00HOUSE BILL NO. 359                                                                                                    
01 "An Act relating to regulation of health insurance plans; and providing for an                                          
02 effective date."                                                                                                        
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04    * Section 1.  AS 21 is amended by adding a new chapter to read:                                                    
05 Chapter 07. Regulation of Health Insurance Plans.                                                                     
06  Sec. 21.07.010.  Required filing with director.  (a)  An insurer that offers a                                      
07 health insurance plan to residents of this state shall file a form, as prescribed by the                                
08 director, with the director.  The form must contain at least                                                            
09   (1)  the official address and telephone number of the place of business                                              
10 of the insurer; and                                                                                                     
11   (2)  a description of the insurer's internal patient appeals process                                                 
12 available to cover persons to contest a denial, reduction, or termination of benefits, if                               
13 any.                                                                                                                    
14  (b)  A health maintenance organization that holds a certificate of authority                                          

01 under AS 21.86.020 is exempt from the filing requirements of this section but shall                                     
02 comply with the other provisions of this chapter.                                                                       
03  Sec. 21.07.020.  Required plan disclosure.  (a)  An insurer shall disclose in                                       
04 writing to a subscriber the terms and conditions of the insurer's health insurance plan                                 
05 and shall promptly provide the subscriber with written notification of a change in the                                  
06 terms and conditions before the effective date of the change.  The insurer shall provide                                
07 the required information at the time of enrollment and on request thereafter.                                           
08  (b)  The information required to be disclosed by this section includes a                                              
09 description of                                                                                                          
10   (1)  covered services and benefits to which the subscriber or other                                                  
11 covered person is entitled;                                                                                             
12   (2)  restrictions or limitations on covered services and benefits,                                                   
13 including physical and occupational therapy services, clinical laboratory tests, hospital                               
14 and surgical procedures, prescription drugs and biologics, radiological examinations,                                   
15 and behavioral health services;                                                                                         
16   (3)  financial responsibility of the covered person, including copayments                                            
17 and deductibles;                                                                                                        
18   (4)  prior authorization and other review requirements with respect to                                               
19 obtaining covered services;                                                                                             
20   (5)  where and in what manner covered services may be obtained;                                                      
21   (6)  changes in covered services or benefits, including an addition,                                                 
22 reduction, or elimination of specific services or benefits;                                                             
23   (7)  the covered person's right to appeal and the procedure for initiating                                           
24 an appeal of a utilization review decision made by or on behalf of the insurer with                                     
25 respect to the denial, reduction, or termination of a health care benefit or the denial of                              
26 payment for a health care service;                                                                                      
27   (8)  the procedure to initiate an appeal through the director; and                                                   
28   (9)  other information that the director may require.                                                                
29  (c)  The insurer shall file the information required under this section with the                                      
30 director.                                                                                                               
31  Sec. 21.07.030.  Managed care plan disclosure and notice.  (a)  In addition                                         

01 to the disclosure requirements provided under AS 21.07.020, an insurer that offers a                                    
02 managed care plan shall disclose to a subscriber, in writing, the following information                                 
03 at the time of enrollment and annually thereafter:                                                                      
04   (1)  a current participating provider directory providing information on                                             
05 a covered person's access to primary care physicians and specialists, including the                                     
06 number of available participating physicians, by provider category or speciality; the                                   
07 directory shall include the professional office address of a primary care physician and                                 
08 any hospital affiliation the primary care physician has; the directory shall also provide                               
09 information about participating hospitals;                                                                              
10   (2)  general information about the financial incentives between                                                      
11 participating physicians under contract with the insurer and other participating health                                 
12 care providers and facilities to which the participating physicians refer their managed                                 
13 care patients;                                                                                                          
14   (3)  the percentage of the insurer's managed care plan's network                                                     
15 physicians who are board certified;                                                                                     
16   (4)  the insurer's managed care plan's standard for customary waiting                                                
17 times for appointments for urgent and routine care; and                                                                 
18   (5)  the availability through the director, on request of a member of the                                            
19 general public, of independent consumer satisfaction survey results and an analysis of                                  
20 quality outcomes of health care services of managed care plans in the state.                                            
21  (b)  On request of a covered person, an insurer shall promptly inform the                                             
22 person whether a particular network physician is                                                                        
23   (1)  board certified; and                                                                                            
24   (2)  currently accepting new patients.                                                                               
25  (c)  An insurer shall                                                                                                 
26   (1)  promptly notify each covered person before the termination or                                                   
27 withdrawal from the insurer's provider network of the covered person's primary care                                     
28 physician; and                                                                                                          
29   (2)  provide a prospective subscriber with information about the provider                                            
30 network, including hospital affiliations, and, on request, other information specified in                               
31 this section.                                                                                                           

