AHM 520 : Provider Reimbursement and Plan Risk

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    AHM Health Plan Finance and Risk Management: Provider Reimbursement and Plan Risk

    Course Goals and ObjectivesAfter completing this lesson you should be able to

    Discuss the three main drivers of complexity in the healthcare regulatory environment

    Describe the influence of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Departmentof Labor, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Department of Defense on thehealthcare environment

    Explain the financial effects that mandated benefit laws and regulations have on health

    plans

    Our discussion of provider reimbursement and plan risk begins with a review of theoverall regulatory environment in which health plans operate. Next, we discuss specificfederal and state laws and regulations that affect the healthcare environment.

    The Regulatory Environment

    The regulatory requirements that apply to healthcare financing, contracting, and delivery in theUnited States are numerous and complex. Many general business laws and regulations governing

    labor, taxes, and contracts apply to health plans much as they apply to other businesses. Inaddition, healthcare in general, and health plans in particular, are subject to a vast array ofindustry-specific laws and regulations. Broadly speaking, there are three main drivers ofcomplexity in the healthcare regulatory environment.

    1. The number of agencies that are sources of regulations or that have regulatory authorityover health plans.

    Agencies in both the federal and state governments regulate various aspects of healthcare in theUnited States, and in each level of government, multiple agencies have at least some regulatoryauthority. State departments of health and departments of insurance typically share responsibility

    for regulating many aspects of healthcare. The division of this responsibility between the twoagencies, however, varies from state to state. Various agencies typically administer federal

    programs that affect health plans. For instance, the Department of Health and Human Services,

    through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), administers Medicare andMedicaid. A comprehensive list of government agencies that regulate health plans on all levelswould be extremely long, because health plans are subject to tax, labor, and other general laws

    just as any business is. Generally, the larger the number of agencies that have regulatory authority

    over an industry, the more complex the industrys regulatory environment. The more complex theregulatory environment, the more expensive a businesss compliance operations, all other factors

    being equal.

    2. The relative complexity of both the practice of medicine and the management of healthplans.

    The complexity of modern medicine directly affects the ways in which health plans are regulated.Because health plans are corporations, they cannot practice medicine in most states. Thus, health

    plans provide health plans that bridge the gap between providers, payors, and members. In doing

    so, health plans must consider the regulations that affect each of these groups and the goals thatthese groups have. For instance, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a great deal of

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    influence on the use of specific drugs and on federal health law. As a result, the FDA influenceshealth plans by determining the medical options available to the health plans providers. In some

    markets, laws mandate that specific benefits be covered by health plans in those markets. Health

    plans that are subject to those laws must cover the cost of the mandated benefits, and thesemandates must be reflected in provider contracts. Furthermore, health plans operating in morethan one state must comply with the regulatory and licensing requirements of each state in which

    they operate.

    3. The importance of healthcare to the public.

    The public has an interest in healthcare and the contracts that provide it. Legislative andregulatory bodies reflect these public concerns about healthcare. Generally, the greater the publicinterest in an industry, the more likely it is that legislative bodies will design and pass laws to

    regulate that industry.

    The Regulatory Environment

    Ideally, healthcare laws and regulations serve the public interest by performing two broad

    functions.

    First, they provide protection to consumers of healthcare. Individuals seeking healthcare are oftennot in a strong position to judge the financial stability of a health plan, and sometimes lack theinformation necessary to compare the various health plans available. Many regulations are

    designed to protect consumers from these disadvantages. For example, as we saw in RiskManagement in Health Plans, solvency regulations are designed to help assure that health plansare sufficiently financed to meet their obligations to plan members.

    Second, laws and regulations that are both well designed and consistently applied set standards ofconduct for the parties involved in the business of healthcare, and these standards foster a

    competitive, but fair, marketplace environment.

    From a financial standpoint, however, the laws and regulations that achieve these ideal goalsgenerate costs. For example, licensing requirements for providers and health plans protectconsumers and foster public confidence in the healthcare professions. Part of the cost of this

    protection is that health plans face licensing requirementsand licensing costsin every state inwhich they enroll plan members.

    Complex regulatory environments also generate multiple markets, and therefore multiple

    healthcare delivery systems. For example, in a given geographical area, Medicare, Medicaid,commercial, large group, small group, and individual markets will be influenced, and in somecases created, by government laws and regulations. Changes in laws and regulations in such areascan cause healthcare resources to shift in and out of health plans or shift from less attractivehealth plan markets to more attractive markets.

