PARRIS N. GLENDENING, Governor

Ch. 156

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments,
Article 48A - Insurance Code
Section 490AA
Annotated Code of Maryland
(1994 Replacement Volume and 1994 Supplement)

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments,
Article - Health - General
Section 19-706(i)
Annotated Code of Maryland
(1990 Replacement Volume and 1994 Supplement)

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
MARYLAND, That the Laws of Maryland read as follows:

Article 48A - Insurance Code

490AA.

(a)     (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.

(2)     "Medical literature" means scientific studies published in a
peer-reviewed national professional medical journal.

(3)     "Off-label use of drugs" means when drugs are prescribed for
treatments other than those stated in the labeling approved by the federal Food and Drug
Administration.

(4)     "Standard reference compendia" means:

(i) The United States Pharmacopeia Drug Information;
(ii) The American Medical Association Drug Evaluations; or
(iii) The American Hospital Formulary Service Drug Information.

(b)     (1) Each contract or policy of health insurance delivered or issued for delivery
within the State to an employer or an individual on a group or individual basis that
provides coverage for drugs, INCLUDING A HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATION,
may not exclude coverage of a drug for a particular indication on the ground that the drug
has not been approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration for that indication
if the drug is recognized for treatment of the indication in one of the standard reference
compendia or in the medical literature.

(2) Coverage of a drug required by this subsection also includes medically
necessary services associated with the administration of the drug.

(c)     The Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene COMMISSIONER has the
authority to direct a person that issues a contract or policy of health insurance,
INCLUDING A HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATION, to make payments required by
this section.

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