Health care; explanation of benefits, sensitive health care services.

Health care services; explanation of benefits. Requires health carriers and Medicaid managed care organizations to provide an explanation of benefits to covered persons or recipients. The measure requires the State Corporation Commission to adopt regulations that establish alternative methods of delivery of the explanation of benefits that permit the receipt of an explanation of benefits by an alternative method, provided that such alternative method is in compliance with the provisions of federal regulations regarding the right to request privacy protection for protected health information. The measure requires health carriers and Medicaid managed care organizations to take all reasonable actions to ensure that their internal processes and systems prohibit the identification or description of sensitive health care services in their explanations of benefits. The measure requires a health carrier that requires a covered person to make a request for confidential communications in writing in accordance with federal law to accept the form of the explanation of benefits approved by the Commission. The measure also requires the Commission to define "sensitive health care services." The measure will take effect 90 days after the Commission has adopted the required regulations. The measure is a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care.