Subdivision 1.Accreditation; general.

(a) A health carrier that offers any individual or small group health plans in Minnesota outside of MNsure must be accredited in accordance with this subdivision. A health carrier must obtain accreditation through URAC, the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), or any entity recognized by the United States Department of Health and Human Services for accreditation of health insurance issuers or health plans by January 1, 2018. Proof of accreditation must be submitted to the commissioner of health in a form prescribed by the commissioner of health.

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(b) A health carrier that rents a provider network is exempt from this subdivision, unless it is part of a holding company as defined in section 60D.15 that in aggregate exceeds ten percent market share in either the individual or small group market in Minnesota.

Subd. 2.Accreditation; MNsure.

(a) MNsure shall require all health carriers offering a qualified health plan through MNsure to obtain the appropriate level of accreditation no later than the third year after the first year the health carrier offers a qualified health plan through MNsure. A health carrier must take the first step of the accreditation process during the first year in which it offers a qualified health plan. A health carrier that offers a qualified health plan on January 1, 2014, must obtain accreditation by the end of the 2016 plan year.

(b) To the extent a health carrier cannot obtain accreditation due to low volume of enrollees, an exception to this accreditation criterion may be granted by MNsure until such time as the health carrier has a sufficient volume of enrollees.

Subd. 3.Oversight.

A health carrier shall comply with a request from the commissioner of health to confirm accreditation or progress toward accreditation.

Subd. 4.Enforcement.

The commissioner of health shall enforce this section.