31 Pa. Code § 89.783

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 49, December 7, 2024

Section 89.783 - Required disclosure provisions

(a)General rules.

(1) Medicare supplement policies and certificates shall include a renewal or continuation provision. The language or specifications of this provision shall be consistent with the type of contract issued. This provision shall be appropriately captioned and shall appear on the first page of the policy, and shall include any reservation by the issuer of the right to change premiums and any automatic renewal premium increases based on the policyholder's age.

(2) Except for riders or endorsements by which the issuer effectuates a request made in writing by the insured, exercises a specifically reserved right under a Medicare supplement policy, or is required to reduce or eliminate benefits to avoid duplication of Medicare benefits, riders or endorsements added to a Medicare supplement policy after the date of issue or at reinstatement or renewal which reduce or eliminate benefits or coverage in the policy shall require a signed acceptance by the insured. After the date of policy or certificate issue, a rider or endorsement which increases benefits or coverage with a concomitant increase in premium during the policy term shall be agreed to in writing signed by the insured, unless the benefits are required by the minimum standards for Medicare supplement policies, or if the increased benefits or coverage is required by law. When a separate additional premium is charged for benefits provided in connection with riders or endorsements, the premium charge shall be set forth in the policy.

(3) Medicare supplement policies or certificates may not provide for the payment of benefits based on standards described as "usual and customary," "reasonable and customary" or similar words.

(4) If a Medicare supplement policy or certificate contains any limitations with respect to preexisting conditions, these limitations shall appear as a separate paragraph of the policy and be labeled as "Preexisting Condition Limitations."

(5) Medicare supplement policies and certificates shall have a notice prominently printed on the first page of the policy or certificate or attached thereto stating in substance that the policyholder or certificateholder has the right to return the policy or certificate within 30 days of its delivery and to have the premium refunded if, after examination of the policy or certificate, the insured person is not satisfied. The notice shall contain a company mailing address to which the policyholder or certificateholder should direct the return policy or certificate. Upon receipt of a request for a refund, the company shall promptly refund the total premium amount paid directly to the policyholder or certificateholder. When an insurer asks questions in the application concerning the medical history of an individual applying for "coverage," a notice shall be given to the individual urging them to verify the accuracy and completeness of the medical history information on the application and warning them that erroneous or incomplete application data could jeopardize their claim.

(6) Issuers of accident and sickness policies or certificates which provide hospital or medical expense coverage on an expense incurred or indemnity basis to a person eligible for Medicare, shall provide to these applicants a Guide to Health Insurance for People with Medicare in the form developed jointly by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and in a type size no smaller than 12-point type. Delivery of the Guide shall be made whether or not these policies or certificates are advertised, solicited or issued as Medicare supplement policies or certificates as defined in this subchapter. Except in the case of direct response issuers, delivery of the Guide shall be made to the applicant at the time of application and acknowledgment of receipt of the Guide shall be obtained by the issuers. Direct response issuers shall deliver the Guide to the applicant upon request but not later than at the time the policy is delivered.

(7) For the purposes of this section, "form" means the language, format, type size, type proportional spacing, bold character and line spacing.

(b)Notice requirements.

(1) As soon as practicable, but no later than 30 days prior to the annual effective date of Medicare benefit changes, an issuer shall notify its policyholders and certificateholders of modifications it has made to Medicare supplement insurance policies or certificates in a format acceptable to the Commissioner. The notice shall:

(i) Include a description of revisions to the Medicare Program and a description of each modification made to the coverage provided under the Medicare supplement policy or certificate.

(ii) Inform each policyholder or certificateholder as to when a premium adjustment is to be made due to changes in Medicare.

(2) The notice of benefit modifications and premium adjustments shall be in outline form and in clear and simple terms to facilitate comprehension.

(3) These notices may not contain or be accompanied by solicitation.

