaking of usual and customary
procedures to determine the appropriateness of, and medical necessity for,
treatment of biologically based mental illnesses under this option, provided
that all such appropriateness and medical necessity determinations are made in
the same manner as those determinations made for the treatment of any other
illness, condition or disorder covered by such policy or contract.
18. Offer and make available coverage for the treatment of
morbid obesity through gastric bypass surgery or such other methods as may be
recognized by the National Institutes of Health as effective for the long-term
reversal of morbid obesity. Such coverage shall have durational limits, dollar
limits, deductibles, copayments and coinsurance factors that are no less
favorable than for physical illness generally. Access to surgery for morbid
obesity shall not be restricted based upon dietary or any other criteria not
approved by the National Institutes of Health. For purposes of this
subdivision, "morbid obesity" means (i) a weight that is at least 100
pounds over or twice the ideal weight for frame, age, height, and gender as
specified in the 1983 Metropolitan Life Insurance tables, (ii) a body mass
index (BMI) equal to or greater than 35 kilograms per meter squared with
comorbidity or coexisting medical conditions such as hypertension,
cardiopulmonary conditions, sleep apnea, or diabetes, or (iii) a BMI of 40
kilograms per meter squared without such comorbidity. As used herein,
"BMI" equals weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared.
19. Include coverage for colorectal cancer screening,
specifically screening with an annual fecal occult blood test, flexible
sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy, or in appropriate circumstances radiologic
imaging, in accordance with the most recently published recommendations
established by the American College of Gastroenterology, in consultation with
the American Cancer Society, for the ages, family histories, and frequencies
referenced in such recommendations. The coverage for colorectal cancer screening
shall not be more restrictive than or separate from coverage provided for any
other illness, condition or disorder for purposes of determining deductibles,
benefit year or lifetime durational limits, benefit year or lifetime dollar
limits, lifetime episodes or treatment limits, copayment and coinsurance
factors, and benefit year maximum for deductibles and copayments and
coinsurance factors.
20. On and after July 1, 2002, require that a prescription
benefit card, health insurance benefit card, or other technology that complies
with the requirements set forth in §38.2-3407.4:2 be issued to each employee
provided coverage pursuant to this section, and shall upon any changes in the
required data elements set forth in subsection A of §38.2-3407.4:2, either
reissue the card or provide employees covered under the plan such corrective
information as may be required to electronically process a prescription claim.
21. Include coverage for infant hearing screenings and all
necessary audiological examinations provided pursuant to §32.1-64.1 using any
technology approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, and as
recommended by the national Joint Committee on Infant Hearing in its most
current position statement addressing early hearing detection and intervention
programs. Such coverage shall include follow-up audiological examinations as
recommended by a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner or
audiologist and performed by a licensed audiologist to confirm the existence or
absence of hearing loss.
22. Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the
contrary, every plan established in accordance with this section shall comply
with the provisions of §2.2-2818.2.
23. On and after
July 1, 2018, include coverage
for gender transition services. For purposes of this subdivision,
"gender transition services" means gender or sex reassignment
surgery and gender or sex transition
services, including physician's services, hormonal therapy, inpatient
and outpatient hospital services, prescribed drugs, and counseling
services, that are designed to
assist an individual with the adjustment of primary and secondary sexual
characteristics to align with gender identity and to alleviate gender
dysphoria.
C. Claims incurred during a fiscal year but not reported
during that fiscal year shall be paid from such funds as shall be appropriated
by law. Appropriations, premiums and other payments shall be deposited in the
employee health insurance fund, from which payments for claims, premiums, cost
containment programs and administrative expenses shall be withdrawn from time
to time. The funds of the health insurance fund shall be deemed separate and
independent trust funds, shall be segregated from all other funds of the
Commonwealth, and shall be invested and administered solely in the interests of
the employees and their beneficiaries. Neither the General Assembly nor any
public officer, employee, or agency shall use or authorize the use of such
trust funds for any purpose other than as provided in law for benefits,
refunds, and administrative expenses, including but not limited to legislative
oversight of the health insurance fund.
