WILLIAM DONALD SCHAEFER, Governor                             Ch. 9

CHAPTER 9
(House Bill 1359)

AN ACT concerning

Health Care and Insurance Reform —Managed Cooperation

FOR the purpose of creating a new subtitle in the Insurance Code governing health
insurance; establishing certain health insurance reforms including community
rating, guaranteed issue of certain health benefit plans, limitation of preexisting
condition provisions, and establishment of portability of health benefit plans;
establishing enrollment procedures; imposing certain requirements on carriers who
offer health benefit plans in the State; requiring renewal of health benefit plans and
providing certain exceptions; establishing the Health Care Benefit and Data
Commission; defining certain responsibilities of the Commission; requiring the
Commission to specify a sot of effective health care benefits to be included in health
benefit plans; establishing criteria for specifying those benefits; requiring the
Commission to establish and maintain a unified health care data base; specifying
information to be included in the data base; providing for funding for the data base;
and generally relating to practices, procedures, and information concerning health
care financing in the State.

FOR the purpose of creating a new subtitle in the Article 48A - Insurance Code governing
certain small employer group health insurance plans; establishing certain health
insurance reforms including adjusted community rating, guaranteed issue of certain
health ' benefit plans, limitation of preexisting condition provisions, and
establishment of portability of health benefit plans; establishing enrollment
procedures; imposing certain requirements on carriers who offer health benefit
plans in the State; requiring renewal of health benefit plans and providing certain
exceptions and modifications; limiting the application of certain portions of this Act
to certain small employer health insurance carriers until a certain percentage of the
health insurance market is covered under this Act or until certain other reforms
have occurred; providing for the general application of the provisions of this Act
pending the occurrence of one of those events; creating the Medical Care Data
Review Commission in the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for certain
purposes; specifying the membership and terms of the Commission; authorizing the
Commission to appoint an executive director of the Commission under certain
circumstances; requiring the Commission to establish a statewide Medical Care
Data Base to compile certain data; requiring the Commission to adopt certain
regulations specifying a comprehensive standard health benefit plan; requiring
certain confidentiality; requiring the Commission to publish a certain report
consult with certain representatives, and develop a certain system to provide certain
information to physicians; requiring the Commission to perform certain duties;
authorizing the Commission to adopt certain regulations; requiring the Commission
to prepare a certain report; authorizing the Commission to contract with certain
qualified independent third parties for any service necessary to carry out certain
powers and duties; specifying that the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene does
not have certain powers over the Commission; authorizing the Commission to

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