(4) Once the Department has approved the form, a "Notice of Change" may be used to modify the deductible and co-payment amounts to reflect Medicare changes without submitting the notice for additional approval. Once the Department has approved the form, only format changes are required to be submitted for review.

(c)MMA notice requirements . Issuers shall comply with any notice requirements of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, the act of December 8, 2003 (Pub. L. No. 108-173, 117 Stat. 2066).

(d)Outline of coverage requirements for Medicare supplement policies.

(1) Issuers shall provide an outline of coverage to applicants at the time the application is presented to the prospective applicant and, except for direct response policies, shall obtain an acknowledgement of receipt of the outline from the applicant.

(2) If an outline of coverage is provided at the time of application and the Medicare supplement policy or certificate is issued on a basis which would require revision of the outline, a substitute outline of coverage properly describing the policy or certificate shall accompany the policy or certificate when it is delivered and contain the following statement, in no less than 12 point type, immediately above the company name:

"NOTICE: Read this outline of coverage carefully. It is not identical to the outline of coverage provided upon application and the coverage originally applied for has not been issued."

(3) The outline of coverage provided to applicants under this section consists of four parts: a cover page, premium information, disclosure pages and charts displaying the features of each benefit plan offered by the issuer. The outline of coverage shall be in the language and format required in this paragraph in no less than 12 point type. All plans shall be shown on the cover page, and the plans that are offered by the issuer shall be prominently identified. Premium information for plans that are offered shall be shown on the cover page or immediately following the cover page and shall be prominently displayed. The premium and mode shall be stated for all plans that are offered to the prospective applicant. All possible premiums for the prospective applicant shall be illustrated.

(4) Once the Department has approved the format, an "Outline of Coverage" may be modified to reflect Medicare changes to rates, deductible and co-payment requirements without submitting the Outline of Coverage for review. Only those forms containing a format change are required to be submitted for review.

(5) The following items must be included in the outline of coverage in the order required in this paragraph:

PREMIUM INFORMATION (Boldface Type)

We (insert issuer's name) can only raise your premium if we raise the premium for all policies like yours in this Commonwealth. (If the premium is based on the increasing age of the insured, include information specifying when premiums will change.)

READ YOUR POLICY VERY CAREFULLY (Boldface Type)

This is only an outline describing your policy's most important features. The policy is your insurance contract. You must read the policy itself to understand all of the rights and duties of both you and your insurance company.

RIGHT TO RETURN POLICY (Boldface Type)

If you find that you are not satisfied with your policy, you may return it to (insert issuer's address). If you send the policy back to us within 30 days after you receive it, we will treat the policy as if it had never been issued and return all of your payments.

POLICY REPLACEMENT (Boldface Type)

If you are replacing another health insurance policy, do NOT cancel it until you have actually received your new policy and are sure you want to keep it.

NOTICE (Boldface Type)

This policy may not fully cover all of your medical costs. (for producers:) Neither (insert company's name) nor its producers are connected with Medicare.

(for direct response:) (insert company's name) is not connected with Medicare.

This outline of coverage does not give all the details of Medicare coverage. Contact your local Social Security Office or consult Medicare and You for more details.

COMPLETE ANSWERS ARE VERY IMPORTANT (Boldface Type)

When you fill out the application for the new policy, be sure to answer truthfully and completely all questions about your medical and health history. The company may cancel your policy and refuse to pay any claims if you leave out or falsify important medical information. (If the policy or certificate is guaranteed issue, this paragraph need not appear.)

Review the application carefully before you sign it. Be certain that all information has been properly recorded.

(Include for each plan prominently identified in the cover page, a chart showing the services, Medicare payments, plan payments and insured payments for each plan, using the same language, in the same order, using uniform layout and format as shown in the charts as provided in paragraph (6). No more than four plans may be shown on one chart. An issuer may use additional benefit plan designations on these charts pursuant to § 89.777b(e)).

(Include an explanation of any innovative benefits on the cover page and in the chart, in a manner approved by the Commissioner.)

