As used in this chapter:

(1) “Commissioner” means the commissioner of commerce and insurance;

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 56-17-101

  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of commerce and insurance. See Tennessee Code 56-17-101
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Department: means the department of commerce and insurance. See Tennessee Code 56-17-101
  • Member: means an individual who pays fees, dues, charges, or other consideration for the right to enroll to receive the purported benefits of a discount plan. See Tennessee Code 56-17-101
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, joint venture, joint stock company, trust, unincorporated organization, limited liability company, similar entity, or combination of these entities. See Tennessee Code 56-17-101
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(2) “Department” means the department of commerce and insurance;
(3) “Discount plan”:

(A) Means a card, or other purchasing mechanism or device, that is not insurance and purports to offer discounts or access to discounts to a member for dental services, vision services, or retail purchases of prescription drugs from licensed pharmacies; and
(B) Does not include:

(i) A discount card or drug benefit plan provided by a self-insured employer’s group health benefits plan;
(ii) A discount plan offered by an insurer licensed under this title in conjunction with health insurance;
(iii) A dental service plan regulated by the Dental Service Plan Law, 1961, compiled in chapter 30 of this title; or
(iv) A vision service plan regulated by the Vision Service Plan Law, compiled in chapter 31 of this title;
(4) “Marketer” means a person or entity that offers, sells, markets, advertises, or otherwise distributes a discount plan, including a private label entity that places its name on, and markets or distributes, a discount plan pursuant to a marketing agreement with a discount plan operator;
(5) “Member” means an individual who pays fees, dues, charges, or other consideration for the right to enroll to receive the purported benefits of a discount plan;
(6) “Operator”:

(A) Means a person that engages as principal in the business of offering, selling, marketing, advertising, or otherwise distributing a discount plan within this state; and
(B) Does not include discount cards offered by a nonprofit association to its members as an incidental benefit to membership in the association as long as that membership in the association entitles members to apply for insurance or other health benefits that are available only to members of the association;
(7) “Person” means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, joint venture, joint stock company, trust, unincorporated organization, limited liability company, similar entity, or combination of these entities; and
(8) “Prescription drug” has the same meaning as defined in § 63-10-204.