WAC 284-43-130   Definitions.  Except as defined in other subchapters and unless the context requires otherwise, the following definitions shall apply throughout this chapter.

     (1) "Adverse determination and noncertification" means a decision by a health carrier to deny, modify, reduce, or terminate payment, coverage, authorization, or provision of health care services or benefits including the admission to or continued stay in a facility.

     (2) "Certification" means a determination by the carrier that an admission, extension of stay, or other health care service has been reviewed and, based on the information provided, meets the clinical requirements for medical necessity, appropriateness, level of care, or effectiveness in relation to the applicable health plan.

     (3) "Clinical review criteria" means the written screens, decision rules, medical protocols, or guidelines used by the carrier as an element in the evaluation of medical necessity and appropriateness of requested admissions, procedures, and services under the auspices of the applicable health plan.

     (4) "Covered health condition" means any disease, illness, injury or condition of health risk covered according to the terms of any health plan.

     (5) "Covered person" means an individual covered by a health plan including an enrollee, subscriber, policyholder, or beneficiary of a group plan.

     (6) "Emergency medical condition" means the emergent and acute onset of a symptom or symptoms, including severe pain, that would lead a prudent layperson acting reasonably to believe that a health condition exists that requires immediate medical attention, if failure to provide medical attention would result in serious impairment to bodily functions or serious dysfunction of a bodily organ or part, or would place the person's health in serious jeopardy.

     (7) "Emergency services" means otherwise covered health care services medically necessary to evaluate and treat an emergency medical condition, provided in a hospital emergency department.

     (8) "Enrollee point-of-service cost-sharing" or "cost-sharing" means amounts paid to health carriers directly providing services, health care providers, or health care facilities by enrollees and may include copayments, coinsurance, or deductibles.

     (9) "Facility" means an institution providing health care services, including but not limited to hospitals and other licensed inpatient centers, ambulatory surgical or treatment centers, skilled nursing centers, residential treatment centers, diagnostic, laboratory, and imaging centers, and rehabilitation and other therapeutic settings.

     (10) "Formulary" means a listing of drugs used within a health plan.

     (11) "Grievance" means a written or an oral complaint submitted by or on behalf of a covered person regarding:

     (a) Denial of health care services or payment for health care services; or

     (b) Issues other than health care services or payment for health care services including dissatisfaction with health care services, delays in obtaining health care services, conflicts with carrier staff or providers, and dissatisfaction with carrier practices or actions unrelated to health care services.

     (12) "Health care provider" or "provider" means:

     (a) A person regulated under Title 18 RCW or chapter 70.127 RCW, to practice health or health-related services or otherwise practicing health care services in this state consistent with state law; or

     (b) An employee or agent of a person described in (a) of this subsection, acting in the course and scope of his or her employment.

     (13) "Health care service" or "health service" means that service offered or provided by health care facilities and health care providers relating to the prevention, cure, or treatment of illness, injury, or disease.

     (14) "Health carrier" or "carrier" means a disability insurance company regulated under chapter 48.20 or 48.21 RCW, a health care service contractor as defined in RCW 48.44.010, and a health maintenance organization as defined in RCW 48.46.020.

     (15) "Health plan" or "plan" means any individual or group policy, contract, or agreement offered by a health carrier to provide, arrange, reimburse, or pay for health care service except the following:

     (a) Long-term care insurance governed by chapter 48.84 RCW;

     (b) Medicare supplemental health insurance governed by chapter 48.66 RCW;

     (c) Limited health care service offered by limited health care service contractors in accordance with RCW 48.44.035;

     (d) Disability income;

     (e) Coverage incidental to a property/casualty liability insurance policy such as automobile personal injury protection coverage and homeowner guest medical;

     (f) Workers' compensation coverage;

     (g) Accident only coverage;

     (h) Specified disease and hospital confinement indemnity when marketed solely as a supplement to a health plan;

     (i) Employer-sponsored self-funded health plans;

     (j) Dental only and vision only coverage; and

     (k) Plans deemed by the insurance commissioner to have a short-term limited purpose or duration, or to be a student-only plan that is guaranteed renewable while the covered person is enrolled as a regular full-time undergraduate or graduate student at an accredited higher education institution, after a written request for such classification by the carrier and subsequent written approval by the insurance commissioner.

