56-7-2603 - Treatment by licensed audiologists or speech pathologists.
56-7-2603. Treatment by licensed audiologists or speech pathologists.
(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, any insurer providing individual, franchise, blanket or group policy of insurance issued pursuant to this title that provides hospital expense and surgical or medical expense insurance and/or that is entered into, delivered, issued for delivery or renewed in this state after January 1, 1989, shall offer to provide benefits for expense of residents of this state covered under the policy or plan arising from conditions or disorders of hearing or conditions or disorders of speech, voice, or language, so long as such conditions or disorders receive treatment from duly licensed audiologists or speech pathologists, as defined in § 63-17-103.
(2) This section is applicable to all health benefit policies, programs, or contracts offered by commercial insurance companies, nonprofit insurance companies, prepaid plans, i.e., health maintenance organizations, and to all health benefit programs provided state government employees.
(b) Nothing in this section shall apply to any insurance policy that only provides coverage for specified diseases, hospital indemnity, medicare supplement or other limited benefit coverages.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, this section shall be construed to apply to the state and its political subdivisions.
[Acts 1988, ch. 970, §§ 1-3; 1992, ch. 984, § 4; T.C.A., § 56-7-1011.]