Ariz. Admin. Code § 20-6-208

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 49, December 6, 2024

Section R20-6-208 - Group Coverage Discontinuance and Replacement

A. Definitions. The following definitions apply in this Section:

1. "Group insurance" means an insurance benefit that meets all the following conditions:

a. Coverage is provided through insurance policies or subscriber contracts to classes of employees or members defined in terms of conditions pertaining to employment or membership;

b. The coverage is not available to the general public and can be obtained and maintained only because of the covered person's membership in or connection with the particular organization or group;

c. Coverage is paid for by bulk payment of premiums to the insurer; and

d. An employer, union, or association sponsors the plan.

2. "Health insurance coverage" means a hospital and medical expense incurred policy, a nonprofit health care service plan contract, a health maintenance organization subscriber contract, or any other health care plan or arrangement that pays for or furnishes medical or health care services whether by insurance or otherwise, but does not include the following:

a. Coverage only for accident, or disability income insurance, or any combination of accident and disability income insurance;

b. Coverage issued as a supplement to liability insurance;

c. Liability insurance, including general liability insurance and automobile liability insurance;

d. Workers' compensation or similar insurance;

e. Automobile medical payment insurance;

f. Credit-only insurance;

g. Coverage for onsite medical clinics; and

h. Other insurance coverage similar to the coverage specified in subsections (2)(a) through (g), of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ( Pub.L.No. 104-191) (HIPAA), under which benefits for medical care are secondary or incidental to other insurance benefits.

i. The following benefits, if the benefits are provided under a separate policy, certificate, or contract of insurance or are otherwise not an integral part of the coverage:

i. Limited-scope dental or vision benefits;

ii. Benefits for long-term care, nursing home care, home health care, community-based care, or any combination of those benefits;

iii. Other similar, limited benefits specified in federal regulations issued under HIPAA.

j. The following benefits if provided under a separate policy, certificate, or contract of insurance with no coordination between provision of benefits and any exclusion of benefits under a group health plan maintained by the same plan sponsor and if the benefits are paid for an event regardless of whether the benefits are provided under a group health plan maintained by the same plan sponsor:

i. Coverage only for a specified disease or illness, or

ii. Hospital indemnity or other fixed indemnity insurance.

k. The following benefits if the benefits are offered as a separate policy, certificate, or contract of insurance:

i. Medicare supplemental policy as defined under § 1882(g)(1) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 1395 ss;

ii. Coverage supplemental to the coverage provided under, 10 U.S.C. Title 10, Chapter 55; or

iii. Similar supplemental coverage provided to coverage under a group health plan.

3. "Health status-related factor" means any of the following:

a. Health status;

b. Medical condition, including a physical or mental illness;

c. Claims experience;

d. Receipt of health care;

e. Medical history;

f. Genetic information;

g. Evidence of insurability, including conditions arising out of acts of domestic violence; or

h. Disability.

4. "Insurer" means an insurer that offers or provides group health insurance coverage, and includes an insurer that issues disability insurance as defined in A.R.S. § 20-253, a medical, dental, or optometric service corporation as defined in A.R.S. § 20-822, and a health care services organization as defined in A.R.S. § 20-1051.

B. This Section applies to all group insurance issued by an insurer.

C. Effective date of discontinuance for non-payment of premium.

1. If a group insurance policy provides for automatic discontinuance of the policy after a premium remains unpaid through the grace period allowed for payment, the insurer is liable for valid claims for covered losses incurred before the end of the grace period.

2. If the insurer's actions after the end of the grace period indicate that the insurer considers the group insurance policy as continuing in force beyond the end of the grace period the insurer is liable for valid claims for losses beginning before the effective date of written notice of discontinuance to the policyholder or other entity responsible for paying premiums.

a. The following actions indicate that the insurer considers the policy in force:

i. Continued recognition, acknowledgement, or payment of subsequently incurred claims, or

ii. Continued enrollment of employees or dependents.

b. The following actions shall not indicate that the insurer considers that policy in force:

i. Recognition, payment, or acknowledgement of a claim by an insurer or processing a denial based on eligibility or other denial reasons set forth in the group benefit plan booklet; or

ii. Recognition, payment, or acknowledgement of claims due to the group's failure to notify the insurer that the employee or member is no longer eligible for coverage or the group policy is terminated.

3. The effective date of discontinuance shall not be before midnight at the end of the third scheduled work day after the date on which the notice of discontinuance is delivered.

D. Requirements for notice of discontinuance.

1. An insurer's notice of discontinuance shall include a request to the group policyholder to notify covered employees of the date when the group policy or contract will discontinue and to advise that, unless otherwise provided in the policy or contract, the insurer is not liable for claims for losses incurred after the date of discontinuance. If the plan involves employee contributions, the notice of discontinuance shall also advise that if the policyholder continues to collect employee contributions beyond the date of discontinuance, the policyholder is solely liable for benefits for the period which contributions were collected.

2. The insurer shall also provide the policyholder with a supply of notice forms that the policyholder can distribute to the covered employees. The notice forms shall explain the discontinuance and the effective date, and advise employees to refer to their certificates or contracts to determine their rights on discontinuance.

