Vermont Statutes Title 18 Sec. 9422
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 18 Sec. 9422
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Electronic funds transfer: The transfer of money between accounts by consumer electronic systems-such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and electronic payment of bills-rather than by check or cash. (Wire transfers, checks, drafts, and paper instruments do not fall into this category.) Source: OCC
- Health care provider: means a person, partnership, or corporation, other than a facility or institution, licensed or certified or authorized by law to provide professional health care service in this State to an individual during that individual's medical care, treatment, or confinement. See
- Health insurer: means any health insurance company, nonprofit hospital and medical service corporation, managed care organizations, and, to the extent permitted under federal law, any administrator of an insured, self-insured, or publicly funded health care benefit plan offered by public and private entities. See
- Health maintenance organization: means any person certified to operate a health maintenance organization by the Commissioner pursuant to 8 Vt. See
- Hospital: means an acute care hospital licensed under chapter 43 of this title. See
- Insured: means any person eligible for health care benefits under a health benefit plan, and includes all of the following terms: enrollee, subscriber, member, insured, dependent, covered individual, and beneficiary. See
- Managed care organization: means any financing mechanism or system that manages health care delivery for its members or subscribers, including health maintenance organizations and any other similar health care delivery system or organization. See
- provider: means a person, partnership, or corporation licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized by law to provide professional health care services in this State and shall include a health care provider group, network, independent practice association, or physician hospital organization that is acting exclusively as an administrator on behalf of a health care provider to facilitate the provider's participation in health care contracts. See
§ 9422. Credit card payments optional for providers
(a) As used in this section:
(1) “Credit card payment” means a type of electronic funds transfer in which a health insurer or its contracted vendor issues a single-use series of numbers associated with payment for health care services delivered by a health care provider and chargeable for a predetermined dollar amount and in which the health care provider is responsible for processing the payment using a credit card terminal or Internet portal. The term includes virtual or online credit card payments in which no physical credit card is presented to the health care provider and the single-use credit card number expires upon payment processing.
(2) “Health care provider” has the same meaning as in section 9402 of this title.
(3) “Health insurer” means an insurance company that provides health insurance as defined in 8 V.S.A. § 3301(a)(2), a nonprofit hospital or medical service corporation, a managed care organization, a health maintenance organization, and, to the extent permitted under federal law, any administrator of an insured, self-insured, or publicly funded health care benefit plan offered by a public or private entity, as well as any entity offering a policy for specific disease, accident, injury, hospital indemnity, dental care, disability income, long-term care, or other limited benefit coverage.
(b) A health insurer or its contracted vendor shall not require a health care provider, including a dentist or ambulance service provider, to accept reimbursement by credit card payment unless the health care provider has affirmatively elected to receive payments in this manner. If a health care provider, including a dentist or ambulance service provider, does not affirmatively elect to receive reimbursement by credit card payment, the health insurer or its contracted vendor shall make payments to the provider in another manner. (Added 2021, No. 25, § 32, eff. Jan. 1, 2022.)