    Beyond generating administrative and compliance costs for health plans, laws and regulations

    also frequently increase the risk for one party or another in a health plan contract. For example,mandatory coverage of certain illnesses in effect mandates the transfer of the financial riskassociated with that illness from the individual plan member to one or more other parties involved

    in the healthcare contract.

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    Generally, the distribution of risk among the health plan, the plan sponsor, and the providers isone of the central processes of risk management in health plans. The method that a health plan

    uses to reimburse its providers is a key factor in determining the amount of financial risk that a

    provider assumes and the amount by which the health plan reduces its underwriting risk. In thissense, provider contracting is closely tied to risk and to risk management tools, such as those wediscussed in previous lessons.

    The concept of the risk-return trade-off causes health plans financial risk managers to seek an

    appropriate balance between achieving returns that meet its owners (or stockholders)expectations and maintaining appropriate levels of solvency. Healthcare providers and health

    plans both face financial risk in the course of conducting business. As businesses, health plans

    invest financial capital with the expectation of achieving a return. Similarly, providers invest theirlabor, and often some capital of their own in the course of providing care, and in return expect to

    be financially rewarded.

    The various types of provider reimbursement methods therefore indicate not only how theprovider will be paid for providing services, but also who will bear the risk that providing these

    services will be more expensive than anticipated, and who will benefit if expenses are lower thananticipated. There are almost as many provider reimbursement methods as there are providercontracts, but reimbursement methods do fall into general categories. We discuss these categories

    in this assignment and a future lesson. Keep in mind that what often distinguishes these providerreimbursement methods from each other is how risk is divided among the parties to the health

    plan contract.

    Regulations addressing the delivery of healthcare services mandate many of the elements that

    must be included in contracts between health plans and providers and, in doing so, often serve toassign the risks associated with providing these services. In the following sections, we present an

    overview of the sources of health plan regulation and some of the mandates imposed byregulations.

    Sources of Laws and Regulations1

    Laws and regulations applying to health plans come from both the federal government and state

    governments. At both the federal and the state level, legislatures enact statutes, governmentalagencies develop regulations, and courts interpret laws and establish case law, all of which affecthealth plans.

    Federal Government

    At least four federal agencies establish rules and requirements that affect health plans:

    1. the Department of Health and Human Services,2. the Department of Labor,

    3. the Office of Personnel Management, and4. the Department of Defense.

    The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

    Acting primarily through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS serves as apurchaser and regulator of healthcare. In addition, CMS is responsible for administering the

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    Medicare program and the federal governments role in the Medicaid program. We discussMedicare and Medicaid in more detail in future lessons.

    The Department of Health and Human Services is also responsible for issuing regulationspertaining to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. These

    regulations directly affect health plans that offer insured products to employer group health plansand individuals. Recall from Healthcare Management: An Introduction that HIPAA standardizesan approach to the continuation of healthcare benefits for individuals and members of small group

    health plans and establishes parity between the benefits extended to these individuals and thosebenefits offered to employees in large group plans. This act also contains provisions designed toensure that prospective or current enrollees in a group health plan are not discriminated against on

    the basis of health status.

    The Department of Labor (DOL)

    The DOL is the federal agency with primary responsibility for administering the EmployeeRetirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974, including recent amendments made byHIPAA. Although ERISA set the standards for the health benefit plans that many employers andsome unions establish for their employees or members, ERISA does not directly regulate health

    plans. Because employer group plans often contract with health plans to provide health benefits tothe plans enrollees, health plans that sell to this market must design health plan benefits thatmeet ERISA requirements.

    Under ERISA, various documentation, appeals, reporting, and disclosure requirements are

    imposed on employer group health plans. For example, every employer group health benefit planthat is subject to ERISA must have a written plan document that describes in detail the benefitscovered by the plan as well as the rules governing eligibility and the procedures by which the

    plan may be modified.

    In addition, ERISA requires plans to furnish every participant with a summary plan description(SPD), which outlines the most important parts of the lengthier plan document. Plan descriptionsare often at the heart of disputes over whether a health plan is obligated to cover a particularservice or course of treatment. For this reason, the plan documents of a health plan may have

    important legal and financial consequences for the plan.

