As used in the Medical Insurance Pool Act:

A. "board" means the board of directors of the pool;

B. "creditable coverage" means, with respect to an individual, coverage of the individual pursuant to:

(1) a group health plan;

(2) health insurance coverage;

(3) Part A or Part B of Title 18 of the Social Security Act;

(4) Title 19 of the Social Security Act except coverage consisting solely of benefits pursuant to Section 1928 of that title;

(5) 10 USCA Chapter 55;

(6) the Medical Insurance Pool Act;

(7) a health plan offered pursuant to 5 USCA Chapter 89;

(8) a public health plan as defined in federal regulations; or

(9) a health benefit plan offered pursuant to Section 5(e) of the federal Peace Corps Act;

C. "federally defined eligible individual" means an individual:

(1) for whom, as of the date on which the individual seeks coverage under the Medical Insurance Pool Act, the aggregate of the periods of creditable coverage is eighteen or more months;

(2) whose most recent prior creditable coverage was under a group health plan, governmental plan, church plan or health insurance coverage, as those plans or coverage are defined in Section 59A-23E-2 NMSA 1978, offered in connection with that plan;

(3) who is not eligible for coverage under a group health plan, Part A or Part B of Title 18 of the Social Security Act or a state plan under Title 19 or Title 21 of the Social Security Act or a successor program and who does not have other health insurance coverage;

(4) with respect to whom the most recent coverage within the period of aggregate creditable coverage was not terminated based on a factor relating to nonpayment of premiums or fraud;

(5) who, if offered the option of continuation of coverage under a continuation provision pursuant to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 or a similar state program, elected this coverage; and

(6) who has exhausted continuation coverage under this provision or program, if the individual elected the continuation coverage described in Paragraph (5) of this subsection;

D. "health care facility" means an entity providing health care services that is licensed by the department of health;

E. "health care services" means services or products included in the furnishing to an individual of medical care or hospitalization, or incidental to the furnishing of that care or hospitalization, as well as the furnishing to a person of other services or products for the purpose of preventing, alleviating, curing or healing human illness or injury;

F. "health insurance" means a hospital and medical expense-incurred policy; nonprofit health care service plan contract; health maintenance organization subscriber contract; short-term, accident, fixed indemnity or specified disease policy; disability income contracts; limited benefit insurance; credit insurance; or as defined by Section 59A-7-3 NMSA 1978. "Health insurance" does not include insurance arising out of the Workers' Compensation Act [Chapter 52, Article 1 NMSA 1978] or similar law, automobile medical payment insurance or insurance under which benefits are payable with or without regard to fault and that is required by law to be contained in a liability insurance policy;

G. "health maintenance organization" means a person who provides, at a minimum, either directly or through contractual or other arrangements with others, basic health care services to enrollees on a fixed prepayment basis and who is responsible for the availability, accessibility and quality of the health care services provided or arranged, or as defined by Subsection M of Section 59A-46-2 NMSA 1978;

H. "health plan" means an arrangement by which persons, including dependents or spouses, covered or making application to be covered under the pool have access to hospital and medical benefits or reimbursement, including group or individual insurance or subscriber contract; coverage through health maintenance organizations, preferred provider organizations or other alternate delivery systems; coverage under prepayment, group practice or individual practice plans; coverage under uninsured arrangements of group or group-type contracts, including employer self-insured, cost-plus or other benefits methodologies not involving insurance or not subject to New Mexico premium taxes; coverage under group-type contracts that are not available to the general public and can be obtained only because of connection with a particular organization or group; and coverage by medicare or other governmental benefits. "Health plan" includes coverage through health insurance;

I. "insured" means an individual resident of this state who is eligible to receive benefits from an insurer or other health plan;

J. "insurer" means an insurance company authorized to transact health insurance business in this state, a nonprofit health care plan, a health maintenance organization and self-insurers not subject to federal preemption. "Insurer" does not include an insurance company that is licensed under the Prepaid Dental Plan Law [Chapter 59A, Article 48 NMSA 1978] or a company that is solely engaged in the sale of dental insurance and is licensed not under that act, but under another provision of the Insurance Code [Chapter 59A NMSA 1978];

K. "medicare" means coverage under Part A or Part B of Title 18 of the Social Security Act, as amended;

L. "pool" means the New Mexico medical insurance pool;

M. "preexisting condition" means a physical or mental condition for which medical advice, medication, diagnosis, care or treatment was recommended for or received by an applicant within six months before the effective date of coverage, except that pregnancy is not considered a preexisting condition for a federally defined eligible individual; and

N. "therapist" means a licensed physical, occupational, speech or respiratory therapist.

History: 1978 Comp., § 59A-54-3, enacted by Laws 1987, ch. 154, § 3; 1991, ch. 200, § 1; 1993, ch. 118, § 1; 1997, ch. 243, § 32; 1998, ch. 41, § 25; 2001, ch. 352, § 3; 2003, ch. 395, § 1; 2008, ch. 88, § 1.

Cross references. — For Titles 18 and 19 of the federal Social Security Act, see 42 U.S.C.S. § 1395 et seq. and 42 U.S.C. § 1396 et seq., respectively.

For Section 5(e) of the federal Peace Corps Act, see 22 U.S.C. § 2504(e).

For COBRA continuation provision, see 29 U.S.C. § 1161 et seq.

The 2008 amendment, effective May 14, 2008, in Subsection B, deleted medical care programs of the Indian health service or of an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo; in Paragraph (2) of Subsection C, added the reference to Section 59A-23E-2 NMSA 1978; and in Subsection M, provided that pregnancy is not a preexisting condition for a federally defined eligible individual.

The 2003 amendment, effective June 20, 2003, added Subsection C; redesignated former Subsections C to K as present Subsections D to L; added Subsection M and redesignated former Subsection L as Subsection N.

The 2001 amendment, effective June 15, 2001, substituted "Medical Insurance Pool Act" for "Comprehensive Health Insurance Pool Act" in the introductory language and in Paragraph B(7); and substituted "medical insurance pool" for "comprehensive health insurance pool" in Subsection K.

The 1998 amendment, effective March 6, 1998, redesignated former Subsections B to J as Subsections C to K and added Subsection B; in Subsection E, inserted "insurance;" near the middle and made minor stylistic changes; and rewrote Subsections J and K.

The 1997 amendment, effective April 11, 1997, substituted "'Health insurance'" for "The term" at the beginning of the last sentence in Subsection D, substituted "Subsection M" for "Subsection F" at the end of Subsection E, substituted "Health Plan" for "The term" in the last sentence in Subsection F, and deleted "42 USC 1395 et Seq." in Subsection I.

The 1993 amendment, effective June 18, 1993, substituted "department of health" for "health and environment department" in Subsection B; added the second sentence in Subsection H; and deleted "the department of" preceding "insurance" in Subsection K.

The 1991 amendment, effective June 14, 1991, substituted "health insurance" for "accident and sickness insurance" in Subsection H; deleted former Subsection J, which defined "plan of operation"; redesignated former Subsections K to M as Subsections J to L; and made minor stylistic changes in Subsections B and D.