Sec. 31.10.06.06. Open Enrollment

A. Individuals 65 Years Old or Older and Enrolled in Medicare Part B.

(1) An issuer may not deny or condition the issuance or effectiveness of any Medicare supplement policy or certificate available for sale in this State, nor discriminate in the pricing of the policy or certificate because of the health status, claims experience, receipt of health care, or medical condition of an applicant when an application for the policy or certificate is submitted during the 6-month period beginning with the first day of the first month in which an individual is both 65 years old or older and is enrolled for benefits under Medicare Part B.

(2) Each Medicare supplement policy and certificate currently available from an issuer shall be made available to all applicants who qualify under §A(1) of this regulation without regard to age.

B. Application of Creditable Coverage.

(1) If an applicant qualifies under §A of this regulation and submits an application during the time period referenced in §A of this regulation and, as of the date of application, has had a continuous period of creditable coverage of at least 6 months, the issuer may not exclude benefits based on a preexisting condition.

(2) If the applicant qualifies under §A of this regulation and submits an application during the time period referenced in §A of this regulation and, as of the date of application, has had a continuous period of creditable coverage that is less than 6 months, the issuer shall reduce the period of any preexisting condition exclusion by the aggregate of the period of creditable coverage applicable to the applicant as of the enrollment date.

(3) The Secretary shall specify the manner of the reduction under §B(2) of this regulation.

C. Except as provided in §B of this regulation and in Regulations .09-1 and .18 of this chapter, §A of this regulation is not to be construed as preventing the exclusion of benefits under a policy during the first 6 months based on a preexisting condition for which the policyholder or certificate holder received treatment or was otherwise diagnosed during the 6 months before the policy became effective.

D. Individuals Younger than 65 Years Old and Enrolled in Medicare Part B. An issuer shall comply with the open enrollment requirements that are described in Insurance Article, §15-909, Annotated Code of Maryland, as applying to individuals who are both younger than 65 years old and enrolled in Part B of Medicare.