    The Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

    The OPM administers the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), which provides

    voluntary health insurance coverage to federal employees, retirees, and dependents. The FEHBPis the largest employer-sponsored health plan in the United States. The OPM sets threshold

    standards that plans must meet in order to participate in the FEHBP.

    In addition, ERISA requires plans to furnish every participant with a summary plan description

    (SPD), which outlines the most important parts of the lengthier plan document. Plan descriptionsare often at the heart of disputes over whether a health plan is obligated to cover a particularservice or course of treatment. For this reason, the plan documents of a health plan may have

    important legal and financial consequences for the plan.

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    The Department of Defense (DOD)

    The DOD administers the Military Health Services System (MHSS), which provides medical care

    to active-duty military personnel, their families, and retirees not yet eligible for Medicare.Although its budget is substantial, the MHSS is not yet a major force in the regulation of HMOs

    and PPOs because of the structure of its health plan contracting initiatives and the limited numberof contractors involved in its programs.

    State Governments

    As we mentioned earlier, health plans are often regulated by more than one agency in a givenstate. Typically, a department of insurance oversees the financial aspects of health plan operations

    for those health plans that do not fall under the ERISA preemption. In some states, the statedepartment of health regulates the healthcare delivery system, including oversight of access toand quality of care. Other state agencies also may be involved in setting standards for some health

    plans, because states are also purchasers of healthcare for their own employees and for low-income state residents through Medicaid contracts.

    The National Association of I nsurance Commissioners (NAI C)is a non-governmentalorganization that consists of the commissioners or superintendents of the various state insurancedepartments.2 The NAIC assists states in their attempts to achieve some uniformity of laws and

    regulations applying to health plans and health insurance. The NAIC does this through thedevelopment of model acts. The model acts themselves do not carry the force of law, but statelegislatures often pattern their own laws or regulations after the NAIC model laws.

    States may, however, alter any portion of a model law or regulation before it is adopted.

    Consequently, details of licensure and other requirements frequently vary from state to state, andhealth plans operating in more than one state must design their plans and provider contracts tocomply with applicable laws in each jurisdiction in which the health plans operate.

    Provider Contracting Laws and Regulations

    The federal and state agencies and regulators discussed earlier in this lesson set the regulatoryenvironment in which providers and health plans must negotiate contracts. In this regard,

    healthcare laws and regulations that require health plans to pay certain benefits or cover certainconditions or treatments have an impact on the health plan-provider contracts. The costs ofcomplying with such laws and regulations affect provider contracts at least indirectly in a

    competitive market, because resources used to meet compliance costs are no longer available as

    potential surplus for either providers or health plans.

    In addition, many laws more directly affect provider contracts by mandating elements withinthose contracts. The large number of legislatures and agencies involved in passing and enforcingthese laws make a full discussion of them beyond the scope of this text. However, the following

    sections briefly discuss some of the types of laws affecting provider contracts.

    Credentialing Standards

    An important feature of many health plans is that health plans either limit plan members choiceof provider or give incentives for plan members to select from panels of preferred providers.Because plan members may be injured if a health plan selects providers who are incompetent or

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    unqualified to provide quality care, courts have held that health plans have a duty to usereasonable care in credentialing providers.

    Recall from Healthcare Management: An Introduction that credentialing is a review processconducted to determine the current clinical competence of providers and to ensure that providers

    meet the organizations criteria. Various organizations, including the National Committee forQuality Assurance (NCQA), URAC and the American Association of Preferred ProviderOrganizations (AAPPO), have adopted standards for conducting provider credentialing. These

    standards are not mandatory for health plans, but courts sometimes find that health plans havesatisfied their duty to use reasonable care in their credentialing activities if they comply withthese standards.

    The NCQA standards list the kinds of information health plans should obtain about providers

    during the initial credentialing process and suggest that health plans recredential all providersevery two years. The NCQA has also established standards for health plans that contract with

    third parties to credential or verify the credentials of providers. In addition, some states haveenacted laws that specify the criteria health plans should consider in making credentialing

    decisions. Compliance with these laws may help an health plan show that it has satisfied itsstandard of care.

    Fair Procedure Laws

    Fair procedure laws, also called due process laws, are laws that require health plans to disclosethe criteria they use in

    1. selecting or deselecting the providers with which they contract, and

    2. explaining to rejected or deselected providers why they were not selected, and the processby which a provider can challenge the health plans decision.