D. For the purposes of this section:
"Peer-reviewed medical literature" means a
scientific study published only after having been critically reviewed for
scientific accuracy, validity, and reliability by unbiased independent experts
in a journal that has been determined by the International Committee of Medical
Journal Editors to have met the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts submitted
to biomedical journals. Peer-reviewed medical literature does not include
publications or supplements to publications that are sponsored to a significant
extent by a pharmaceutical manufacturing company or health carrier.
"Standard reference compendia" means:
1. American Hospital Formulary Service -- Drug Information;
2. National Comprehensive Cancer Network's Drugs &
Biologics Compendium; or
3. Elsevier Gold Standard's Clinical Pharmacology.
"State employee" means state employee as defined in
§51.1-124.3; employee as defined in §51.1-201; the Governor, Lieutenant
Governor and Attorney General; judge as defined in §51.1-301 and judges,
clerks and deputy clerks of regional juvenile and domestic relations, county
juvenile and domestic relations, and district courts of the Commonwealth;
interns and residents employed by the School of Medicine and Hospital of the
University of Virginia, and interns, residents, and employees of the Virginia
Commonwealth University Health System Authority as provided in §23.1-2415; and
employees of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority as provided in §
4.1-101.05.
E. Provisions shall be made for retired employees to obtain
coverage under the above plan, including, as an option, coverage for vision and
dental care. The Commonwealth may, but shall not be obligated to, pay all or
any portion of the cost thereof.
F. Any self-insured group health insurance plan established by
the Department of Human Resource Management that utilizes a network of
preferred providers shall not exclude any physician solely on the basis of a
reprimand or censure from the Board of Medicine, so long as the physician
otherwise meets the plan criteria established by the Department.
G. The plan shall include, in each planning district, at least
two health coverage options, each sponsored by unrelated entities. No later
than July 1, 2006, one of the health coverage options to be available in each
planning district shall be a high deductible health plan that would qualify for
a health savings account pursuant to §223 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended.
In each planning district that does not have an available
health coverage alternative, the Department shall voluntarily enter into
negotiations at any time with any health coverage provider who seeks to provide
coverage under the plan.
This subsection shall not apply to any state agency authorized
by the Department to establish and administer its own health insurance coverage
plan separate from the plan established by the Department.
H. Any self-insured group health insurance plan established by
the Department of Human Resource Management that includes coverage for
prescription drugs on an outpatient basis may apply a formulary to the
prescription drug benefits provided by the plan if the formulary is developed, reviewed
at least annually, and updated as necessary in consultation with and with the
approval of a pharmacy and therapeutics committee, a majority of whose members
are actively practicing licensed (i) pharmacists, (ii) physicians, and (iii)
other health care providers.
If the plan maintains one or more drug formularies, the plan
shall establish a process to allow a person to obtain, without additional
cost-sharing beyond that provided for formulary prescription drugs in the plan,
a specific, medically necessary nonformulary prescription drug if, after
reasonable investigation and consultation with the prescriber, the formulary
drug is determined to be an inappropriate therapy for the medical condition of
the person. The plan shall act on such requests within one business day of
receipt of the request.
Any plan established in accordance with this section shall be
authorized to provide for the selection of a single mail order pharmacy
provider as the exclusive provider of pharmacy services that are delivered to
the covered person's address by mail, common carrier, or delivery service. As
used in this subsection, "mail order pharmacy provider" means a
pharmacy permitted to conduct business in the Commonwealth whose primary
business is to dispense a prescription drug or device under a prescriptive drug
order and to deliver the drug or device to a patient primarily by mail, common
carrier, or delivery service.
I. Any plan established in accordance with this section
requiring preauthorization prior to rendering medical treatment shall have
personnel available to provide authorization at all times when such
preauthorization is required.
J. Any plan established in accordance with this section shall
provide to all covered employees written notice of any benefit reductions
during the contract period at least 30 days before such reductions become
effective.
