§ 44-789. Coverage for bone or joint treatment; requirements.

Notwithstanding section 44-3,131, no group policy of accident or health insurance, health services plan, or health maintenance organization subscription shall be offered for sale in this state on or after January 1, 2009, unless such policy, plan, subscription, or contract which specifically provides coverage for surgical and nonsurgical treatment involving a bone or joint of the skeletal structure includes the option to provide coverage, for an additional premium and subject to the insurer's standard of insurability, for the reasonable and necessary medical treatment of temporomandibular joint disorder and craniomandibular disorder. The purchaser of the group policy of accident or health insurance, health services plan, or health maintenance organization subscription shall accept or reject the coverage in writing on the application or an amendment thereto for the master group policy of accident or health insurance, health services plan, or health maintenance organization subscription. Benefits may be subject to the same preexisting conditions, limitations, deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance that generally apply to any other sickness. The maximum lifetime benefits for temporomandibular joint disorder and craniomandibular disorder treatment shall be no less than two thousand five hundred dollars. Nothing in this section shall prevent an insurer from including such coverage for temporomandibular joint disorder and craniomandibular disorder as part of a policy's basic coverage instead of offering optional coverage. History: Laws 1998, LB 1162, § 82; Laws 2008, LB855, § 5.