01  (d)  The insurer shall file the information required by this section with the                                         
02 director.                                                                                                               
03  Sec. 21.07.040.  Managed care medical director.  (a)  An insurer that offers                                        
04 a managed care plan or uses a utilization review system in a health plan shall designate                                
05 a licensed physician to serve as medical director.  The medical director shall be                                       
06 designated to serve as the medical director for medical services provided to covered                                    
07 persons in the state and is required to be licensed to practice medicine in this state.                                 
08 The medical director shall be responsible for treatment policies, protocols, quality                                    
09 assurance activities, and utilization review decisions of the insurer.  The treatment                                   
10 policies, protocols, quality assurance program, and utilization review decisions of the                                 
11 insurer shall be based on generally accepted standards of health care practice.  The                                    
12 quality assurance and utilization review program shall be consistent with standards                                     
13 adopted by regulation of the director.                                                                                  
14  (b)  The medical director shall ensure that                                                                           
15   (1)  a utilization review decision to deny, reduce, or terminate a health                                            
16 care benefit or to deny payment for a health care service because that service is not                                   
17 medically necessary shall be made by a physician; in the case of a health care service                                  
18 prescribed or provided by a dentist, the decision shall be made by a dentist;                                           
19   (2)  a utilization review decision may not retrospectively deny coverage                                             
20 for health care services provided to a covered person when prior approval has been                                      
21 obtained from the insurer for those services unless the approval was based on                                           
22 fraudulent information submitted by the covered person or the participating provider;                                   
23   (3)  in the case of a managed care plan, a procedure is implemented                                                  
24 whereby participating physicians and dentists have an opportunity to review and                                         
25 comment on all medical and surgical and dental protocols, respectively, of the insurer;                                 
26   (4)  the utilization review program is available on a 24-hour basis to                                               
27 respond to authorization requests for emergency and urgent services and is available,                                   
28 at a minimum, during normal working hours for inquiries and authorization requests                                      
29 for nonurgent health care services; and                                                                                 
30   (5)  in the case of a managed care plan, a covered person is permitted                                               
31 to choose or change a primary care physician from among participating providers in                                      

01 the provider network and, when appropriate, choose a specialist from among                                              
02 participating network providers following an authorized referral if required by the                                     
03 insurer and subject to the ability of the specialist to accept new patients.                                            
04  Sec. 21.07.050.  Employment of health care providers.  (a)  An application                                          
05 for participation by a health care provider that is submitted to an insurer that offers a                               
06 managed care plan shall be reviewed by a committee of the insurer that includes                                         
07 appropriate representation of health care professionals with knowledge of the                                           
08 applicant's scope of professional practice.                                                                             
09  (b)  An insurer that offers a managed care plan shall establish a policy                                              
10 governing removal of a health care provider from the provider network that includes                                     
11 the following:                                                                                                          
12   (1)  the insurer shall inform a participating health care provider of the                                            
13 insurer's removal policy at the time the insurer contracts with the health care provider                                
14 to participate in the provider network and at each renewal of the contract;                                             
15   (2)  if a health care provider's participation will be terminated before the                                         
16 date of the termination of the contract, the insurer shall provide the health care                                      
17 provider with a 90-day written notice of the termination and notice of a right to a                                     
18 hearing; if requested by the health care provider, the insurer shall provide the reasons                                
19 for the termination in writing and shall hold a hearing within 30 days of the date of                                   
20 the request; the hearing shall be conducted by a panel appointed by the insurer and                                     
21 consisting of at least three persons, at least one of whom is a clinical peer in the same                               
22 discipline and the same or similar speciality as the health care provider whose                                         
23 participation is being terminated; the panel shall decide whether the health care                                       
24 provider shall be terminated, reinstated, or provisionally reinstated, subject to                                       
25 conditions set out by the panel; the panel's determination shall be in writing and shall                                
26 be made in a timely manner;                                                                                             
27   (3)  the notice and opportunity for a hearing required under (2) of this                                             
28 subsection do not apply when                                                                                            
29   (A)  the contract expires and is not renewed;                                                                       
30   (B)  the termination is for breach of contract;                                                                     
31   (C)  in the opinion of the medical director, the health care                                                        

