§ 354. Preferred provider organizations; medical treatment. 1. Each preferred provider organization shall provide at least two providers in every medical specialty from which the employee may choose and at least two hospitals from which the employee may choose in the event that hospitalization is necessary. The commissioner of health may waive such numerical requirements upon a finding that the geographical area in which the preferred provider organization is located cannot meet the requirements.

2. An employee may seek medical treatment from outside the preferred provider organization thirty days after his or her first visit to a preferred provider organization provider. In the event that such employee seeks medical treatment outside the preferred provider organization the employer may require a second opinion from a provider within the preferred provider organization.

3. An employee may seek a second opinion with respect to such medical treatment from another provider within the preferred provider organization at any time.