K. No contract between a provider and any plan established in
accordance with this section shall include provisions that require a health care
provider or health care provider group to deny covered services that such
provider or group knows to be medically necessary and appropriate that are
provided with respect to a covered employee with similar medical conditions.
L. The Department of Human Resource Management shall appoint
an Ombudsman to promote and protect the interests of covered employees under
any state employee's health plan.
The Ombudsman shall:
1. Assist covered employees in understanding their rights and
the processes available to them according to their state health plan.
2. Answer inquiries from covered employees by telephone and
electronic mail.
3. Provide to covered employees information concerning the
state health plans.
4. Develop information on the types of health plans available,
including benefits and complaint procedures and appeals.
5. Make available, either separately or through an existing
Internet web site utilized by the Department of Human Resource Management,
information as set forth in subdivision 4 and such additional information as he
deems appropriate.
6. Maintain data on inquiries received, the types of
assistance requested, any actions taken and the disposition of each such
matter.
7. Upon request, assist covered employees in using the
procedures and processes available to them from their health plan, including
all appeal procedures. Such assistance may require the review of health care
records of a covered employee, which shall be done only in accordance with the
federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy rules. The
confidentiality of any such medical records shall be maintained in accordance
with the confidentiality and disclosure laws of the Commonwealth.
8. Ensure that covered employees have access to the services
provided by the Ombudsman and that the covered employees receive timely
responses from the Ombudsman or his representatives to the inquiries.
9. Report annually on his activities to the standing
committees of the General Assembly having jurisdiction over insurance and over
health and the Joint Commission on Health Care by December 1 of each year.
M. The plan established in accordance with this section shall
not refuse to accept or make reimbursement pursuant to an assignment of
benefits made to a dentist or oral surgeon by a covered employee.
For purposes of this subsection, "assignment of
benefits" means the transfer of dental care coverage reimbursement
benefits or other rights under the plan. The assignment of benefits shall not
be effective until the covered employee notifies the plan in writing of the
assignment.
N. Beginning July 1, 2006, any plan established pursuant to
this section shall provide for an identification number, which shall be
assigned to the covered employee and shall not be the same as the employee's
social security number.
O. Any group health insurance plan established by the
Department of Human Resource Management that contains a coordination of
benefits provision shall provide written notification to any eligible employee
as a prominent part of its enrollment materials that if such eligible employee
is covered under another group accident and sickness insurance policy, group
accident and sickness subscription contract, or group health care plan for
health care services, that insurance policy, subscription contract or health
care plan may have primary responsibility for the covered expenses of other
family members enrolled with the eligible employee. Such written notification
shall describe generally the conditions upon which the other coverage would be
primary for dependent children enrolled under the eligible employee's coverage
and the method by which the eligible enrollee may verify from the plan that
coverage would have primary responsibility for the covered expenses of each
family member.
P. Any plan established by the Department of Human Resource
Management pursuant to this section shall provide that coverage under such plan
for family members enrolled under a participating state employee's coverage
shall continue for a period of at least 30 days following the death of such
state employee.
Q. The plan established in accordance with this section that
follows a policy of sending its payment to the covered employee or covered
family member for a claim for services received from a nonparticipating
physician or osteopath shall (i) include language in the member handbook that
notifies the covered employee of the responsibility to apply the plan payment
to the claim from such nonparticipating provider, (ii) include this language
with any such payment sent to the covered employee or covered family member,
and (iii) include the name and any last known address of the nonparticipating
provider on the explanation of benefits statement.
R. The Department of Human Resource Management shall report
annually, by November 30 of each year, on cost and utilization information for
each of the mandated benefits set forth in subsection B, including any mandated
benefit made applicable, pursuant to subdivision B 22, to any plan established
pursuant to this section. The report shall be in the same detail and form as
required of reports submitted pursuant to §38.2-3419.1, with such additional
information as is required to determine the financial impact, including the
costs and benefits, of the particular mandated benefit.