Section 8P. A contract between a subscriber and the corporation under an individual or group hospital service plan which provides hospital expense and surgical expense insurance, except contracts providing supplemental coverage to Medicare or other governmental programs, delivered, issued or renewed by agreement between the insurer and the policyholder, within or without the commonwealth, shall provide benefits to all individual subscribers and members within the commonwealth and to all group members having a principal place of employment within the commonwealth for the following items if such items are within a category of benefits or services for which coverage is otherwise afforded by the contract, have been prescribed by a health care professional legally authorized to prescribe such items and if the items are medically necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of insulin-dependent, insulin-using, gestational and non-insulin-dependent diabetes: blood glucose monitors; blood glucose monitoring strips for home use; voice-synthesizers for blood glucose monitors for use by the legally blind; visual magnifying aids for use by the legally blind; urine glucose strips; ketone strips; lancets; insulin; insulin syringes; prescribed oral diabetes medications that influence blood sugar levels; laboratory tests, including glycosylated hemoglobin, or HbAlc, tests; urinary protein/microalbumin and lipid profiles; insulin pumps and insulin pump supplies; insulin pens, so-called; therapeutic/molded shoes and shoe inserts for people who have severe diabetic foot disease when the need for therapeutic shoes and inserts has been certified by the treating doctor and prescribed by a podiatrist or other qualified doctor and furnished by a podiatrist, orthotist, prosthetist or pedorthist; supplies and equipment approved by the Federal Drug Administration for the purposes for which they have been prescribed and diabetes outpatient self-management training and education, including medical nutrition therapy, when provided by a certified diabetes health care provider participating with the hospital service plan or affiliated with a provider participating with the hospital service plan. As used in this section, ”certified diabetes health care provider” shall mean a licensed health care professional with expertise in diabetes, a registered dietician or a health care provider certified by the National Certification Board of Diabetes Educators as a certified diabetes educator. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a nonprofit service corporation to contract with a certified diabetes health care provider who is not already under contract with such nonprofit service corporation.

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The benefits provided in this section shall meet all other terms and conditions within a subscription certificate. Hospital service plans shall not reduce or eliminate coverage due to the requirements of this section.