RS 22:1024 Group, family group, blanket, and association health and accident insurance; mandatory coverage
§1024. Group, family group, blanket, and association health and accident insurance; mandatory coverage
A. Any policy issued under this Section, which in addition to covering the insured also covers members of the insured's immediate family, shall provide coverage for illnesses and injuries of unmarried dependent children of the insured and unmarried grandchildren in the legal custody of the grandparent from the date of birth to the attainment of the limiting age. Such coverage so provided shall include coverage for illness, injury, congenital defects, and premature birth, but need not include routine well baby care.
B.(1) All policies issued more than ninety days following September 1, 1979, which in addition to covering the insured also cover members of the insured's immediate family, shall offer coverage for the transportation by professional ambulance services, including air or surface transport, of all the newly born to the nearest available hospital or neonatal special care unit for treatment of illnesses, injuries, congenital defects, and complications of premature birth but the coverage need not include transportation services for the purpose of obtaining routine well baby care.
(2) Such policies shall also provide coverage for transportation by professional ambulance services of the temporarily medically disabled mother of the ill newly born when accompanying the ill newly born to the nearest available hospital or neonatal special care unit. The mother's need for professional ambulance service must be certified by her attending physician.
C. For the purpose of this Section the following definitions shall apply:
(1) "Newly born" means infants from the time of birth until age one month or until such time as the infant is well enough to be discharged from a hospital or neonatal special care unit to his home, whichever period is longer.
(2) "Temporarily medically disabled mother" means a woman who has recently given birth and whose physician has advised that normal travel would be hazardous to her health.
D. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to individually underwritten, guaranteed renewable or renewable limited benefit supplemental health insurance policies authorized to be issued in this state.
Added by Acts 1973, No. 98, §§1, 2. Amended by Acts 1979, No. 470, §1; Acts 1992, No. 637, §1, eff. July 2, 1992; Acts 1997, No. 1268, §1; Acts 2003, No. 129, §3, eff. May 28, 2003; Redesignated from R.S. 22:215.5 by Acts 2008, No. 415, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2009.
NOTE: Former R.S. 22:1024 redesignated as R.S. 22:804 by Acts 2008, No. 415, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2009.