§ 27-60-4. Unfairly discriminatory acts relating to health benefit plans.
The following acts are prohibited as unfairly discriminatory:
(1) Denying, refusing to issue, renew, or reissue, canceling or terminating a health benefit
plan, or restricting or excluding health benefit plan coverage or adding a premium
differential to any health benefit plan on the basis of the applicant's or insured's
abuse status;
(2) Excluding or limiting coverage for losses or denying a claim incurred by an insured
as a result of abuse on the basis of the insured's abuse status;
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§ 27-60-4. Unfairly discriminatory acts relating to health benefit plans.
The following acts are prohibited as unfairly discriminatory:
(1) Denying, refusing to issue, renew, or reissue, canceling or terminating a health benefit
plan, or restricting or excluding health benefit plan coverage or adding a premium
differential to any health benefit plan on the basis of the applicant's or insured's
abuse status;
(2) Excluding or limiting coverage for losses or denying a claim incurred by an insured
as a result of abuse on the basis of the insured's abuse status;
(3) Terminating group coverage for a subject of abuse because coverage was originally
issued in the name of the abuser and the abuser has divorced, separated from, or lost
custody of the subject of abuse, or the abuser's coverage has terminated voluntarily
or involuntarily. Nothing in this subsection prohibits the health carrier from requiring
the subject of abuse to pay the full premium for coverage under the health plan or
from requiring as a condition of coverage that the subject of abuse reside or work
within its service area, if the requirements are applied to all insureds of the health
carrier. The health carrier may terminate group coverage after the continuation coverage
required by this subsection has been in force for eighteen (18) months, and the health
carrier shall offer conversion to an equivalent individual plan providing the conversion
plan already exists and is offered to all the insureds of the health carrier. The
continuation coverage required by this section shall be satisfied by coverage required
under Pub. L. No. 99-272, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of 1985, provided to
a subject of abuse and is not intended to be in addition to coverage provided under
COBRA; or
(4) Disclosure or transfer by a person employed by or contracting with a health carrier
of any information relating to a person's abuse status, a person's medical condition
that the health carrier knows or has reason to know is abuse-related or a person's
family, household, social, or employment relationship with a subject of abuse, except
to the extent necessary for the direct provision of healthcare services, compliance
with abuse reporting laws, or compliance with an order of the commissioner or a court
of competent jurisdiction. This subsection shall not preclude a subject of abuse from
obtaining his or her own medical records. This subsection shall not be construed to
prohibit a health carrier from asking an applicant or insured about a medical condition,
even if the condition is abuse-related, or using information obtained for the purpose
of acts or practices permitted by this chapter. A subject of abuse may provide evidence
of abuse to a health carrier for the limited purpose of facilitating treatment of
an abuse-related condition or demonstrating that a medical condition is abuse-related,
and this section shall not be construed as authorizing the health carrier to disregard
that information.