South Carolina Code 38-71-280. Autism spectrum disorder; coverage; eligibility for benefits
(1) "Autism spectrum disorder" means one of the three following disorders as defined in the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association:
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 38-71-280
- Coinsurance: means a stipulation or requirement that the insured undertakes to be his own insurer to the extent that he fails to maintain insurance of a given percentage of the value of the property against loss or damage. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Department: means the Department of Insurance of South Carolina. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- insurance: includes annuities. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Insurer: includes a corporation, fraternal organization, burial association, other association, partnership, society, order, individual, or aggregation of individuals engaging or proposing or attempting to engage as principals in any kind of insurance or surety business, including the exchanging of reciprocal or interinsurance contracts between individuals, partnerships, and corporations. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Person: means a corporation, agency, partnership, association, voluntary organization, individual, or another entity, organization, or aggregation of individuals. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Policy: means a contract of insurance. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
- Terminate: means the cancellation of the relationship between an insurance producer and the insurer or the termination of a producer's authority to transact insurance. See South Carolina Code 38-1-20
(a) Autistic Disorder;
(b) Asperger’s Syndrome;
(c) Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified.
(2) "Insurer" means an insurance company, a health maintenance organization, and any other entity providing health insurance coverage, as defined in § 38-71-670(6), which is licensed to engage in the business of insurance in this State and which is subject to state insurance regulation.
(3) "Health maintenance organization" means an organization as defined in § 38-33-20(8).
(4) "Health insurance plan" means a group health insurance policy or group health benefit plan offered by an insurer. It includes the State Health Plan, but does not otherwise include any health insurance plan offered in the individual market as defined in § 38-71-670(11), any health insurance plan that is individually underwritten, or any health insurance plan provided to a small employer, as defined by § 38-71-1330(17).
(5) "State Health Plan" means the employee and retiree insurance program provided for in Article 5, Chapter 11 of Title 1.
(B) A health insurance plan as defined in this section must provide coverage for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder. Coverage provided under this section is limited to treatment that is prescribed by the insured’s treating medical doctor in accordance with a treatment plan. With regards to a health insurance plan as defined in this section an insurer may not deny or refuse to issue coverage on, refuse to contract with, or refuse to renew or refuse to reissue or otherwise terminate or restrict coverage on an individual solely because the individual is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
(C) The coverage required pursuant to subsection (B) must not be subject to dollar limits, deductibles, or coinsurance provisions that are less favorable to an insured than the dollar limits, deductibles, or coinsurance provisions that apply to physical illness generally under the health insurance plan, except as otherwise provided for in subsection (E). However, the coverage required pursuant to subsection (B) may be subject to other general exclusions and limitations of the health insurance plan, including, but not limited to, coordination of benefits, participating provider requirements, restrictions on services provided by family or household members, utilization review of health care services including review of medical necessity, case management, and other managed care provisions.
(D) The treatment plan required pursuant to subsection (B) must include all elements necessary for the health insurance plan to appropriately pay claims. These elements include, but are not limited to, a diagnosis, proposed treatment by type, frequency, and duration of treatment, the anticipated outcomes stated as goals, the frequency by which the treatment plan will be updated, and the treating medical doctor’s signature. The health insurance plan may only request an updated treatment plan once every six months from the treating medical doctor to review medical necessity, unless the health insurance plan and the treating medical doctor agree that a more frequent review is necessary due to emerging clinical circumstances.
(E) To be eligible for benefits and coverage under this section, an individual must be diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder at age eight or younger. The benefits and coverage provided pursuant to this section must be provided to any eligible person under sixteen years of age. Coverage for behavioral therapy is subject to a fifty thousand dollar maximum benefit per year. Beginning one year after the effective date of this act, this maximum benefit shall be adjusted annually on January first of each calendar year to reflect any change from the previous year in the current Consumer Price Index, All Urban Consumers, as published by the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.