(a) Group health insurance is that form of health insurance covering groups of persons as defined below, with or without one or more members of their families or one or more of their dependents, or covering one or more members of the families or one or more dependents of the groups of persons and issued on the following basis:
(1) under a policy issued to an employer or trustees of a fund established by an employer, who shall be considered the policyholder, insuring employees of the employer for the benefit of persons other than the employer; in this paragraph the term “employees” includes the officers, managers, and employees of the employer, the individual proprietor or partner if the employer is an individual proprietor or partnership, the officers, managers, and employees of subsidiary or affiliated corporations, the individual proprietors, partners, and employees of individuals and firms if the business of the employer and the individual or firm is under common control through stock ownership, contract, or otherwise; in this paragraph, “employees” may include retired employees; a policy issued to insure employees of a public body may provide that the term “employees” includes elected or appointed officials; the policy may provide that the term “employees” includes the trustees or their employees, or both, if their duties are principally connected with the trusteeship; a policy issued to insure employees of a corporation may provide that the term “employees” includes directors of the corporation, whether or not the directors receive compensation;
(2) under a policy issued to an association, including a labor union, that is a bona fide association that has a constitution and bylaws and that insures members, employees, or employees of members of the association for the benefit of persons other than the association or its officers or trustees; in this paragraph, the term “employees” may include retired employees;
(3) under a policy issued to the trustees of a fund established, adopted, or participated in by two or more employers or by one or more labor unions or by one or more employers and one or more labor unions or by an association as defined in (2) of this section, which trustees shall be considered the policyholder, to insure employees of the employers or members of the unions or of the association, or employees of members of the association, for the benefit of persons other than the employers or the unions or the association; in this paragraph, the term “employees” may include the officers, managers, and employees of the employer, and the individual proprietor or partners if the employer is an individual proprietor or partnership; in this paragraph, the term “employees” may include retired employees; the policy may provide that the term “employees” includes the trustees or their employees, or both, if their duties are principally connected with the trusteeship;
(4) under a policy issued to a person or organization to which a policy of group life insurance may be issued or delivered in this state to insure a class or classes of individuals that could be insured under the group life policy;
(5) a group health insurance policy that contains provisions for the payment by the insurer of benefits for expenses incurred on account of hospital, nursing, medical, or surgical services for members of the family or dependents of a person in the insured group may provide for the continuation of the benefit provisions, or a part or parts of them, after the death of the person in the insured group;
(6) under a policy issued to an association of employers covering the employees and dependents of the employees, or issued to an association of self- employed individuals covering self-employed individuals and dependents of the self- employed individuals, or issued to an association that includes a combination of employers and self-employed individuals; for purposes of this paragraph,
(A) an association described under this paragraph shall comply with the following requirements:
(i) the association shall have a constitution and bylaws;
(ii) the association shall be maintained in good faith for the benefit of persons other than the association or its officers or trustees;
(iii) membership in the association shall be restricted to large or small employers, or self-employed individuals, who are residents of the state; however, an employer domiciled in another state may become a member of the association for purposes of obtaining coverage through the association only for the employees and dependents of the employees of that employer who are residents of this state;
(iv) except as provided under AS 21.54.015, the association may not condition membership in the association or coverage under a health insurance policy issued to the association on any of the factors listed under AS 21.54.100(a);
(B) “self-employed individual” means an individual who derives a substantial portion of the individual's income from a trade or business through which the individual has attempted to earn taxable income and for which the individual has filed the appropriate Internal Revenue Service form and schedule for the previous taxable year.
(b) An insurer may issue a group health insurance policy to a group that does not meet one or more of the requirements under (a)(1) - (4) and (6) of this section on a finding by the director that issuance of a group policy to the group
(1) is in the best interests of the public;
(2) results in economies of acquisition or administration; and
(3) meets other requirements adopted by the director by regulation.
(c) An insurer must submit to the director information satisfactory to the director that the group meets the requirements of (b) of this section and the director must affirmatively approve of the group before an insurer may issue a group health insurance policy under (b) of this section.