    Direct Access Laws

    Several states have passed dir ect access l aws, which are laws that allow health plan members tosee certain specialists without first being referred to those specialists by a primary care provider.Direct access laws specify which type of specialist plan members must be allowed to see without

    referral. As of 1997, 14 states had direct access laws, and 9 of those states specifiedobstetricians/gynecologists. Other direct access laws allow visits to dermatologists (Florida andGeorgia) and chiropractors (New York).

    4

    Even in jurisdictions where there are no direct access laws, some plans allow enrollees to seecertain specialists without referral. However, in the absence of direct access laws, plans canrequire such referrals. In such cases, primary care provider contracts can require the primary care

    provider to manage some portion of the plan members utilization of such specialists. Directaccess laws reduce the primary care providers ability to manage utilization of these specialists.

    Because both the specialists and the primary care providers have different roles under these lawsthan they might otherwise have, direct access laws can influence the content of contracts betweenthe health plan and providers.

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    Any Willing Provider Laws

    About half of the states have passed any willing provider (AWP) laws, which require that health

    plans allow any provider to supply services to plan members, so long as the provider is willing tomeet the same terms and conditions that apply to the providers that are in the health plans

    network. In other words, AWP laws mandate that an health plan allow providers to become partof its network or reimburse those providers at the health plans negotiated-contract rate, so longas the non-contract provider is willing to perform the services at the contract rate.

    Any willing provider laws vary by state. Some state AWP laws allow plan members to choose

    any provider, whether the provider is in the health plans network or not. Several AWP lawsrequire that a health plan send contract proposals to all providers in the health plans service area.Other AWP laws confine themselves to relatively narrow categories of providerspharmacies,

    for example or they include a much wider range of providers.

    Provider groups tend to be in favor of AWP laws. They maintain that health plans that control ahigh percentage of the healthcare market in local areas may put providers who do not contractwith them at a competitive disadvantage, and may further reduce competition by reducing thenumber of providers in the market.

    In contrast, health plans are opposed to AWP laws because such laws tend to remove any

    motivation a provider may have to contract with the health plan. A health plan can significantlyreduce healthcare costs in a health plans population by contracting with providers who agree to

    provide services to the health plans plan members at reduced rates. In exchange, the health plan

    effectively makes available to the provider a larger volume of patients than the provider wouldotherwise have.

    Fair Procedure Laws

    Particularly in the case of hospitals, which have high fixed costs, and in the case of physicianswho are in individual practice and may not have marketing expertise, a dependably large volumeof patients can be a valuable benefit. The greater the perceived benefit of patient volume, the

    more motivated providers will be to agree to reduce their fees, and the greater the cost reductionsthe health plan will be able to achieve for its plan members, all other factors being equal. Further,health plans seek to enter into contracts with providers who share the health plans utilization

    management philosophy and who provide excellent care.

    By allowing all providers access to the health plans patient base, AWP laws remove providers

    incentive to contract with the health plan at reduced rates and make more difficult the healthplans attempt to build a provider panel that includes only the top-quality providers in a given

    market. As a result, health plans have challenged AWP laws in court. Usually the legal basis forthese challenges is that an applicable federal law, such as ERISA or the HMO Act, pre-emptsstate statutes. Insight 3A-1 highlights the recent finding of the US Supreme Court regarding theapplicability of ERISA to AWP challenges.

    Insight 3A-1

    In Kentucky Association of Health Plans v. Miller, the issue the Supreme Court decided is

    whether Kentuckys broad law violates the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)or whether the state law is a valid regulation of the business of insurance. In the January 14, 2003

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    hearing before the court, the attorney for the Kentucky Association of Health Plans argued thathealth plans need to use limited provider networks to deliver quality health care at a reasonable

    cost. The state argued that the Kentucky law is a legitimate consumer protection measure that

    gives consumers access to providers of their choice.

    On April 2, 2003, the US Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, affirmed the Sixth Circuitdecision that found that Kentuckys any willing provider" laws are saved from ERISA

    preemption by the ERISA saving clause because the laws regulate insurance. In the decision, the

    Supreme Court held that for a state law to be deemed a law which regulates insurance, and thusbe saved from ERISA preemption, it must satisfy two requirements: 1) it must be specificallydirected toward entities engaged in insurance; and 2) it must be substantially affect the risk

    pooling arrangement between the insurer and the insured.

