On June 25, 2015, the Insurance Division of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance published a list of legislation enacted during the 2015 legislative session, including several items which may be of interest to employers sponsoring group health plans:
Public Chapter 157 prohibits health insurance entities from charging a covered person a greater copayment or coinsurance amount for services rendered during an office visit to a physician assistant who is contracted as a primary care practitioner by that health insurer than those charged for such services rendered during an office visit to a physician. More information was provided in the June 16, 2015 edition of Compliance Corner.
Public Chapter 268 provides that a healthcare provider's disclosure of relevant information in response to a court order will be deemed a permissible disclosure, including, but not limited to:
Protected health information
Opinions as to the standard of care of any defendant
Compliance with or breach of the standard, and
Causation of the alleged injury.
The law was effective April 24, 2015.
Public Chapter 346 allows the governing body of a charter school to choose the insurance plans offered to the school's teachers and other full-time permanent employees and removes the requirement that charter school employees participate in the state group insurance plan. The law was effective May 4, 2015.
Summary of 2015 Insurance-related Legislation »
Public Chapter 157 »
Public Chapter 268 »
Public Chapter 346 »