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<section article="gin" article_name="Insurance" number="15-1010" title_number="15" title_name="Health Insurance" subtitle_number="10" subtitle_name="Claims and Utilization Review">
  <level label="a">
    <level label="1">
      <text>In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>“Adverse benefit determination” means:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>a denial, reduction, or termination of a disability benefit;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>a failure to provide or make payment, in whole or in part, for a disability benefit; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>any denial, reduction, termination, or failure to provide or make payment that is based on a determination of an individual’s eligibility for coverage of a disability benefit.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <level label="i">
        <text>“Disability benefit” means a benefit that is payable based on the disability of a covered individual.</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>“Disability benefit” does not include:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>long–term care insurance;</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>a benefit that is payable based solely on a dismemberment of a covered individual;</text>
        </level>
        <level label="3">
          <text>benefits in a life insurance policy that operate to safeguard the contract from lapse or to provide a special surrender value, special benefit, or annuity in the event of total and permanent disability; or</text>
        </level>
        <level label="4">
          <text>benefits in a health insurance policy that operate to safeguard the contract from lapse due to disability.</text>
        </level>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <level label="1">
      <text>The Commissioner shall adopt regulations that establish standards governing the processing of claims by an insurer that:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>issues or delivers individual policies in the State that include a disability benefit; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>issues or delivers group policies in the State that include a disability benefit.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The regulations adopted under this subsection shall establish and maintain reasonable claims procedures governing the filing of disability benefit claims, including:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>notification of an adverse benefit determination; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>an appeal by an insured or the insured’s authorized representative of an insurer’s adverse benefit determination.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>The claims procedures established for both individual and group policies under this subsection shall be consistent with the provisions of the Department of Labor’s regulation entitled “Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, Rules and Regulations for Administration and Enforcement; Claims Procedure; Final Rule” (29 C.F.R. 2560).</text>
    </level>
  </level>
</section>
