PARRIS N. GLENDENING, Governor

Ch. 57

(c) Waiting period.

(1) A health benefit plan that does not use a preexisting condition provision
may impose on enrollees a waiting period not to exceed 30 days before the coverage
under the health benefit plan is effective.

(2) During the waiting period, the health benefit plan is not required to
provide health care services or benefits and a premium may not be charged to the
enrollee.

(d) Deductibles and cost-sharing.

For a period not to exceed 6 months after the date an individual becomes an
employee, a health benefit plan may require deductibles and cost-sharing for benefits for
a preexisting condition of the employee in amounts not exceeding 1.5 times the amount of
the standard deductibles and cost-sharing of other employees if:

(1) the employee was not previously covered by public or private plan of
health insurance or another health benefit arrangement; and

(2) the employee was not previously employed by that employer.

REVISOR'S NOTE: This section is new language derived without substantive
change from former Art. 48A, §§ 701(a)(3) and (4), (b), (c), and (d) and
698(i)(2) (effective subject to Ch. 9, §§ 5 and 7, Acts of 1993, as amended by
Ch. 258, § 3, Acts of 1994).

In subsection (a)(1) of this section, the former effective date "January 1, 1995"
is deleted as unnecessary since that date has passed.

The Insurance Article Review Committee notes, for consideration by the
General Assembly, that Chapter 258, Acts of 1994 amended former Art. 48A,
§ 701(b) to allow a late enrollee to be subject to "a waiting period until the
next open enrollment period not to exceed a 12-month period". A similar
amendment was not made to the version of § 701(b) that is subject to the
contingencies contained in Ch. 9, §§ 5 and 7, Acts of 1993, as amended by Ch.
258, § 3, Acts of 1994. In addition there are differences between the
contingent and noncontingent versions of former Art. 48A, § 701(c) (revised
as § 6(c) of this subheading and as § 15-1208(c) of the Insurance Article).

Former Art. 48A, § 701(a)(1) and (2), which authorized carriers until
December 31, 1994 to limit coverage under a preexisting condition provision,
subject to specified limitations, is deleted as obsolete.

Defined terms: "Carrier" § 1
"Employer" § 1
"Health benefit plan" § 1
"Health insurance" IN § 1-101
"Late enrollee" § 1
"Preexisting condition" § 1
"Preexisting condition provision" § 1
"Premium" IN § 1-101

- 1355 -