Virginia Law

A. The following standard Medicare supplement benefit plans are applicable to all Medicare supplement benefit plan policies or certificates delivered or issued for delivery in this Commonwealth on or after July 30, 1992, and with an effective date for coverage prior to June 1, 2010. An issuer shall make available to each prospective policyholder and certificateholder a policy form or certificate form containing only the basic core benefits, as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 C.

B. No groups, packages or combinations of Medicare supplement benefits other than those listed in this section shall be offered for sale in this Commonwealth, except as may be permitted in subsection G of this section and 14VAC5-170-90.

C. Benefit plans shall be uniform in structure, language, designation, and format to the standard benefit plans "A" through "L" listed in this subsection and conform to the definitions in 14VAC5-170-30. Each benefit shall be structured in accordance with the format provided in 14VAC5-170-70 C, D, or E and list the benefits in the order shown in this subsection. For purposes of this section, "structure, language, and format" means style, arrangement and overall content of a benefit.

D. An issuer may use, in addition to the benefit plan designations required in subsection C, other designations to the extent permitted by law.

E. Make-up of benefit plans:

1. Standardized Medicare supplement benefit plan "A" shall be limited to the basic (core) benefits common to all benefit plans, as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 C.

2. Standardized Medicare supplement benefit plan "B" shall include only the following: The core benefits as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 C, plus the Medicare Part A deductible as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 D 1.

3. Standardized Medicare supplement benefit plan "C" shall include only the following: The core benefits as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 C, plus the Medicare Part A deductible, skilled nursing facility care, Medicare Part B deductible, and medically necessary emergency care in a foreign country as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 D 1, 2, 3, and 8 respectively.

4. Standardized Medicare supplement benefit plan "D" shall include only the following: The core benefits as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 C, plus the Medicare Part A deductible, skilled nursing facility care, medically necessary emergency care in a foreign country, and the at-home recovery benefit as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 D 1, 2, 8, and 10 respectively.

5. Standardized Medicare supplement benefit plan "E" shall include only the following: The core benefits as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 C, plus the Medicare Part A deductible, skilled nursing facility care, medically necessary emergency care in a foreign country, and preventive medical care as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 D 1, 2, 8, and 9 respectively.

6. Standardized Medicare supplement benefit plan "F" shall include only the following: The core benefits as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 C, plus the Medicare Part A deductible, the skilled nursing facility care, the Part B deductible, 100% of the Medicare Part B excess charges, and medically necessary emergency care in a foreign country as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 D 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 respectively.

7. Standardized Medicare supplement benefit high deductible plan "F" shall include only the following: 100% of covered expenses following the payment of the annual high deductible plan "F" deductible. The covered expenses include the core benefits as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 C, plus the Medicare Part A deductible, skilled nursing facility care, the Medicare Part B deductible, 100% of the Medicare Part B excess charges, and medically necessary emergency care in a foreign country as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 D 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 respectively. The annual high deductible plan "F" deductible shall consist of out-of-pocket expenses, other than premiums, for services covered by the Medicare supplement plan "F" policy and shall be in addition to any other specific benefit deductibles. The calendar year deductible shall be $1,500 for 1998 and 1999. It shall be adjusted annually thereafter by the Secretary to reflect the change in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for the 12-month period ending on August 31st of the preceding year and rounded to the nearest multiple of $10.

8. Standardized Medicare supplement benefit plan "G" shall include only the following: The core benefits as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 C, plus the Medicare Part A deductible, skilled nursing facility care, 80% of the Medicare Part B excess charges, medically necessary emergency care in a foreign country, and the at-home recovery benefit as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 D 1, 2, 4, 8, and 10 respectively.

9. Standardized Medicare supplement benefit plan "H" shall include only the following: The core benefits as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 C, plus the Medicare Part A deductible, skilled nursing facility care, basic prescription drug benefit and medically necessary emergency care in a foreign country as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 D 1, 2, 6, and 8 respectively. The basic prescription drug benefit shall not be included in a Medicare supplement policy sold after December 31, 2005.

10. Standardized Medicare supplement benefit plan "I" shall include only the following: The core benefits as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 C, plus the Medicare Part A deductible, skilled nursing facility care, 100% of the Medicare Part B excess charges, basic prescription drug benefit, medically necessary emergency care in a foreign country, and at-home recovery benefit as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 D 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, and 10 respectively. The basic prescription drug benefit shall not be included in a Medicare supplement policy sold after December 31, 2005.

11. Standardized Medicare supplement benefit plan "J" shall include only the following: The core benefits as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 C, plus the Medicare Part A deductible, skilled nursing facility care, Medicare Part B deductible, 100% of the Medicare Part B excess charges, extended prescription drug benefit, medically necessary emergency care in a foreign country, preventive medical care, and at-home recovery benefit as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 D 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10 respectively. The extended prescription drug benefit shall not be included in a Medicare supplement policy sold after December 31, 2005.

12. Standardized Medicare supplement benefit high deductible plan "J" shall include only the following: 100% of covered expenses following the payment of the annual high deductible plan "J" deductible. The covered expenses include the core benefits as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 C, plus the Medicare Part A deductible, skilled nursing facility care, Medicare Part B deductible, 100% of the Medicare Part B excess charges, extended outpatient prescription drug benefit, medically necessary emergency care in a foreign country, preventive medical care benefit, and at-home recovery benefit as defined in 14VAC5-170-70 D 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10 respectively. The annual high deductible plan "J" deductible shall consist of out-of-pocket expenses, other than premiums, for services covered by the Medicare supplement plan "J" policy and shall be in addition to any other specific benefit deductibles. The calendar year deductible shall be $1,500 for 1998 and 1999. It shall be adjusted annually thereafter by the Secretary to reflect the change in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for the 12-month period ending on August 31st of the preceding year and rounded to the nearest multiple of $10. The extended outpatient prescription drug benefit shall not be included in a Medicare supplement policy sold after December 31, 2005.

F. Make-up of two Medicare supplement plans mandated by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (42 USC § 1395w-101):

1. Standardized Medicare supplement benefit plan "K" shall consist of only those benefits described in 14VAC5-170-70 E 1.

2. Standardized Medicare supplement benefit plan "L" shall consist of only those benefits described in 14VAC5-170-70 E 2.

G. New or innovative benefits. An issuer may, with the prior approval of the State Corporation Commission, offer policies or certificates with new or innovative benefits in addition to the benefits provided in a policy or certificate that otherwise complies with the applicable standards. The new or innovative benefits may include benefits that are appropriate to Medicare supplement insurance, new or innovative, not otherwise available, cost-effective, and offered in a manner that is consistent with the goal of simplification of Medicare supplement policies. After December 31, 2005, the innovative benefit shall not include an outpatient prescription drug benefit.