Wyoming Administrative Code
Agency 044 - Insurance Dept
Sub-Agency 0002 - General Agency, Board or Commission Rules
Chapter 35 - MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT INSURANCE
Section 35-7 - Minimum Benefit Standards for Pre-Standardized Medicare Supplement Benefit Plan Policies or Certificates Issued for Delivery Prior to July 30, 1992
Universal Citation: WY Code of Rules 35-7
Current through September 21, 2024
No policy or certificate may be advertised, solicited or issued for delivery in this state as a Medicare supplement policy or certificate unless it meets or exceeds the following minimum standardsThese are minimum standards and do not preclude the inclusion of other provisions or benefits which are not inconsistent with these standards.
(a) General Standards. The following standards apply to Medicare supplement policies and certificates and are in addition to all other requirements of this regulation.
(i) A Medicare supplement policy or
certificate shall not exclude or limit benefits for losses incurred more than
ninety (90) days from the effective date of coverage because it involved a
preexisting condition. The policy or certificate shall not define a preexisting
condition more restrictively than a condition for which medical advice was
given or treatment was recommended by or received from a physician within
ninety (90) days before the effective date of coverage.
(ii) A Medicare supplement policy or
certificate shall not indemnify against losses resulting from sickness on a
different basis than losses resulting from accidents.
(iii) A Medicare supplement policy or
certificate shall provide that benefits designed to cover cost sharing amounts
under Medicare will be changed automatically to coincide with any changes in
the applicable Medicare deductible, co-payment, or coinsurance amounts.
Premiums may be modified to correspond with such changes.
(iv) A "non-cancellable," "guaranteed
renewable," or "non-cancellable and guaranteed renewable" Medicare supplement
policy shall not:
(A) Provide for termination
of coverage of a spouse solely because of the occurrence of an event specified
for termination of coverage of the insured, other than the nonpayment of
premium; or
(B) Be cancelled or
non-renewed by the issuer solely on the grounds of deterioration of
health.
(v)
Cancellation, termination, or non-renewal under this section.
(A) Except as authorized by the commissioner
of this state, an issuer shall neither cancel nor non-renew a Medicare
supplement policy or certificate for any reason other than nonpayment of
premium or material misrepresentation.
(B) If a group Medicare supplement insurance
policy is terminated by the group policyholder and not replaced as provided in
Paragraph (v)(D), the issuer shall offer certificate holders an individual
Medicare supplement policy. The issuer shall offer the certificate holder at
least the following choices:
(I) An individual
Medicare supplement policy currently offered by the issuer having comparable
benefits to those contained in the terminated group Medicare supplement policy;
and
(II) An individual Medicare
supplement policy which provides only such benefits as are required to meet the
minimum standards as defined in Section 8.1(b) of this regulation.
(C) If membership in a group is
terminated, the issuer shall:
(I) Offer the
certificate holder the conversion opportunities described in Subparagraph (b);
or
(II) At the option of the group
policyholder, offer the certificate holder continuation of coverage under the
group policy.
(D) If a
group Medicare supplement policy is replaced by another group Medicare
supplement policy purchased by the same policyholder, the issuer of the
replacement policy shall offer coverage to all persons covered under the old
group policy on its date of termination. Coverage under the new group policy
shall not result in any exclusion for preexisting conditions that would have
been covered under the group policy being replaced.
(vi) Termination of a Medicare supplement
policy or certificate shall be without prejudice to any continuous loss which
commenced while the policy was in force, but the extension of benefits beyond
the period during which the policy was in force may be predicated upon the
continuous total disability of the insured, limited to the duration of the
policy benefit period, if any, or to payment of the maximum benefits. Receipt
of Medicare Part D benefits will not be considered in determining a continuous
loss.
(vii) If a Medicare
supplement policy eliminates an outpatient prescription drug benefit as a
result of requirements imposed by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement,
and Modernization Act of 2003, the modified policy shall be deemed to satisfy
the guaranteed renewal requirements of this subsection.
(b) Minimum Benefit Standards.
(i) Coverage of Part A Medicare eligible
expenses for hospitalization to the extent not covered by Medicare from the
61st day through the 90th day in any Medicare benefit period;
(ii) Coverage for either all or none of the
Medicare Part A inpatient hospital deductible amount;
(iii) Coverage of Part A Medicare eligible
expenses incurred as daily hospital charges during use of Medicare's lifetime
hospital inpatient reserve days;
(iv) Upon exhaustion of all Medicare hospital
inpatient coverage including the lifetime reserve days, coverage of ninety
percent (90%) of all Medicare Part A eligible expenses for hospitalization not
covered by Medicare subject to a lifetime maximum benefit of an additional 365
days;
(v) Coverage under Medicare
Part A for the reasonable cost of the first three (3) pints of blood (or
equivalent quantities of packed red blood cells, as defined under federal
regulations) unless replaced in accordance with federal regulations or already
paid for under Part B;
(vi)
Coverage for the coinsurance amount, or in the case of hospital outpatient
department services paid under a prospective payment system, the co-payment
amount, of Medicare eligible expenses under Part B regardless of hospital
confinement, subject to a maximum calendar year out-of-pocket amount equal to
the Medicare Part B deductible [$100];
(vii) Effective January 1, 1990, coverage
under Medicare Part B for the reasonable cost of the first three (3) pints of
blood (or equivalent quantities of packed red blood cells, as defined under
federal regulations), unless replaced in accordance with federal regulations or
already paid for under Part A, subject to the Medicare deductible
amount.
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