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Senate File 2220

Partial Bill History

Bill Text

PAG LIN
  1  1    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  514C.21  MENTAL HEALTH AND
  1  2 SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT COVERAGE.
  1  3    1.  Notwithstanding the uniformity of treatment
  1  4 requirements of section 514C.6, a group policy or contract
  1  5 providing for third-party payment or prepayment of health or
  1  6 medical expenses shall provide mental health and substance
  1  7 abuse treatment coverage benefits and shall not impose
  1  8 limitations on financial terms for coverage of services for
  1  9 serious mental illnesses or substance abuse if similar
  1 10 limitations are not imposed on the coverage benefits for
  1 11 services for medical or surgical conditions.
  1 12    2.  For purposes of this section, unless the context
  1 13 otherwise requires:
  1 14    a.  "Serious mental illness" means the following disorders,
  1 15 as defined by the American psychiatric association's
  1 16 diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders:
  1 17    (1)  Schizophrenia.
  1 18    (2)  Schizo-affective disorder.
  1 19    (3)  Bipolar disorder.
  1 20    (4)  Major depressive disorder.
  1 21    (5)  Obsessive-compulsive disorder.
  1 22    (6)  Autism.
  1 23    (7)  Pervasive developmental disorders.
  1 24    (8)  Anxiety disorders.
  1 25    (9)  Paranoia and other psychotic disorders.
  1 26    (10)  Eating disorders, including but not limited to
  1 27 bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa.
  1 28    b.  "Substance abuse" means a pattern of pathological use
  1 29 of alcohol or a drug that causes impairment in social or
  1 30 occupational functioning, or that produces physiological
  1 31 dependency evidenced by physical tolerance or by physical
  1 32 symptoms when the alcohol or drug is withdrawn.
  1 33    3.  This section shall not apply to accident-only, specific
  1 34 disease, short-term hospital or medical, hospital confinement
  1 35 indemnity, credit, dental, vision, Medicare supplement, long-
  2  1 term care, basic hospital and medical-surgical expense
  2  2 coverage as defined by the commissioner, disability income
  2  3 insurance coverage, coverage issued as a supplement to
  2  4 liability insurance, workers' compensation or similar
  2  5 insurance, automobile medical payment insurance, or individual
  2  6 accident or sickness policies issued pursuant to chapter 513C.
  2  7    4.  A third-party payor may manage the benefits provided
  2  8 through common methods including, but not limited to,
  2  9 providing payment of benefits or providing care and treatment
  2 10 under a capitated payment system, prospective reimbursement
  2 11 rate system, utilization control system, incentive system for
  2 12 the use of least restrictive and least costly levels of care,
  2 13 a preferred provider contract limiting choice of specific
  2 14 provider, or any other system, method, or organization
  2 15 designed to ensure services are medically necessary and
  2 16 clinically appropriate.
  2 17    5.  A group policy or contract covered under this section,
  2 18 at a minimum, shall provide for thirty inpatient and sixty
  2 19 outpatient days annually.  The policy or contract may also
  2 20 include deductibles, coinsurance, or copayments if such
  2 21 deductibles, coinsurance, or copayments are applicable to
  2 22 other medical or surgical services coverage under the policy
  2 23 or contract.  It is not a violation of this section if the
  2 24 policy or contract excludes entirely from coverage benefits
  2 25 the cost of providing the following:
  2 26    a.  Marital, family, educational, developmental, or
  2 27 training services.
  2 28    b.  Care that is substantially custodial in nature.
  2 29    c.  Services and supplies that are not medically necessary
  2 30 or clinically appropriate.
  2 31    d.  Experimental treatments.
  2 32    6.  The commissioner, by rule, shall increase the mental
  2 33 health and substance abuse treatment lifetime limit in the
  2 34 individual market guaranteed standard product to one hundred
  2 35 thousand dollars.
  3  1    7.  A group policy is exempt from this section upon
  3  2 submitting to the commissioner evidence demonstrating a
  3  3 premium increase for the policy term in excess of three
  3  4 percent as a result of the requirements of this section.
  3  5    8.  This section applies to third-party payment provider
  3  6 contracts or policies delivered, issued for delivery,
  3  7 continued, or renewed in this state on or after January 1,
  3  8 2003.
  3  9    9.  This section is repealed effective July 1, 2005.  
  3 10                           EXPLANATION 
  3 11    This bill creates new Code section 514C.21 and provides
  3 12 that a group policy or contract providing for third-party
  3 13 payment or prepayment of health or medical expenses shall
  3 14 provide coverage benefits for treatment of a serious mental
  3 15 illness and substance abuse.  The bill prohibits a group
  3 16 policy or contract from imposing limitations on the financial
  3 17 terms for coverage of services for serious mental illnesses or
  3 18 substance abuse if similar limitations are not imposed on the
  3 19 coverage benefits for services for medical or surgical
  3 20 conditions.
  3 21    The bill defines "serious mental illness" as schizophrenia,
  3 22 schizo-affective disorder, bipolar disorders, major depressive
  3 23 disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, autism, pervasive
  3 24 developmental disorders, anxiety disorders, paranoia and other
  3 25 psychotic disorders, and eating disorders, including, but not
  3 26 limited to, bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa.  The bill
  3 27 defines "substance abuse" as a pattern of pathological use of
  3 28 alcohol or a drug that causes impairment in social or
  3 29 occupational functioning, or that produces physiological
  3 30 dependency evidenced by physical tolerance or by physical
  3 31 symptoms when the alcohol or drug is withdrawn.
  3 32    The bill requires that a third-party payor may manage the
  3 33 benefits provided through common methods including, but not
  3 34 limited to, providing payment of benefits or providing care
  3 35 and treatment under a capitated payment system, prospective
  4  1 reimbursement rate system, utilization control system,
  4  2 incentive system for the use of least restrictive and least
  4  3 costly levels of care, a preferred provider contract limiting
  4  4 choice of specific provider, or any other system, method, or
  4  5 organization designed to ensure services are medically
  4  6 necessary and clinically appropriate.
  4  7    The bill requires the insurance commissioner, by rule, to
  4  8 increase the mental health and substance abuse lifetime limit
  4  9 in the individual market guaranteed standard product to
  4 10 $100,000.
  4 11    The bill provides that a group policy is exempt from the
  4 12 requirements of the new Code section upon submitting to the
  4 13 commissioner evidence demonstrating a premium increase for the
  4 14 policy term in excess of 3 percent as a result of the
  4 15 requirements of the new Code section.
  4 16    The bill provides that the new Code section applies to
  4 17 third-party payment provider contracts or policies delivered,
  4 18 issued for delivery, continued, or renewed in this state on or
  4 19 after January 1, 2003.  The new Code section is repealed
  4 20 effective July 1, 2005.  
  4 21 LSB 5553ST 79
  4 22 jj/cf/24
     

Text: SF02219                           Text: SF02221
Text: SF02200 - SF02299                 Text: SF Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index

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