Title 23, Public Utilities and Regulated Industries

(a) As used in this section, “health benefit plan” means any policy, contract, or agreement offered by an insurance company, health maintenance organization, or hospital and medical service corporation to provide, reimburse, or pay for healthcare services, but does not include th…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Health carrier” means a:(A) Health maintenance organization;(B) Hospital medical service corporation; and(C) Disability insurance company;(2) “Health carrier” includes a:(A) Self-insured governmental or church plan; and(B) Third-party administrato…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Prior authorization” means the process by which a health carrier determines the medical necessity or eligibility for coverage of a healthcare service before a covered person receives the healthcare service in order to provide coverage and reimburs…

(1) The intent of this subchapter is to:(1) Promote the availability of health insurance coverage to small employers;(2) Prevent abusive rating practices; and(3) Improve the efficiency and fairness of the small group health insurance marketplace. (1) Promote the availability of h…

(1) “Actuarial certification” means a written statement by a member of the American Academy of Actuaries or other individuals acceptable to the Insurance Commissioner that a small employer carrier is in compliance with the provisions of § 23-86-204 based upon the person's examina…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the provisions of this subchapter apply to any health benefit plan that provided coverage to two (2) or more employees of a small employer. (b) The provisions of this subchapter shall not apply to individual health insuran…

(a) Premium rates for health benefit plans subject to this subchapter shall be subject to the following provisions:(1) The index rate for a rating period for any class of business shall not exceed the index rate for any other class of business by more than twenty percent (20%). T…

(a) Each small employer carrier shall maintain at its principal place of business a complete and detailed description of its rating practices and renewal underwriting practices, including information and documentation which demonstrate that its rating methods and practices are ba…

The Insurance Commissioner may suspend all or any part of § 23-86-204 as to the premium rates applicable to one (1) or more small employers for one (1) or more rating periods upon a filing by the small employer carrier and a finding by the commissioner that either the suspension …

(a) The provisions of this subchapter shall apply to each health benefit plan for a small employer that is delivered, issued for delivery, renewed, or continued in this state after July 1, 1997. (b) For purposes of this section, the date a plan is continued is the first rating pe…

This subchapter may be cited as the “Arkansas Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1997”.

(a) In General. Except as provided in this section, this subchapter and the amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to group health plans for plan years beginning after June 30, 1997. (b) Determination of Creditable Coverage. (1) Period of Coverage — In General. …

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Affiliation period” means a period that, under the terms of the coverage offered by the health maintenance organization, must expire before the coverage becomes effective;(2) “Bona fide association” means, with respect to health insurance cover…

(a) Limitation on Preexisting Condition Exclusion Period — Crediting for Periods of Previous Coverage. Subject to subsection (d) of this section, a group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group health insurance coverage may, with respect to a participant or benef…

(a) Application of Aggregation Rule for Employers. All persons treated as a single employer under subsection (b), subsection (c), subsection (m), or subsection (o) of section 414 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 shall be treated as one (1) employer. (b) Employers Not in Exist…

(a) Ineligibility to Enroll. (1) In General. Subject to subdivision (a)(2) of this section, a group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group health insurance coverage in connection with a group health plan may not establish rules for eligibility including continue…

(1) A group health plan which is a multiemployer plan or which is a multiple employer welfare arrangement may not deny an employer whose employees are covered under such a plan continued access to the same or different coverage under the terms of such a plan, other than:(1) For n…

Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed as requiring a group health plan or health insurance coverage to provide specific benefits under the terms of such a group health plan or health insurance coverage.

(a) General Exception for Certain Small Group Health Plans. The requirements of this subchapter shall not apply to any group health plan or group health insurance coverage offered in connection with a group health plan for any plan year if, on the first day of the group health pl…

(1) For purposes of this section, the term “excepted benefits” means benefits under one (1) or more, or any combination thereof, of the following:(1) Benefits not subject to requirements:(A) Coverage only for accident or disability income insurance, or any combination thereof;(B)…

(a) In General. Except as provided in this section, if a health insurance issuer offers health insurance coverage in the small-group market or the large-group market in connection with a group health plan, the issuer must renew or continue in force that coverage at the option of …

