(a) A health insurance plan shall provide coverage for medically necessary health care services covered by the plan when provided by a naturopathic physician licensed in this State for treatment within the scope of practice described in 26 V.S.A. chapter 81 and shall recognize naturopathic physicians who practice primary care to be primary care physicians. Health care services provided by naturopathic physicians may be subject to reasonable deductibles, co-payment and coinsurance amounts, and fee or benefit limits consistent with those applicable to other primary care physicians under the plan, as well as practice parameters, cost-effectiveness and clinical efficacy standards, and utilization review consistent with any applicable rules published by the Department of Financial Regulation. Any amounts, limits, standards, and review shall not function to direct treatment in a manner unfairly discriminative against naturopathic care, and collectively shall be not more restrictive than those applicable under the same policy to care or services provided by other primary care physicians, but may allow for the management of the benefit consistent with variations in practice patterns and treatment modalities among different types of health care providers. A health insurance plan may require that the naturopathic physician's services be provided by a licensed naturopathic physician under contract with the insurer or shall be covered in a manner consistent with out-of-network provider reimbursement practices for primary care physicians; however, this shall not relieve a health insurance plan from compliance with the applicable network adequacy requirements adopted by the Commissioner by rule. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as impeding or preventing either the provision or the coverage of health care services by licensed naturopathic physicians, within the lawful scope of naturopathic practice, in hospital facilities on a staff or employee basis.

(b) As used in this section, "health insurance plan" means Medicaid and any other public health care assistance program, any individual or group health insurance policy, any hospital or medical service corporation or health maintenance organization subscriber contract, or any other health benefit plan offered, issued, or renewed for any person in this State by a health insurer, as defined by 18 V.S.A. § 9402. The term shall not include benefit plans providing coverage for a specific disease or other limited benefit coverage. (Added 2007, No. 59, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2007; amended 2007, No. 88 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. March 6, 2008; 2011, No. 78 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 2, 30, eff. April 2, 2012; 2011, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2012; 2015, No. 97 (Adj. Sess.), § 15; 2017, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 43.)