NRS695C.173. Required provision concerning coverage for newly born and adopted children and children placed for adoption.

      1.  All individual and group health care plans which provide coverage for a family member of the enrollee must as to such coverage provide that the health care services applicable for children are payable with respect to:

      (a) A newly born child of the enrollee from the moment of birth;

      (b) An adopted child from the date the adoption becomes effective, if the child was not placed in the home before adoption; and

      (c) A child placed with the enrollee for the purpose of adoption from the moment of placement as certified by the public or private agency making the placement. The coverage of such a child ceases if the adoption proceedings are terminated as certified by the public or private agency making the placement.

Ê The plans must provide the coverage specified in subsection 3, and must not exclude premature births.

      2.  The evidence of coverage may require that notification of:

      (a) The birth of a newly born child;

      (b) The effective date of adoption of a child; or

      (c) The date of placement of a child for adoption,

Ê and payments of the required charge, if any, must be furnished to the health maintenance organization within 31 days after the date of birth, adoption or placement for adoption in order to have the coverage continue beyond the 31-day period.

      3.  The coverage for newly born and adopted children and children placed for adoption consists of preventive health care services as well as coverage of injury or sickness, including the necessary care and treatment of medically diagnosed congenital defects and birth abnormalities and, within the limits of the policy, necessary transportation costs from place of birth to the nearest specialized treatment center under major medical policies, and with respect to basic policies to the extent such costs are charged by the treatment center.

      4.  A health maintenance organization shall not restrict the coverage of a dependent child adopted or placed for adoption solely because of a preexisting condition the child has at the time the child would otherwise become eligible for coverage pursuant to that plan. Any provision relating to an exclusion for a preexisting condition must comply with NRS 689B.500 or 689C.190, as appropriate.

      5.  For covered services provided to the child, the health maintenance organization shall reimburse noncontracted providers of health care to an amount equal to the average amount of payment for which the organization has agreements, contracts or arrangements for those covered services.

      (Added to NRS by 1975, 1110; A 1989, 741; 1995, 2436; 1997, 2959)