01 provider represents an imminent danger to an individual patient or the public                                           
02 health, safety, or welfare; or                                                                                          
03   (D)  there is a determination of fraud;                                                                             
04   (4)  if the insurer finds that a health care provider represents an                                                  
05 imminent danger to an individual patient or to the public health, safety, or welfare, the                               
06 medical director shall promptly notify the appropriate state licensing board.                                           
07  Sec. 21.07.060.  Managed care provider and patient protection.  A contract                                          
08 between a participating health care provider and an insurer that offers a managed care                                  
09 plan                                                                                                                    
10   (1)  must state that the health care provider may not be penalized or the                                            
11 contract terminated by the insurer because the health care provider acts as an advocate                                 
12 for the patient in seeking appropriate, medically necessary health care services;                                       
13   (2)  may not provide financial incentives to the health care provider for                                            
14 withholding covered health care services that are medically necessary; and                                              
15   (3)  must protect the ability of a health care provider to communicate                                               
16 openly with a patient about all appropriate diagnostic testing and treatment options.                                   
17  Sec. 21.07.070.  Required contract provisions.  A health insurance plan                                             
18 offered to residents of the state must provide that                                                                     
19   (1)  coverage for a medical procedure that has been preapproved by the                                               
20 insurer may not be denied if denial occurs less than 96 hours before the medical                                        
21 procedure is scheduled to commence; and                                                                                 
22   (2)  if the insured has coverage under more than one health insurance                                                
23 plan, the primary insurer may not coordinate benefits with the secondary insurer if the                                 
24 coordination reduces the benefits the insured is eligible to receive under the primary                                  
25 or secondary health insurance plan.                                                                                    
26  Sec. 21.07.080.  Choice of health care provider.  (a)  An insurer that offers                                        
27 a managed care plan shall offer to every contract holder a point-of-service plan option                                 
28 that would allow a covered person to receive covered services from an out-of-network                                    
29 health care provider without obtaining a referral or prior authorization from the insurer.                              
30 The point-of-service plan option may require that a subscriber pay a higher deductible                                  
31 or copayment and higher premium for the plan.                                                                           

