Title 23 — Public Utilities and Regulated Industries

(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.

(a) Nothing in this chapter is intended to prohibit or discourage reasonable competition. (b) The provisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed.

(a) In addition to any penalty provided by law, any person who violates an order of the Insurance Commissioner after it has become final, and while the order is in effect, shall, upon proof thereof to the satisfaction of the court, forfeit and pay to the State of Arkansas a sum n…

(1) Credit life insurance and credit disability insurance shall be issued only in the following forms:(1) Individual policies of life insurance issued to debtors on the term plan;(2) Individual policies of disability insurance issued to debtors on a term plan, or disability provi…

(a) Credit Life Insurance. The amount of credit life insurance shall not exceed the original amount of the indebtedness and any interest included therein. (b) Credit Disability Insurance. The amount of periodic indemnity payable by credit disability insurance in the event of disa…

(a) (1) Subject to acceptance by the insurer, the term of any credit life insurance or credit disability insurance shall commence on the date when the debtor becomes obligated to the creditor.(2) However, when a group policy provides coverage with respect to existing obligations,…

(a) All credit life insurance and credit disability insurance sold shall be evidenced by an individual policy or, in the case of group insurance, by a certificate of insurance. The individual policy or group certificate of insurance shall be delivered to the debtor. (b) In additi…

(a) The individual policy or group certificate of insurance shall be delivered to the insured debtor at the time the indebtedness is incurred except as provided in subsection (b) of this section. (b) (1) If the individual policy or group certificate of insurance is not delivered …

(a) All policies, certificates of insurance, notices of proposed insurance, applications for insurance, binders, endorsements, and riders shall be filed with the insurance commissioner in the state in which the policy is issued. (b) Within thirty (30) days after the filing of all…

(a) (1) Each insurer issuing credit life insurance or credit disability insurance shall file with the Insurance Commissioner its schedules of premium rates for use in connection with the insurance.(2) Any insurer may revise the schedule from time to time and shall file the revise…

All policies of credit life insurance and credit disability insurance shall be delivered or issued for delivery in this state only by an insurer authorized to do an insurance business therein and shall be issued only through holders of licenses issued by the Insurance Commissione…

(a) All claims shall be promptly reported to the insurer or its designated claim representative, and the insurer shall maintain adequate claim files. All claims shall be settled as soon as possible and in accordance with the terms of the insurance contract. (b) All claims shall b…

When credit life insurance or credit disability insurance is required as additional security for any indebtedness, the debtor shall, upon request to the creditor, have the option of furnishing the required amount of insurance through existing policies of insurance owned or contro…

(a) (1) In order to assure that the premium rates charged or to be charged for credit life insurance or credit disability insurance are reasonable in relation to benefits provided, the Insurance Commissioner, after due notice and hearing, may issue rules establishing the maximum …

(a) After notice and hearing, the Insurance Commissioner may issue such rules as the commissioner deems appropriate for the supervision of this chapter. (b) (1) Whenever the commissioner finds that there has been a violation of this chapter or any rules issued pursuant thereto, a…

Any party to the proceeding affected by an order of the Insurance Commissioner shall be entitled to judicial review by following the procedure set forth in § 23-61-307.