(6) The cover page and the accompanying charts for Plan A to Plan N of the Outlines of Coverage are available upon request from the Department in printed and electronic formats. In addition, notice will be published, in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, of the availability of the amended outlines when revisions are made available to the Department by the United States Department of Health and Human Services as published in the Federal Register. The Outlines of Coverages will be made available on the Department's web site at www.insurance.pa.gov.

(e)Notice regarding policies or certificates which are not Medicare supplement policies.

(1) An accident and sickness insurance policy or certificate, other than a Medicare supplement policy; a policy issued under a contract under section 1876 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.A. § 1395mm), disability income policy; or other policy identified in § 89.771(b) (relating to applicability and scope) issued for delivery in this Commonwealth to persons eligible for Medicare, shall notify the insured under the policy that the policy is not a Medicare supplement policy or certificate. The notice shall be printed or attached to the first page of the outline of coverage delivered to insureds under the policy, or if no outline of coverage is delivered, to the first page of the policy, or certificate delivered to insureds.

The notice shall be at least 12 point type and shall contain the following language:

"THIS (POLICY OR CERTIFICATE) IS NOT A MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT (POLICY OR CONTRACT). If you are eligible for Medicare, review the Guide to Health Insurance for People with Medicare available from the company."

(2) Applications provided to persons eligible for Medicare for the health insurance policies or certificates described in subsection (e)(1) shall disclose the extent to which the policy duplicates Medicare. The disclosure statement shall be provided in the form required by the Department as set forth in the Medicare Supplement forms relating to Instructions for Use of the Disclosure Statements for Health Insurance Policies Sold to Medicare Beneficiaries that Duplicate Medicare as a part of, or together with, the application for the policy or certificate.

(f)Availability of forms. Applicable forms relating to Instructions for Use of the Disclosure Statements for Health Insurance Policies Sold to Medicare Beneficiaries that Duplicate Medicare, Refund Calculations and Reporting of Duplicate Medicare Policies for Medicare Supplement Chapter 89 are available upon request from the Department in printed and electronic formats. In addition, notice will be published, in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, of the availability of amended Medicare Supplement forms when revisions are made. These Medicare Supplement forms will be made available on the Department's web site at www.insurance.pa.gov.

31 Pa. Code § 89.783

The provisions of this § 89.783 adopted July 24, 1992, effective 7/25/1992, 22 Pa.B. 3841; amended September 3, 1994, effective 11/2/1994, 24 Pa.B. 4467; amended May 10, 1996, effective 5/11/1996, 26 Pa.B. 2196; amended January 8, 1999, effective 1/9/1999, 29 Pa.B. 172; amended December 29, 2000, effective 12/30/2000, 30 Pa.B. 6886; corrected January 12, 2001, effective 1/13/2001, 31 Pa.B. 145; amended November 22, 2002, effective 11/23/2002, apply retroactively to October 24, 2002, 32 Pa.B. 5743; amended May 6, 2005, effective 5/7/2005, 35 Pa.B. 2729; amended April 24, 2009, effective 4/25/2009, 39 Pa.B. 2086; amended September 7, 2018, effective 9/8/2018, 48 Pa.B. 5601.

The provisions of this § 89.783 amended under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA 90) of November 15, 1990, P. L. 101-508; sections 206, 506, 1501 and 1502 of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P.S. §§ 66, 186, 411 and 412); sections 356 and 616 of The Insurance Company Law of 1921 (40 P.S. §§ 477b and 751); under the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (Pub. L. No. 100-275, 122 Stat. 2949); and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (Pub. L. No. 110-233, 122 Stat. 881); sections 5 and 9 of the Medicare Supplement Insurance Act (40 P.S. §§ 3105 and 3109); and section 314 of the Accident and Health Filing Reform Act (40 P.S. § 3801.314).

This section cited in 31 Pa. Code § 89.771 (relating to applicability and scope).