§ 27-41-61 - Termination of children's benefits. - Rhode Island Statutes

SECTION 27-41-61

   § 27-41-61  Termination of children'sbenefits. – (a) Every individual health insurance contract, plan, or policy delivered,issued for delivery, or renewed in this state which provides medical coveragefor dependent children that includes coverage for physician services in aphysician's office, and every policy which provides major medical or similarcomprehensive type coverage, except for supplemental policies which onlyprovide coverage for specified diseases and other supplemental policies, shallprovide coverage of an unmarried child under the age of nineteen (19) years, anunmarried child who is a student under the age of twenty-five (25) years andwho is financially dependent upon the parent and an unmarried child of any agewho is financially dependent upon the parent and medically determined to have aphysical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or whichhas lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less thantwelve (12) months. Such contract, plan or policy shall also include aprovision that policyholders shall receive no less than thirty (30) days noticefrom the health maintenance organization that a child is about to lose his orher coverage as a result of reaching the maximum age for a dependent child andthat the child will only continue to be covered upon documentation beingprovided of current full or part-time enrollment in a post-secondaryeducational institution, or that the child may purchase a conversion policy ifhe or she is not an eligible student.

   (b) Nothing in this section prohibits a nonprofit healthmaintenance organization from requiring a policyholder to annually provideproof of a child's current full or part-time enrollment in a post-secondaryeducational institution in order to maintain the child's coverage. Provided,nothing in this section requires coverage inconsistent with the membershipcriteria in effect under the policyholder's health benefits coverage.