(a) Any accident and sickness insurance policy issued by an insurer pursuant to this article that covers anti-cancer medications that are injected or intravenously administered by a health care provider and patient administered anti-cancer medications, including, but not limited to, those medications orally administered or self-injected, may not require a less favorable basis for a copayment, deductible or coinsurance amount for patient administered anti-cancer medications than it requires for injected or intravenously administered anti-cancer medications, regardless of the formulation or benefit category determination by the policy or plan.

Terms Used In West Virginia Code 33-15-4l

  • State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10

(b) An accident or sickness insurance policy may not comply with subsection (a) of this section by:

(1) Increasing the copayment, deductible or coinsurance amount required for injected or intravenously administered anti-cancer medications that are covered under the policy or plan; or

(2) Reclassifying benefits with respect to anti-cancer medications.

(c) As used in this section, "anti-cancer medication" means a FDA approved medication prescribed by a treating physician who determines that the medication is medically necessary to kill or slow the growth of cancerous cells in a manner consistent with nationally accepted standards of practice.

(d) This section is effective for policy and plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2016. This section applies to all group accident and sickness insurance policies and plans subject to this article that are delivered, executed, issued, amended, adjusted or renewed in this state, on and after the effective date of this section.

(e) Notwithstanding any other provision in this section to the contrary, in the event that an insurer can demonstrate actuarially to the Insurance Commissioner that its total costs for compliance with this section will exceed or have exceeded two percent of the total costs for all accident and sickness insurance coverage issued by the insurer subject to this article in any experience period, then the insurer may apply whatever cost containment measures may be necessary to maintain costs below two percent of the total costs for the coverage: Provided, That the cost containment measures implemented are applicable only for the plan year or experience period following approval of the request to implement cost containment measures.

(f) For any enrollee that is enrolled in a catastrophic plan as defined in Section 1302(e) of the Affordable Care Act or in a plan that, but for this requirement, would be a High Deductible Health Plan as defined in section 223(c)(2)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and that, in connection with every enrollment, opens and maintains for each enrollee a Health Savings Account as that term is defined in section 223(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the cost-sharing limit outlined in subsection (a) of this section shall be applicable only after the minimum annual deductible specified in section 223(c)(2)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is reached. In all other cases, this limit shall be applicable at any point in the benefit design, including before and after any applicable deductible is reached.