§ 56-7-2301 — Health insurance - Newly born children - Coverage - Notification

(a) All individual and group health insurance policies providing coverage on an expense incurred basis and individual and group service or indemnity type contracts issued by a nonprofit corporation that provide coverage for a child of the insured or subscriber shall, as to the child's coverage, also provide that the health insurance benefits applicable to children, if any, shall be payable with respect to a newly born child of the insured or subscriber from the moment of birth. (b) The coverage for newly born children shall, in addition to coverage for infants placed in the well-child care unit, consist of coverage of injury or sickness, including the necessary care and treatment of medically diagnosed congenital defects and birth abnormalities. The coverage of newly born infants and pregnant women shall also include coverage for testing as provided in § 68-5-401(a)(2) . (c) If payment of a specific premium or subscription fee is required to provide coverage for a child, the policy or contract may require that notification of birth of a newly born child and payment of the required premium or fee must be furnished to the insurer or nonprofit service or indemnity corporation within thirty-one (31) days after the date of birth in order to have the coverage continue beyond the thirty-one-day period. (d) The requirements of this section apply to all insurance policies and subscriber contracts delivered or issued for delivery in this state more than one hundred twenty (120) days after July 1, 1974, and to those policies and subscriber contracts that are substantially amended after July 1, 1980. (e) If and only if a person or the person's spouse is pregnant at the time health insurance coverage is purchased, then at the time of the purchase this section may be contractually waived with respect to health insurance coverage for an unborn child and/or the right of the person to purchase health insurance coverage for the unborn child.

Legislative History

Acts 1974, ch. 422, § 1; 1976, ch. 493, § 1; T.C.A., § 56-1165; Acts 1980, ch. 525, § 1; 1982, ch. 710, §§ 1-3; 1992, ch. 984, § 1; T.C.A. §56-7-1001(a)-(d); Acts 1995, ch. 334, § 1; 1997, ch. 312, § 2.