(1) Any carrier providing replacement coverage with respect to group hospital, medical, or surgical expense or service benefits within a period of sixty days from the date of discontinuance of a prior health maintenance organization contract or policy providing such hospital, medical, or surgical expense or service benefits shall immediately cover all enrollees who were validly covered under the previous health maintenance organization contract or policy at the date of discontinuance and who would otherwise be eligible for coverage under the succeeding carrier’s contract, regardless of any provisions of the contract relating to active employment, hospital confinement, or pregnancy. Discontinuance shall mean the termination of the contract between the group contract holder and a health maintenance organization due to the insolvency of the health maintenance organization and shall not mean the termination of any agreement between any individual enrollee and the health maintenance organization.

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Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes 44-32,148

  • Carrier: shall mean a health maintenance organization, an insurer, or any other entity responsible for the payment of benefits or the provision of services under a group contract. See Nebraska Statutes 44-3295
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Enrollee: shall mean an individual who is covered by a health maintenance organization and shall include both subscribers and dependents of subscribers. See Nebraska Statutes 44-3299
  • Group contract: shall mean a contract for health care services which by its terms limits eligibility to members of a specified group. See Nebraska Statutes 44-32,103
  • Health maintenance organization: shall mean any person who undertakes to provide or arrange for the delivery of basic health care services to enrollees on a prepaid basis except for enrollee responsibility for copayments or deductibles. See Nebraska Statutes 44-32,105
  • Replacement coverage: shall mean the benefits provided by a succeeding carrier. See Nebraska Statutes 44-32,112

(2) Except to the extent benefits for a condition would have been reduced or excluded under the prior carrier’s contract or policy, no provision in a succeeding carrier’s contract of replacement coverage which would operate to reduce or exclude benefits on the basis that the condition giving rise to benefits preexisted the effective date of the succeeding carrier’s contract shall be applied with respect to those enrollees validly covered under the prior carrier’s contract or policy on the date of discontinuance.