01  (b)  An insurer shall provide each subscriber in a plan whose contract holder                                         
02 elects the point-of-service plan option with the opportunity at the time of enrollment                                  
03 and during the annual open enrollment period to enroll in the point-of-service plan                                     
04 option.  The insurer shall provide written notice of the point-of-service plan option to                                
05 each subscriber in a plan whose contract holder elects the point-of-service plan option                                 
06 and shall include in that notice a detailed explanation of the financial costs to be                                    
07 incurred by a subscriber who selects that option.                                                                       
08  (c)  The requirements of this section do not apply to an insurer contract that                                        
09 offers a managed care plan that provides health care services to Medicaid recipients                                    
10 or to a federally qualified, nonprofit health maintenance organization.                                                 
11  Sec. 21.07.090.  Health Care Appeals Board.  (a)  The director shall appoint                                        
12 a Health Care Appeals Board to provide independent medical necessity or an                                              
13 appropriateness of service review of a final decision by an insurer to deny, reduce, or                                 
14 terminate benefits when the final decision is contested by the covered person.  The                                     
15 board may not review decisions regarding benefits not covered by the covered person's                                   
16 health insurance plan.                                                                                                  
17  (b)  The director shall appoint at least seven, but no more than 15                                                   
18 representatives, to the board.  Members shall serve two-year terms and may be                                           
19 reappointed.  Board members may not be compensated except for per diem and travel                                       
20 expenses authorized for boards and commissions under AS 39.20.180.                                                      
21  (c)  The director shall appoint members of the board from individuals who are                                         
22 advocates for health care consumers, persons with mental illnesses, children, persons                                   
23 with disabilities, senior citizens, public assistance, persons who are eligible to receive                              
24 medical assistance under 42 U.S.C. 1396 - 1396p (Social Security Act), and from other                                   
25 persons who have demonstrated a knowledge of the effect of the health care delivery                                     
26 system on consumers in the state.  Members shall be chosen to reflect the diversity of                                  
27 consumers, including race, sex, age, economic status, disability, and health status.                                    
28 However, members may not include a person with a financial or other conflict of                                         
29 interest, a person who is directly and substantially involved in the delivery of health                                 
30 care, an employee or principal of a health insurer, a health care plan supplier, a                                      
31 manufacturer of medical care goods and services, or a health care provider.                                             

01  (d)  The board shall meet at least four times a year.  The board shall elect its                                      
02 own officers and shall designate its own committees and other organizational                                            
03 structures.                                                                                                             
04  (e)  The director shall appoint a technical advisory board to assist the board.                                       
05 The technical advisory board must include representatives of state agencies with                                        
06 responsibility for areas of interest to the board.  The department shall provide staff                                  
07 support to the board.                                                                                                   
08  (f)  A covered person may apply to the Health Care Appeals Board for a                                                
09 review of a decision to deny, reduce, or terminate a benefit if the person has already                                  
10 completed the insurer's appeal process, if any, and the person contests the final                                       
11 decision by the insurer.  The person shall apply to the board within 60 days after the                                  
12 date the final decision was issued by the insurer in a manner determined by the                                         
13 director.                                                                                                               
14  Sec. 21.07.100.  Insurance benefit review.  (a)  If a covered person applies                                        
15 for  an insurance benefit review under AS 21.07.090(f), the board shall promptly                                        
16 review the pertinent medical records of the person to determine the appropriate,                                        
17 medically necessary health care services the person should receive based on applicable,                                 
18 generally accepted practice guidelines developed by the federal government, national                                    
19 or professional medical societies, boards or associations, and any applicable clinical                                  
20 protocols or practice guidelines developed by the insurer.  The board shall complete                                    
21 its review and make its determination within 90 days of receipt of a completed                                          
22 application for a review or within less time, as prescribed by the director.                                            
23  (b)  On completion of a review, the board shall state its findings in writing and                                     
24 make a determination of whether the insurer's denial, reduction, or termination of                                      
25 benefits deprived the covered person of medically necessary services covered by the                                     
26 person's health care insurance plan.  If the board determines that the denial, reduction,                               
27 or termination of benefits deprived the person of medically necessary covered services,                                 
28 it shall make a recommendation to the covered person and insurer regarding the                                          
29 appropriate, medically necessary health care services the person should receive.  On                                    
30 receiving the board's recommendation, the insurer shall promptly notify the covered                                     
31 person and the director of what action the insurer will take with respect to the                                        

