TCA § 56-7-604 — Interactive member portal or toll-free phone number for estimate of out-of-pocket estimates

Except as provided in subdivision (a)(2), beginning upon approval of the next health insurance rate filing on or after January 1, 2020, a carrier offering a health plan in this state shall comply with this section. On and after December 1, 2020, a carrier offering a health plan in this state shall make available the interactive member portal described in subsection (b), and may make available the toll-free phone number described in subsection (b). A carrier shall make available an interactive member portal or a toll-free phone number that enables an enrollee to request and obtain from the carrier information on out-of-pocket costs to the enrollee for the comparable healthcare services or on the average payments made by the carrier to network entities or providers for comparable healthcare services, as well as quality data for those providers, to the extent available. The member portal or toll-free phone number must allow an enrollee seeking information about the cost of a particular healthcare service to estimate out-of-pocket costs applicable to that enrollee and compare the average allowed amount paid to a network provider for the procedure or service under the enrollee's health plan within a reasonable timeframe not to exceed one (1) year. The out-of-pocket estimate must provide a good faith estimate based on the information provided by the enrollee or the enrollee's provider of the amount the enrollee will be responsible to pay out-of-pocket for a proposed non-emergency procedure or service that is determined by the carrier to be a medically necessary covered benefit from a carrier's network provider, including any copayment, deductible, coinsurance, or other out-of-pocket amount for any covered benefit, based on the information available to the carrier at the time the request is made, and subject to further medical necessity review by the carrier. A carrier may contract with a third-party vendor to comply with this subsection (b). A carrier shall provide the information described in this subsection (b) by the carrier's member portal or toll-free phone number even if the enrollee requesting the information has exceeded the enrollee's deductible or out-of-pocket costs according to the enrollee's health plan. Existing transparency mechanisms or programs that estimate out-of-pocket costs for enrollees still within their deductible qualify under this section as long as those mechanisms or programs continue to disclose the estimated average allowed amount even after an enrollee has exceeded the enrollee's deductible as well as any estimated out-of-pocket cost. Nothing in this section prohibits a carrier from imposing cost-sharing requirements disclosed in the enrollee's policy, contract, or certificate of coverage for unforeseen healthcare services that arise out of the non-emergency procedure or service or for a procedure or service provided to an enrollee that was not included in the original estimate. A carrier shall notify an enrollee that the provided costs are estimated costs, and that the actual amount the enrollee will be responsible to pay may vary due to unforeseen services that arise out of the proposed non-emergency procedure or service.