§ 38.2-3418.9 Minimum hospital stay for hysterectomy
A. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 38.2-3419, each insurer proposing to issue an individual or group hospital policy or major medical policy in this Commonwealth, each corporation proposing to issue an individual or group hospital, medical or major medical subscription contract, and each health maintenance organization providing a health care plan for health care shall provide coverage for laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy and vaginal hysterectomy as provided in this section.
B. Such coverage shall include benefits for a minimum stay in the hospital of not less than 23 hours for a laparoscopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy and 48 hours for a vaginal hysterectomy. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as requiring the provision of the total hours referenced when the attending physician, in consultation with the patient, determines that a shorter period of hospital stay is appropriate.
C. The requirements of this section shall apply to all insurance policies, contracts and plans delivered, issued for delivery, reissued, or extended on and after July 1, 1999, or at any time thereafter when any term of the policy, contract or plan is changed or any premium adjustment is made.
D. This section shall not apply to short-term travel, accident-only, or limited or specified disease policies or contracts, nor to policies or contracts designed for issuance to persons eligible for coverage under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, known as Medicare, or any other similar coverage under state or federal governmental plans.
History
This law was first created in 1999. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapters 643 and 649 of that year’s edition of “Acts of Assembly,” the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. It has been modified 2 times. Those modifications are cataloged by “The Acts of Assembly,” a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly’s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 2000, chapter 922; in 2014, chapter 814.
1999, cc. 643, 649; 2000, c. 922; 2014, c. 814.