(a) Issuance of Coverage in the Small-Group Market — In General. Subject to subsections (b)-(e) of this section, each health insurance issuer that offers health insurance coverage in the small-group market in Arkansas:(1) Must accept every small employer in Arkansas that applies …

(a) Disclosure of Information by Health Insurance Issuers. In connection with the offering of any health insurance coverage to a small employer, a health insurance issuer:(1) Shall make a reasonable disclosure to the small employer as part of its solicitation and sales materials …

(a) Exception for Certain Small Group Health Plans. The requirements of § 23-86-304, limitation on preexisting conditions, § 23-86-306, prohibiting discrimination based on health status, § 23-86-311, guaranteed renewability, § 23-86-312, guaranteed availability, and § 23-86-313, …

This subchapter may be cited as the “Freedom of Choice Among Health Benefit Plans Act of 1999”.

(1) The General Assembly finds that:(1) Citizens covered by health benefit plans should have the opportunity to obtain healthcare services at an affordable price;(2) The cost of health benefit plans can vary depending upon the kind of arrangement the health benefit plan has with …

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Benefit level” means an obligation of the health maintenance organization or insurance company under its health benefit plan. The benefit level is actuarially determined considering the copayments, deductibles, and dollar limits of the health b…

(a) A health maintenance organization may offer and issue health benefit plans that reimburse or arrange for covered healthcare services to covered persons through a limited network plan if:(1) The health maintenance organization provides itself, or arranges through an insurance …

Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to prohibit a health maintenance organization from pricing any health benefit plan according to sound actuarial principles.

Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to require a health maintenance organization to cover any specific healthcare service.

This subchapter shall be known and cited as the “Small Employer Health Insurance Purchasing Group Act of 2001”.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Commissioner” means the Insurance Commissioner;(2) “Eligible employee” means an employee or individual who is a full-time employee of an eligible employer and is qualified to enroll in a health benefit plan offered through a health insurance pu…

(a) Each health insurance purchasing group shall be a nonprofit corporation operated under the direction of a board of directors that is composed of five (5) representatives of eligible employers. (b) (1) (A) Each health insurance purchasing group shall be composed of at least fi…

(a) (1) In conjunction with a health insurance purchasing group health carrier, each health insurance purchasing group that offers health benefit plans to small employers as defined by § 23-86-303 shall guarantee the availability of coverage to small employers as required by § 23…

In each sale of a health benefits plan to a proposed eligible employer through a health insurance purchasing group in which the health insurance purchasing group offers an option to an eligible employer to obtain a health benefits plan that, either in whole or in part, does not p…

(a) (1) Each health insurance purchasing group may provide administrative services for its members.(2) The services may include, but are not limited to, accounting, billing, enrollment information, and employee coverage status reports. (1) Each health insurance purchasing group m…

Each health insurance purchasing group shall file forms as may be described by rules of the Insurance Commissioner.

(a) A member of a board of directors of a health insurance purchasing group shall not serve as an employee or paid consultant to the health insurance purchasing group but may receive reasonable reimbursement for travel expenses for purposes of attending meetings of the board or c…

(a) Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed as preventing one (1) or more health insurance purchasing groups serving different areas, whether or not contiguous, from providing for some or all of the following through a single administrative organization or otherwise:(1) Coo…

(a) The health insurance purchasing group may determine what rating characteristics it will allow in the health benefit plan, including, but not limited to, age, sex, industry, geography, or health. (b) If health is used as a rating characteristic, then the rates for the size gro…

The Insurance Commissioner may promulgate rules necessary to implement the provisions of this subchapter.

No health insurance purchasing group health carrier shall be required to offer health insurance purchasing group health benefits plans or health benefits plans not subject to state-mandated health benefits to nonhealth insurance purchasing group organizations, associations, or em…

This chapter may be cited as the “Model Act for the Regulation of Credit Life Insurance and Credit Disability Insurance”.

The purpose of this chapter is to promote the public welfare by regulating credit life insurance and credit disability insurance.

(1) For the purpose of this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Credit disability insurance” means insurance on a debtor to provide indemnity for payments becoming due on a specific loan or other credit transaction while the debtor is disabled as defined in the po…

All life insurance and all disability insurance sold in connection with loans or other credit transactions shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter, except insurance sold in connection with a loan or other credit transaction of more than ten (10) years' duration.