     (16) "Managed care plan" means a health plan that coordinates the provision of covered health care services to a covered person through the use of a primary care provider and a network.

     (17) "Medically necessary" or "medical necessity" in regard to mental health services and pharmacy services is a carrier determination as to whether a health service is a covered benefit if the service is consistent with generally recognized standards within a relevant health profession.

     (18) "Mental health provider" means a health care provider or a health care facility authorized by state law to provide mental health services.

     (19) "Mental health services" means in-patient or out-patient treatment, partial hospitalization or out-patient treatment to manage or ameliorate the effects of a mental disorder listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) IV published by the American Psychiatric Association, excluding diagnoses and treatments for substance abuse, 291.0 through 292.9 and 303.0 through 305.9.

     (20) "Network" means the group of participating providers and facilities providing health care services to a particular health plan. A health plan network for carriers offering more than one health plan may be smaller in number than the total number of participating providers and facilities for all plans offered by the carrier.

     (21) "Out-patient therapeutic visit" or "out-patient visit" means a clinical treatment session with a mental health provider of a duration consistent with relevant professional standards used by the carrier to determine medical necessity for the particular service being rendered, as defined in Physicians Current Procedural Terminology, published by the American Medical Association.

     (22) "Participating provider" and "participating facility" means a facility or provider who, under a contract with the health carrier or with the carrier's contractor or subcontractor, has agreed to provide health care services to covered persons with an expectation of receiving payment, other than coinsurance, copayments, or deductibles, from the health carrier rather than from the covered person.

     (23) "Person" means an individual, a corporation, a partnership, an association, a joint venture, a joint stock company, a trust, an unincorporated organization, any similar entity, or any combination of the foregoing.

     (24) "Pharmacy services" means the practice of pharmacy as defined in chapter 18.64 RCW and includes any drugs or devices as defined in chapter 18.64 RCW.

     (25) "Primary care provider" means a participating provider who supervises, coordinates, or provides initial care or continuing care to a covered person, and who may be required by the health carrier to initiate a referral for specialty care and maintain supervision of health care services rendered to the covered person.

     (26) "Preexisting condition" means any medical condition, illness, or injury that existed any time prior to the effective date of coverage.

     (27) "Premium" means all sums charged, received, or deposited by a health carrier as consideration for a health plan or the continuance of a health plan. Any assessment or any "membership," "policy," "contract," "service," or similar fee or charge made by a health carrier in consideration for a health plan is deemed part of the premium. "Premium" shall not include amounts paid as enrollee point-of-service cost-sharing.

     (28) "Small group" means a health plan issued to a small employer as defined under RCW 48.43.005(24) comprising from one to fifty eligible employees.

     (29) "Substitute drug" means a therapeutically equivalent substance as defined in chapter 69.41 RCW.

     (30) "Supplementary pharmacy services" or "other pharmacy services" means pharmacy services involving the provision of drug therapy management and other services not required under state and federal law but that may be rendered in connection with dispensing, or that may be used in disease prevention or disease management.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 48.02.060, 48.18.120, 48.20.450, 48.20.460, 48.30.010, 48.44.050, 48.46.100, 48.46.200, 48.43.505, 48.43.510, 48.43.515, 48.43.520, 48.43.525, 48.43.530, 48.43.535. 01-03-033 (Matter No. R 2000-02), § 284-43-130, filed 1/9/01, effective 7/1/01. Statutory Authority: RCW 48.02.060, 48.20.450, 48.20.460, 48.30.010, 48.44.050, 48.46.200, 2000 c 79 § 26, and RCW 48.30.040, 48.44.110, 48.46.400. 01-03-032 (Matter No. R 2000-04), § 284-43-130, filed 1/9/01, effective 2/9/01. Statutory Authority: RCW 48.02.060, 48.30.010, 48.44.050, 48.46.200, 48.30.040, 48.44.110 and 48.46.400. 99-19-032 (Matter No. R 98-7), § 284-43-130, filed 9/8/99, effective 10/9/99. Statutory Authority: RCW 48.02.060, 48.20.450, 48.20.460, 48.30.010, 48.44.020, 48.44.050, 48.44.080, 48.46.030, 48.46.060(2), 48.46.200 and 48.46.243. 98-04-005 (Matter No. R 97-3), § 284-43-130, filed 1/22/98, effective 2/22/98.]