As used in the Medicare Supplement Act:

A. "applicant" means:

(1) in the case of an individual medicare supplement policy, the person who seeks to contract for insurance benefits; and

(2) in the case of a group medicare supplement policy, the proposed certificate holder;

B. "certificate" means any certificate delivered or issued for delivery in this state under a group medicare supplement policy;

C. "certificate form" means the document on which a certificate is delivered or issued for delivery;

D. "issuer" means insurance companies, fraternal benefit societies, nonprofit health care plans, health maintenance organizations and any other entities that deliver or issue for delivery in this state medicare supplement policies or certificates;

E. "medicare" means the federal Health Insurance for the Aged Act, Title XVIII of the Social Security Amendments of 1965, as then constituted or later amended;

F. "medicare supplement policy" means:

(1) a group policy as defined in Chapter 59A, Article 23 NMSA 1978;

(2) an individual policy as defined in Chapter 59A, Article 22 NMSA 1978; or

(3) a group or individual certificate issued pursuant to the Nonprofit Health Care Plan Law [Chapter 59A, Article 47 NMSA 1978] or the Health Maintenance Organization Act [Chapter 59A, Article 46 NMSA 1978] that is advertised, marketed or designed as a supplement to reimbursements under medicare for the hospital, medical or surgical expenses of persons eligible for medicare;

G. "policy form" means the document on which a policy is delivered or issued for delivery by the issuer; and

H. "superintendent" means the superintendent of insurance.

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

The 1992 amendment, effective March 2, 1992, deleted "or subscriber contract" following "policy" in Subsections A(1) and A(2), substituted all of the present language of Subsection B beginning with "delivered" for "issued under a group medicare supplement policy which certificate has been delivered or issued for delivery in this state", rewrote the provisions of Subsections C to E and redesignated them as present Subsections C to G, and redesignated former Subsection F as Subsection H.