(a) Each health plan purchasing cooperative shall serve a particular geographic area of the state that consists of either one entire county or more than one contiguous entire county. The Commissioner shall not authorize any purchasing cooperative to serve a geographic area which divides any county or contains noncontiguous counties.
(b) Any purchasing cooperative which serves any portion of a metropolitan statistical area shall not serve less than all of that metropolitan statistical area. The Commissioner shall not authorize any purchasing cooperative to serve a geographic area which divides any metropolitan statistical area.
(c) The authority granted by the Commissioner to a purchasing cooperative to serve a particular geographic area shall be nonexclusive, and there shall be no limit upon the number of purchasing cooperatives which may be authorized to serve any particular geographic area.
(d) The Commissioner shall authorize service for any geographic service area as proposed by the applicant nonprofit corporation if such proposed service area meets the requirements of this Code section.
(e) Except as provided elsewhere in this Code section, nothing in this chapter shall restrict the geographic area served by a purchasing cooperative having less than 100,000 enrolled member subscribers. For purposes of this subsection, the purchasing cooperative shall report to the Commissioner, in a manner prescribed by the Commissioner, the number of member subscribers enrolled in the purchasing cooperative on an annual basis. For purchasing cooperatives having greater than 100,000 enrolled member subscribers, the purchasing cooperative shall demonstrate annually, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner, that permission to continue to enroll additional member subscribers will not have an adverse effect on the availability of private health benefit plan coverage offered outside the purchasing cooperative's geographic service area. Failure to provide satisfactory evidence shall result in the suspension of the purchasing cooperative's authority to enroll additional member subscribers in all or part of the purchasing cooperative's geographic service area, until such time as the Commissioner shall conclude that the requirements of this subsection have been satisfied.
(f) Officers, directors, or employees of a health plan purchasing cooperative shall not serve as officers, directors, or employees of another health plan purchasing cooperative.
(g) A geographic area may include one or more contiguous counties in an adjoining state.
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