    Mandated Benefits

    M andated benefit lawsare state or federal laws that require health plans to arrange for thefinancing and delivery of particular benefits, such as coverage for a stay in a hospital for aspecific length of time. In some cases, such as laws that require health plans to supplychiropractic services, mandated benefit laws also have the effect of requiring health plans to

    contract with specific types of providers.

    In recent years, the number of state laws mandating coverage has increased significantly. Thetypes of illnesses or procedures covered, and the degree to which they are covered, vary fromstate to state. Even within individual states, mandates vary according to the type of health plan.

    Figure 3A-1 lists some examples of procedures or services that fall under at least some mandatedbenefit laws. In addition to state mandates, some mandates arise from federal law.

    From a financial standpoint, mandated benefits have the potential to influence health plans in thefollowing ways:

    They increase the cost of a health plans health plan to the extent that the plan must covermandated benefits that would not have been included in the plan in the absence of the law

    or regulation that mandates the benefits. Health plans must contract with providers, including specialists, to provide the required

    level of mandated benefits. To the extent the mandated benefits change the benefit

    structure of the health plans health plan, the health plans may have to contract withproviders with which the health plans would not have contracted otherwise.

    Health plans must be able to track and process data that demonstrates that the health plan

    is complying with the law. The health plan must also gather and analyze cost data to beable to adequately price the increased benefits. To the extent that this data tracking andanalysis represents an increased load on the health plans information and management

    systems, costs will increase. Mandated benefit laws may have the effect of causing a higher degree of uniformity

    among the health plans of competing health plans in a given market. Individual healthplans that seek to differentiate their products from those of their competitors in

    competitive markets will have less flexibility in benefit design. Because self-funded plans typically are exempt from state mandates, in some markets,

    large group employers may be motivated to begin self-funding in order to avoid paying

    premium increases in other healthcare plans that are subject to state mandates. In othermarkets, self-funded plans may be pressured to add benefit coverage to match the

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    mandated benefits of other plans. In either case, mandated benefit laws may at leasttemporarily influence the structure of the market balance between self-funded and other

    types of plans.

    A full discussion of all the mandated benefit laws that states have passed is beyond the scope of

    this text. The following sections discuss some common and representative mandates.

    Mental Healthcare Coverage5

    Concern that coverage for mental illnesses was not being treated on a par with physical illnessesmotivated lawmakers to enact a mental health parity requirement that subsequently wasincorporated into HIPAA. The federal mental healthcare coverage requirements bar group health

    plans from having more restrictive annual and lifetime limits or caps on mental illness coveragethan for physical illness coverage if the health plan has annual payment limits or aggregate dollarlifetime caps. The federal mental healthcare coverage law does not mandate coverage for mental

    illness; it seeks to ensure thatifa health plan covers mental illnessthe caps and limits arecomparable to caps and limits for physical coverage. More than 15 states have enacted their ownmental healthcare coverage laws.

    These laws, similar to HIPAA, vary from mandating coverage of treatment for severe disorders orbiologically based illnesses such as schizophrenia, manic-depression, or bipolar disorder to

    mandating parity for coverage of mental illnesses comparable to caps and limits for physicalillnesses.

    6Some state laws require that all terms and conditions of coverage (i.e., copayments,

    deductibles, etc.) be the same for both mental and physical illnesses.

    Some state mental health parity laws exclude substance abuse treatment from their mandates for

    coverage of mental illnesses. Other state laws provide extensive coverage for mental illnesses.For example, the Vermont mental health parity law, which includes in its definition of mentalillness any disorder listed in the International Classification of Diseases Manual (ICDM), requires

    coverage for the treatment of a wide variety of mental illnesses, including substance abuse.

    In addition, as in several other state laws, the Vermont law prohibits separate deductibles,

    copayments, coinsurance, and other similar types of cost-sharing arrangements for mental andphysical illnesses.

    7Generally, health plans must ensure that they comply with the mental health

    parity requirements of the federal law as well as any more stringent requirements imposed by the

    states in which they operate.

