§ 27-20-42 - Acupuncture services. - Rhode Island Statutes

SECTION 27-20-42

   § 27-20-42  Acupuncture services. –(a) Every group health insurance contract, plan, or group policy delivered,issued for delivery or renewed in this state which provides medical coverage,and every group policy which provides for treatment of persons for theprevention, cure or correction of any illness or physical or mental conditionshall provide, as an optional rider, coverage for the services of a doctor ofacupuncture as a provider of acupuncture services.

   (b) For the purposes of this section:

   (1) "Doctor of acupuncture" means a practitioner licensedunder chapter 37.2 of title 5.

   (2) "Coverage for the services of a doctor of acupuncture asa provider of acupuncture services" means coverage for acupuncture as definedin § 5-37.2-2(1).

   (c) It remains within the sole discretion of the non-profitmedical service corporation as to which doctor of acupuncture it contractswith. Reimbursement is provided according to the respective principles andpolicies of the non-profit medical service corporation; provided, that nonon-profit medical service corporation may be required to pay for duplicativeservices actually rendered by a doctor of acupuncture and any other health careprovider. Nothing contained in this section precludes non-profit medicalservice corporations from conducting managed care, medical necessity orutilization review.