A. A group health plan sponsored by an employee leasing contractor shall be treated as a multiple employer welfare arrangement for purposes of the Insurance Code.

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B. A group health plan sponsored by an employee leasing contractor shall be a fully insured plan.

C. For the purposes of determining whether an employee leasing contractor is a small or large employer, the employee leasing contractor’s leased workers shall be counted as employees in addition to the employee leasing contractor’s employees, and when an employee leasing contractor has:

(1)     at least two but not more than fifty employees, the employee leasing contractor shall be treated as a small employer pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability Act, and the group health plan that it sponsors shall be subject to the rules of the small group market, including rules applicable to the small group market by reason of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; and

(2)     fifty-one or more employees, the employee leasing contractor shall be treated as a large employer pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability Act, and the group health plan that it sponsors shall be subject to the rules of the large group market, including rules applicable to the large group market by reason of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

D. With respect to a group health plan described in this section that is subject to large group market rules, the rules shall apply to the group health plan as a whole and any rules applicable solely to other markets, such as the small group market or individual market, shall not apply to the group health plan or to any of the coverage provided by the group health plan.

E. For the purposes of this section:

(1)     “employee leasing contractor” means any person who is registered as an employee leasing contractor pursuant to the Employee Leasing Act [60-13A-1 to 60- 13A-14 NMSA 1978];

(2)     “individual market” means the market for health insurance coverage offered to individuals other than in connection with a group health plan;

(3)     “large group market” means the health insurance market under which individuals obtain health insurance coverage on behalf of themselves and their dependents through a group health plan maintained by a large employer;

(4)     “leased worker” means a worker provided by an employee leasing contractor who is treated as a leased worker for the purposes of the Employee Leasing Act;

(5)     “multiple employer welfare arrangement” means a plan for providing welfare benefits for employees of more than one employer as defined by 29 U.S.C. § 1002; and

(6)     “small group market” means the health insurance market under which individuals obtain health insurance coverage through a group health plan maintained by a small employer.