A. Except as otherwise specifically provided, the Medicare Supplement Act shall apply to:

(1) all medicare supplement policies delivered or issued for delivery in this state on or after the effective date of that act;

(2) all certificates issued under group medicare supplement policies, which certificates have been delivered or issued for delivery in this state; and

(3) insurers issuing policies or certificates under Chapter 59A, Articles 44, 46 and 47 NMSA 1978.

B. The Medicare Supplement Act shall not apply to a master policy or contract of one or more employers or labor organizations or of the trustees of a fund established by one or more employers or labor organizations, or a combination thereof, for employees or former employees, or a combination thereof, or for members or former members, or a combination thereof, of the labor organizations.

C. The provisions of the Medicare Supplement Act are not intended to prohibit or apply to insurance policies or health care benefit plans, including group conversion policies, provided to medicare eligible persons, which policies are not marketed or held to be medicare supplement policies or benefit plans, except that policies designed to reimburse or pay as the result of hospitalization for hospital, medical and surgical expenses of persons eligible for medicare are subject to Sections 59A-24A-6 and 59A-24A-8 NMSA 1978.

History: Laws 1989, ch. 28, § 2; 1992, ch. 3, § 2.

Compiler's notes. — The phrase "effective date of that act" means July 1, 1989, the effective date of Laws 1989, ch. 28, which enacted the Medicare Supplement Act.

The 1992 amendment, effective March 2, 1992, deleted references to subscriber contracts following "policies" in subsections A(1) to A(3); and, in Subsection C, inserted "or pay as the result of hospitalization", deleted "by age" following "medicare" near the end of the subsection and revised the statutory references at the end of the subsection.