As used in the Employer Health Insurance Purchasing Group Act:

1. "Commissioner" means the Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner;

2. "Eligible employee" means an employee or individual who works the number of hours per week designated by the employer as full-time employment and is qualified to enroll in a health benefit plan offered through a HIPG;

3. "Eligible employer" means an employer employing no more than one hundred eligible employees;

4. "Employer", "employee", and "dependent", unless otherwise defined in this section, shall have the meaning applied to the terms with respect to the coverage under the laws of the state relating to the coverage and the issuer;

5. "Full time" shall be defined by the employer, but in no event shall it be less than twenty-four (24) hours per week;

6. "Health benefits plan" means a group plan, group policy, or group contract for health care services, issued or delivered by a HIPG health carrier, excluding plans, policies, or contracts providing health care benefits or health care services pursuant to the Workers’ Compensation Laws and mandatory liability laws;

7. "Health insurer" means any entity which provides health insurance in this state. For the purposes of the Employer Health Insurance Purchasing Group Act, “health insurer” includes a licensed insurance company, not-for-profit hospital service or medical indemnity corporation, or a health maintenance organization;

8. "HIPG" means a Health Insurance Purchasing Group meeting the requirements of this act;

9. "HIPG health carrier" means a health insurer as defined in this act;

10. "Large group" means a combination of two or more eligible employers belonging to a HIPG;

11. "Limited benefit contract" means, for the purposes of this act, a policy or certificate that does not contain state-mandated health benefits;

12. "Member" means an individual enrolled for health benefits coverage in a HIPG;

13. "Purchaser" means an eligible employer that has contracted with a HIPG for the purchase of health benefits coverage;

14. a."State-mandated health benefits" means coverages for health care services or benefits, required by state law or state regulations, requiring the reimbursement or utilization related to a specific illness, injury, or condition of the covered person, or inclusion of a specific category of licensed health care practitioner to be provided to the covered person in a health benefits plan for a health-related condition of a covered person. Provided, that for the purposes of the options provided by this act, state-mandated health benefits which may be excluded in whole or in part shall not include any health care services or benefits which were mandated by federal law, and

b."State-mandated health benefits" does not mean standard provisions or rights required to be present in a health benefit plan pursuant to state law or state regulations unrelated to a specific illness, injury or condition of the insured, including, but not limited to, those related to continuation of benefits found in Article 45 of the Oklahoma Insurance Code; and

15. "Total eligible employees" means two hundred or more eligible employees.

Added by Laws 2002, c. 276, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2002. Amended by Laws 2009, c. 176, § 34, eff. Nov. 1, 2009.