March 30, 2011
Important Legislative Announcement
CHIROPRACTIC CO-PAYMENTS!
On Wednesday, March 29th, 2010, Republican Representative Tim Moore and Democrat Representative Marion McLawhorn introduced a bill which would require health benefit plans to have the SAME co-payment for chiropractic services as for primary care physicians. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Insurance.
Please contact your legislators immediately and ask them to support HB 496.
House Bill 496
General Assembly of North Carolina
A bill to be titled:
AN ACT TO REENACT A LAW CONCERNING HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN
CO-PAYMENTS FOR CHIROPRACTIC SERVICES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 58-50-30(a3) reads as rewritten:
Whenever any health benefit plan, subscriber contract, or policy of insurance issued by a health maintenance organization, hospital or medical service corporation, or insurer governed by Articles 1 through 67 of this Chapter provides coverage for medically necessary treatment, the insurer shall not impose any limitation on treatment or levels of coverage if performed by a duly licensed chiropractor acting within the scope of the chiropractor's practice as defined in G.S. 90-151 unless a comparable limitation is imposed on the medically necessary treatment if performed or authorized by any other duly licensed physician.
An insurer shall not impose as a limitation on treatment or level of coverage a co-payment amount charged to the insured for chiropractic services that is higher than the co-payment amount charged to the insured for the services of a duly licensed primary care physician for a comparable medically necessary treatment or condition.
SECTION 2. This act becomes effective October 1, 2011, and applies to policies issued or renewed on or after that date. For the purposes of this act, renewal of a health benefit plan is presumed to occur on each anniversary of the date on which coverage was first effective on the person or persons covered by the health benefit plan.
- Please call or email you legislators TODAY and ask them to support HB 496!
- Please ask your patients to contact their legislators and tell them they want this bill passed!
