Virginia Law

A. Each (i) insurer proposing to issue individual or group accident and sickness insurance policies providing hospital, medical and surgical or major medical coverage on an expense incurred basis, (ii) corporation providing individual or group accident and sickness subscription contracts, and (iii) health maintenance organization providing a health care plan for health care services, whose policies, contracts or plans, including any certificate or evidence of coverage issued in connection with such policies, contracts or plans, shall have a procedure in place to permit any individual covered thereunder who has been diagnosed with cancer to have a standing referral to a board-certified physician in pain management or oncologist who is authorized to provide services under such policy, contract or plan and has been selected by the cancer patient.

B. The board-certified physician in pain management or oncologist shall consult on a regular basis, as required under the terms of the policy, contract or plan, by telephone or through written communication, with the primary care physician and any oncologist providing care to the patient concerning the plan of pain management for the patient. Further, this section shall not be construed to authorize the board-certified physician in pain management or oncologist to direct the patient to other health care services.

C. Nothing contained herein shall prohibit an insurer, corporation, or health maintenance organization from requiring a participating board-certified physician in pain management or oncologist to provide written notification to the cancer patient's primary care physician of any visit to him. Such notification may include a description of the health care services rendered at the time of the visit.

D. Each insurer, corporation or health maintenance organization subject to the provisions of this section shall inform subscribers, in writing, within the policy or evidence of coverage of the provisions of this section.

E. The requirements of this section shall apply to all insurance policies, contracts, and plans delivered, issued for delivery, reissued, renewed, or extended or at any time when any term of any such policy, contract, or plan is changed or any premium adjustment is made. The provisions of this section shall not apply to short-term travel or accident-only policies, to short-term nonrenewable policies of not more than six months' duration, or policies or contracts issued to persons eligible under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, known as Medicare, or any other similar coverage under state or federal governmental plans.

1999, c. 856.