E. Extension of benefits.

1. A group policy shall provide a reasonable provision for extension of benefits for an employee or dependent who is totally disabled on the date of discontinuance as follows:

a. For a group life plan with a disability benefit extension of any type such as a premium waiver extension, extended death benefit in the event of total disability, or payment of income for a specified period during total disability, the discontinuance of the group policy shall not terminate the benefit extension.

b. For a group plan providing benefits for loss of time from work or specific indemnity during hospital confinement, discontinuance of the policy during a disability or hospital confinement shall not effect benefits payable for that disability or hospital confinement.

c. A hospital or medical expense coverage, other than dental and maternity expense, shall include a reasonable extension of benefits or accrued liability provision. A provision is reasonable if:

i. It provides an extension of at least 12 months under "major medical" and "comprehensive medical" type coverage; or

ii. Under other types of hospital or medical expense coverage, it provides either an extension of at least 90 days or an accrued liability for expenses incurred during a period of disability or during a period of at least 90 days starting with a specific event that occurred while coverage was in force, such as an accident.

2. An insurer shall ensure that the policy and group insurance certificates includes a description of the extension of benefits or accrued liability provision.

3. An insurer shall ensure that benefits payable during a period of extension or accrued liability are subject to the policy's regular benefit limits, such as benefits ceasing at exhaustion of a benefit period or of maximum benefits.

4. For hospital or medical expense coverage, an insurer may limit benefit payments to payments applicable to the disabling condition only.

F. Continuance of coverage in situations involving replacement of one plan by another.

1. When a group policyholder secures replacement coverage with a new insurer, self-insures, or foregoes provision of coverage, the replaced insurer is liable only to the extent of its accrued liabilities and extensions of benefits after the date of discontinuance.

2. The succeeding insurer shall cover each individual who:

a. Was eligible for coverage under the prior plan on the date of discontinuance, and

b. Is eligible for coverage according to the succeeding insurer's plan of benefits with respect to a class of individuals eligible for coverage.

3. For the purpose of successive health insurance coverage under subsection (F)(2), a succeeding insurer's plan of benefits shall:

a. Not have any non-confinement rules; and

b. Provide, as to any actively-at-work rules, that absence from work due to a health status-related factor is treated as being actively-at-work.

4. Nothing in subsection (F)(2) prohibits an insurer from performing coordination of benefits.

5. A succeeding insurer shall cover each individual not covered under the succeeding insurer's plan of benefits under subsection (F)(2) according to subsections (a) and (b) if the individual was validly covered, including benefit extension, under the prior plan on the date of discontinuance and is a member of a class of individuals eligible for coverage under the succeeding insurer's plan. Any reference in subsection (a) or (b) to an individual who was or was not totally disabled is a reference to the individual's status immediately before the effective date of coverage for the succeeding insurer.

a. The minimum level of benefits to be provided by the succeeding insurer shall be the level of benefits of the prior insurer's plan reduced by any benefits payable by the prior plan.

b. The succeeding insurer shall provide coverage until at least the earliest of the following dates:

i. The date the individual becomes eligible under the succeeding insurer's plan as described in subsection (F)(2);

ii. The date the individual's coverage would terminate according to the succeeding insurer's plan provisions applicable to individual termination of coverage such as at termination of employment or ceasing to be eligible dependent; or

iii. For an individual who was totally disabled, and covered by a type of coverage for which subsection (E) requires an extension of accrued liability, the end of any period of extension of benefits or accrued liability that is required of the prior insurer under subsection (E), or if the prior insurer's policy is not subject to subsection (E), would have been required of the insurer had its policy been subject to subsection (E) at the time the prior plan was discontinued and replaced by the succeeding insurer's plan;

c. For health insurance coverage, if an individual who was totally disabled at the time the prior insurer's plan was discontinued and replaced by the succeeding insurer's plan, and if subsection (E) requires an extension of benefits or accrued liability, the minimum level of benefits to be provided by the succeeding insurer shall be the level of benefits of the prior insurer's plan, reduced by any benefits paid by the prior plan.

d. If the succeeding insurer's plan has a preexisting conditions limitation, the level of benefits applicable to preexisting conditions of persons becoming covered by the succeeding insurer's plan according to subsection (F) during the period the limitation applies under the new plan shall be the lesser of:

i. The benefits of the new plan determined without application of the preexisting conditions limitation, or

ii. The benefits of the prior plan.

e. The succeeding insurer, in applying any deductibles, coinsurance amounts applicable to out-of-pocket maximums, or waiting periods, shall give credit for the satisfaction or partial satisfaction of the same or similar provisions under a prior plan providing similar benefits. For deductibles or coinsurance amounts applicable to out-of-pocket maximums, the credit shall apply for the same or overlapping benefit periods and shall be given for expenses actually incurred and applied against the deductible or coinsurance provisions of the prior plan during the 90 days before the effective date of the succeeding insurer's plan but only to the extent these expenses are recognized under the terms of the succeeding insurer's plan and are subject to similar deductible or coinsurance provisions.

f. If the succeeding insurer is required under this Section to make a determination about the benefits in the prior plan, the succeeding insurer may ask the prior plan to provide a statement of the benefits available or other pertinent information sufficient to permit the succeeding insurer to verify the benefit determination. For the purposes of this Section, all definitions, conditions, and covered-expense provisions of the prior plan shall govern the benefit determination. The benefit determination is made as if the succeeding insurer had not replaced coverage.

Ariz. Admin. Code § R20-6-208

Former General Rule Number 73-34. R20-6-208 recodified from R4-14-208 (Supp. 95-1). Section expired under A.R.S. § 41-1056(E) at 8 A.A.R. 491, effective September 30, 2001 (Supp. 02-1). Section R20-6-208 renumbered from R20-6-210 and amended by final rulemaking at 13 A.A.R. 2061, effective August 4, 2007 (Supp. 07-2).