01 recommendation.  If the covered person is not in agreement with the board's findings                                    
02 and recommendation or the insurer's action on the recommendation, the person may                                        
03 seek the desired health care services outside of the person's health benefits plan, at the                              
04 person's own expense.                                                                                                   
05  (c)  If the director determines that an insurer exhibits a pattern of                                                 
06 noncompliance with the findings and recommendations of the board, the director shall                                    
07 review the insurer's utilization management program to ensure that the insurer is in                                    
08 compliance with all relevant state laws and regulations, including utilization                                          
09 management standards.  If the director determines that the insurer is in violation of                                   
10 patient rights and other applicable regulations, the director may impose penalties and                                  
11 sanctions on the insurer, as provided by law.                                                                           
12  (d)  The director shall require the board to establish procedures to provide for                                      
13 an expedited review of an insurer's denial, reduction, or termination of a benefit                                      
14 decision when a delay in receipt of the service could seriously jeopardize the health                                   
15 or well-being of the covered person.                                                                                    
16  (e)  A covered person's medical records provided to the board and the findings                                        
17 and recommendations of the board are confidential and shall be used only by the                                         
18 director, the board, and the affected insurer for the purposes of this chapter.  The                                    
19 medical records, findings, and recommendations may not otherwise be divulged or                                         
20 made public in a manner that discloses the identity of a person to whom they relate                                     
21 and may not be included under materials available for public inspection.                                                
22  (f)  The cost of an insurance benefit review shall be paid by the insurer under                                       
23 a schedule of fees established by the director.                                                                         
24  Sec. 21.07.110.  Immunity under appeal program.  (a)  A member of the                                               
25 board who participates in an insurance benefit review may not be held liable for civil                                  
26 damages for an action taken within the scope of the member's function on the board.                                     
27 The attorney general shall defend the board member in such a civil action, and the                                      
28 state shall provide indemnification for any damages awarded.                                                            
29  (b)  An insurer that is the subject of an insurance benefit review is not liable                                      
30 for civil damages to a person for an action taken to implement a recommendation of                                      
31 the board.                                                                                                              

01  Sec. 21.07.120.  Required report.  The director shall annually report to the                                        
02 legislature and to the governor on the status of the health care insurance benefit review                               
03 program.  The report must include                                                                                       
04   (1)  a summary of the number of reviews conducted and medical                                                        
05 specialties affected;                                                                                                   
06   (2)  a summary of the findings and recommendations made by the                                                       
07 board;                                                                                                                  
08   (3)  a list of actions taken by the director against an insurer; and                                                 
09   (4)  any other information and recommendations determined appropriate                                                
10 by the director.                                                                                                        
11  Sec. 21.07.130.  Consumer surveys.  An insurer that offers a managed care                                           
12 plan shall comply with the director's reporting requirements with respect to quality                                    
13 outcome measures of health care services and independent consumer satisfaction                                          
14 surveys.  The director shall make available to a member of the general public, on                                       
15 request, the results of the independent consumer satisfaction survey and the analysis                                   
16 of quality outcome measures of health care services provided by managed care plans                                      
17 in the state, prepared by the director.                                                                                 
18  Sec. 21.07.140.  Employer notice.  An employer who provides a                                                       
19 comprehensive self-funded health insurance plan to employees or their dependents, or                                    
20 both, in the state shall annually, and on request of an employee at other times during                                  
21 the year, notify the employees that they are covered by a self-insured plan that is not                                 
22 subject to regulation by the state and specify those mandated health insurance benefits                                 
23 established by law that are not covered by the self-insured plan.  The director shall                                   
24 notify the commissioner of labor of any health insurance mandates enacted into law,                                     
25 and the commissioner of labor shall notify employers in a timely manner of the health                                   
26 insurance mandates subject to the provisions of this section.                                                           
27  Sec. 21.07.150.  Enforcement; penalty.  The director shall establish                                                
28 enforcement procedures to ensure compliance with this chapter.  Material violations                                     
29 of a standard or requirement may be punished by a civil penalty of up to $2,000.  In                                    
30 the case of conduct constituting a pattern of repeated, material violations, the director                               
31 may also rescind approval of or limit the operation of a plan.  Before imposing a                                       

