(a) Each policy of accident and health or sickness insurance, other than life insurance, disability income insurance, and long-term care insurance, issued or renewed in this State, each employer group health policy, contract, plan, or agreement issued or renewed in this State, all accident and health or sickness insurance policies issued or renewed in this State, all policies providing family coverages as defined in § 431:10A-103, and all policies providing reciprocal beneficiary family coverage as defined in section 431:10A-601, shall contain a provision for coverage for medical foods and low-protein modified food products for the treatment of an inborn error of metabolism for its policyholders or dependents of the policyholder in this State; provided that the medical food or low-protein modified food product is:

Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 431:10A-120

  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • sickness insurance: shall include an accident-only; specified disease; hospital indemnity; long-term care; disability; dental; vision; medicare supplement; short-term, limited-duration health insurance; or other limited benefit health insurance contract regardless of the manner in which benefits are paid; provided that if any of the requirements in the foregoing sections as applied to long-term care insurance conflict with article 10H, the provisions of article 10H shall govern and control. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 431:10A-607
(1) Prescribed as medically necessary for the therapeutic treatment of an inborn error of metabolism; and
(2) Consumed or administered enterally under the supervision of a physician or osteopathic physician licensed under chapter 453.

Coverage shall be for at least eighty per cent of the cost of the medical food or low-protein modified food product prescribed and administered pursuant to this subsection.

(b) Every insurer shall provide notice to its policyholders regarding the coverage required by this section. The notice shall be in writing and prominently placed in any literature or correspondence sent to policyholders and shall be transmitted to policyholders during calendar year 2000 when annual information is made available to policyholders, or in any other mailing to policyholders, but in no case later than December 31, 2000.
(c) For the purposes of this section:

“Inborn error of metabolism” means a disease caused by an inherited abnormality of the body chemistry of a person that is characterized by deficient metabolism, originating from congenital defects or defects arising shortly after birth, of amino acid, organic acid, carbohydrate, or fat.

“Low-protein modified food product” means a food product that:

(1) Is specially formulated to have less than one gram of protein per serving;
(2) Is prescribed or ordered by a physician or osteopathic physician as medically necessary for the dietary treatment of an inborn error of metabolism; and
(3) Does not include a food that is naturally low in protein.

“Medical food” means a food that is formulated to be consumed or administered enterally under the supervision of a physician or osteopathic physician and is intended for the specific dietary management of a disease or condition for which distinctive nutritional requirements, based on recognized scientific principles, are established by medical evaluation.

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