56-32-104 - Issuance of certificate of authority. - Tennessee Statutes

56-32-104. Issuance of certificate of authority.

(a)  Issuance of a certificate of authority shall be granted upon payment of the application fee prescribed in § 56-32-119, if the commissioner is satisfied that the following conditions are met:

     (1)  Persons responsible for the conduct of the affairs of the applicant are competent, trustworthy and possess good reputations;

     (2)  The HMO will effectively provide or arrange for the provision of basic health care service on a prepaid basis through insurance or otherwise, except to the extent of reasonable enrollee cost sharing requirements such as copayments, deductibles or coinsurance; provided, however, that for basic health care services through participating network providers, the amount of coinsurance paid by the enrollee shall not exceed twenty percent (20%);

     (3)  The HMO is financially responsible, and may reasonably be expected to meet its obligations to enrollees and prospective enrollees. In making this determination, the commissioner may consider:

          (A)  The financial soundness of the arrangements for health care services in the schedule of charges used in connection with the health care service;

          (B)  The adequacy of working capital;

          (C)  Any agreement with an insurer, a hospital medical services corporation, a government, or any other organization for insuring the payment of cost for health care services or the provisions for automatic applicability of an alternative coverage in the event of discontinuance of the HMO;

          (D)  Any agreement with providers for the provision of health care services;

          (E)  In the event the HMO enters into an agreement with any physician-hospital organization for the provision of basic health care services on a prepayment basis, such as described in § 56-32-102(10), the commissioner may not disallow the agreement on the basis that it transfers risk to the physician-hospital organization; provided, that the HMO remains contractually responsible to its enrollees and to organizations or entities contracting with it for the provision or arrangement of all the basic health care services, and the HMO provides a system for reserving for its continued liability that is approved by the department of commerce and insurance; and

          (F)  Any deposit of cash or security submitted in accordance with § 56-32-112; and

     (4)  Nothing in the proposed method of operation, as shown by the information submitted pursuant to § 56-32-103, or by independent investigation, is contrary to the public interest.

(b)  A certificate of authority shall be denied only after compliance with the requirements of § 56-32-118.

[Acts 1986, ch. 713, § 4; 1995, ch. 221, §§ 4, 5; 2001, ch. 151, § 2; 2002, ch. 518, § 1; T.C.A. § 56-32-204.]