A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO amend the lAW CONCERNING HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN CO‑PAYMENTS FOR CHIROPRACTIC, occupational therapy, and physical therapy SERVICES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 58‑50‑30(a3) reads as rewritten:
"(a3)	Whenever any health benefit plan, subscriber contract, or policy of insurance issued by a health maintenance organization, hospital or medical service corporation, or insurer governed by Articles 1 through 67 of this Chapter provides coverage for medically necessary treatment, the insurer shall not impose any limitation on treatment or levels of coverage if performed by a duly licensed chiropractor acting within the scope of the chiropractor's practice as defined in G.S. 90‑151 unless a comparable limitation is imposed on the medically necessary treatment if performed or authorized by any other duly licensed physician. An insurer shall not impose as a limitation on treatment or level of coverage a co‑payment amount charged to the insured for chiropractic services that is higher than the co‑payment amount charged under the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 58‑50‑30 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(a4)	Whenever any health benefit plan, subscriber contract, or policy of insurance issued by a health maintenance organization, hospital or medical service corporation, or insurer governed by Articles 1 through 67 of this Chapter provides coverage for medically necessary treatment, the insurer shall not impose as a limitation on treatment or level of coverage a co‑payment amount for services performed by a duly licensed occupational therapist acting within the scope of practice authorized under G.S. 90‑270.67 or by a duly licensed physical therapist acting within the scope of practice authorized under G.S. 90‑270.24 that is higher than the co‑payment amount charged to the insured for occupational therapy or physical therapy  under the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees."
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2009, and applies to policies issued or renewed on or after that date. For the purposes of this act, renewal of a health benefit plan is presumed to occur on each anniversary of the date on which coverage was first effective on the person or persons covered by the health benefit plan.