01 sanction, the director shall provide a managed care plan with an opportunity to be                                      
02 heard in connection with the alleged violations and the possible sanctions.                                             
03  Sec. 21.07.500.  Definitions.  In this chapter,                                                                     
04   (1)  "board" means the Health Care Appeals Board;                                                                    
05   (2)  "health care provider" means an acupuncturist licensed under                                                    
06 AS 08.06; an audiologist licensed under AS 08.11; a chiropractor licensed under                                         
07 AS 08.20; a dental hygienist licensed under AS 08.32; a dentist licensed under                                          
08 AS 08.36; a marital or family therapist licensed under AS 08.63; a direct-entry                                         
09 midwife licensed under AS 08.65; a nurse licensed under AS 08.68; a dispensing                                          
10 optician licensed under AS 08.71; a naturopath licensed under AS 08.45; an                                              
11 optometrist licensed under AS 08.72; a pharmacist licensed under AS 08.80; a physical                                   
12 therapist or occupational therapist licensed under AS 08.84; a physician's assistant                                    
13 certified under AS 08.64; a physician licensed under AS 08.64; a podiatrist licensed                                    
14 under AS 08.64; a psychologist and a psychological associate licensed under AS 08.86;                                   
15 a clinical social worker licensed under AS 08.95; an emergency medical technician                                       
16 certified under AS 18.08.082; a mobile intensive care paramedic trained as required                                     
17 under AS 18.08.082; a hospital as defined in AS 18.20.130, including a governmentally                                   
18 owned or operated hospital; and an employee of a health care provider acting within                                     
19 the course and scope of employment;                                                                                     
20   (3)  "health insurance" has the meaning given in AS 21.12.050;                                                       
21   (4)  "managed care contractor" means a contractor who establishes,                                                   
22 operates, or maintains a network of participating health care providers, conducts or                                    
23 arranges for utilization review activities, and contracts with an insurer, a hospital or                                
24 medical service plan, an employer or employee health care organization, or another                                      
25 entity providing coverage for health care services to operate a managed care plan;                                      
26   (5)  "managed care entity" includes an insurer, hospital or medical                                                  
27 service plan, health maintenance organization, an employer or employee health care                                      
28 organization, or a managed care contractor that operates a managed care plan;                                           
29   (6)  "managed care plan" means a health care plan operated by a                                                      
30 managed care entity; "managed care plan" does not include an integrated medical                                         
31 group contracting with a health care plan for the direct provision of health care                                       

01 services to a health care plan enrollee;                                                                                
02   (7)  "participating health care provider" means a health care provider                                               
03 who has entered into an agreement with a managed care entity to provide services or                                     
04 supplies to a patient enrolled in a managed care plan;                                                                  
05   (8)  "provider" means a health care provider;                                                                        
06   (9)  "utilization review" means a system of reviewing the medical                                                    
07 necessity, appropriateness, or quality of health care services and supplies provided                                    
08 under a managed care plan using specified guidelines, including preadmission                                            
09 certification, the application of practice guidelines, continued stay review, discharge                                 
10 planning, preauthorization of ambulatory procedures, and retrospective review.                                          
11    * Sec. 2.  RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LEGISLATION.  (a)  The director of the division                                     
12 of insurance shall develop recommendations for legislative action to address the issue of                               
13 regulating health care or managed care entities that seek to contract directly with employers                           
14 or other purchasers on a risk-assuming basis.  The recommendations must identify the type                               
15 of health care or managed care entities and the scope of activities of these entities that should                       
16 be subject to regulation by the state.  In preparing the recommendations, the director shall                            
17 consider the current state statutory and regulatory requirements for health maintenance                                 
18 organizations and insurance companies issuing health benefits plans in the state, as well as                            
19 federal legislation and laws and court rulings, to determine how these health care and managed                          
20 care entities that assume risk should be regulated.                                                                     
21  (b)  The director shall report to the legislature and to the governor as required by (a)                               
22 of this section within one year of the effective date of this Act.                                                      
23    * Sec. 3.  This Act takes effect July 1, 1998.