    Length of Stay Laws8

    Some state mental health parity laws exclude substance abuse treatment from their mandates forcoverage of mental illnesses. Other state laws provide extensive coverage for mental illnesses.For example, the Vermont mental health parity law, which includes in its definition of mentalillness any disorder listed in the International Classification of Diseases Manual (ICDM), requires

    coverage for the treatment of a wide variety of mental illnesses, including substance abuse.

    In addition, as in several other state laws, the Vermont law prohibits separate deductibles,copayments, coinsurance, and other similar types of cost-sharing arrangements for mental and

    physical illnesses.7

    Generally, health plans must ensure that they comply with the mental health

    parity requirements of the federal law as well as any more stringent requirements imposed by thestates in which they operate.

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    The Texas State Liability Law

    In addition to laws that increase health plans costs by imposing administrative or compliance

    requirements, some laws expose the health plan to financial liability for its actions or the actionsof its providers. Providers and health plans may be liable for damages if they fail to perform

    duties imposed upon them by these laws. A tortis a violation of a legal duty to another personimposed by law, rather than contract, causing harm to the other person and for which the law

    provides a remedy.

    The business of healthcare is sufficiently complex that health plans face a certain level of risk

    from tort actions.

    Although it would be impossible to list all laws that could subject a health plan to tort action, onestate law recently passed by Texas has the potential to significantly increase financial risks faced

    by health plans through tort actions, and in doing so, increase health plans costs of doing

    business in Texas. The Texas state liability law (SB 386) states that any health plan entity isliable for damages for harm to an insured or enrollee proximately caused by the health caretreatment decisions made by the health plans employees or agents. In other words, if a

    physician providing care to a health plans plan member harms the plan member through medical

    malpractice or other negligence, the health plan, as well as the provider, is liable. Medicalmalpractice is a type of negligence that occurs when a patient is harmed because a provider failedto exercise reasonable care in providing medical treatment.

    Traditionally, health plans have not been liable in cases of physician malpractice, particularly

    when the physician was not a full-time employee of the health plan. The reasoning behind notholding the health plan responsible is that, in the United States, corporations are not allowed toengage in the practice of medicine; only individuals may be licensed to practice medicine.

    Because only individuals have the authority to practice medicine, malpractice was a tort forwhich only individual providers were liable. Thus, in provider contracts with health plans, therisk of malpractice was borne by the providers (or the insurance companies supplying the

    physicians with malpractice insurance), and not the health plans. Under the Texas law, a health

    plan cannot use the corporate practice of medicine doctrine as a defense.

    Malpractice costs make up 5% to 6% of the total healthcare costs in the United States.Determining whether or not healthcare providers who contract with health plans are agents of thehealth plan and whether or not health plans are liable for the actions of these agents are

    significant financial issues for health plans. Currently the Texas law is being challenged in court,in part on the same basis as any willing provider lawsthat is, that federal laws such as ERISA

    pre-empt state laws.

    Endnotes

    1. Adapted from American Association of Health Plans, The Regulation of Health Plans: AReport from the American Association of Health Plans, Washington, D.C., February 3,

    1998, 12. Used with permission; all rights reserved.2. Harriett E. Jones and Dani L. Long, Principles of Insurance: Life, Health and Annuities

    (Atlanta: LOMA, 1996), 58.

    3. Adapted from Academy for Healthcare Management, Health Plans: Governance andRegulation (Washington, D.C.: Academy for Healthcare Management, 1999), 12-6.Used with permission; all rights reserved.

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    4. Adapted from Academy for Healthcare Management, Health Plans: Governance andRegulation (Washington, D.C.: Academy for Healthcare Management, 1999), 5-325-

    33. Used with permission; all rights reserved.

    5. Adapted from Academy for HealthcareManagement, Health Plans:Governance andRegulation (Washington, D.C.: Academy for Healthcare Management, 1999), 5-255-26. Used with permission; all rights reserved.

    6. State Report: A Health Law Score Card, Business & Health (February 1998): 54.7. States Move on Health Plan Legislation,Employee Benefit Plan Review (September

    1997): 49.

    8. Adapted from Academy for Healthcare Management, Health Plans:Governance andRegulation (Washington, D.C.: Academy for Healthcare Management, 1999), 5-265-27. Used with permission; all rights reserved.

    9. State Wrap-Up 1997: Health Plan Targeted for Restrictions, Mandates,BusinessInsurance (June 30, 1997): 1, 15, 16, 19.