(a) Every disability insurer that provides group or individual policies of disability, or both, that provides, operates, or contracts for, telephone medical advice services to its insureds shall do all of the following:

(1) Ensure that the in-state or out-of-state telephone medical advice service complies with the requirements of Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 4999) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code.

(2) Ensure that the staff providing telephone medical advice services for the in-state or out-of-state telephone medical advice service hold a valid California license as a registered nurse or a valid license in the state within which they provide telephone medical advice services as a physician and surgeon or physician assistant and are operating consistent with the laws governing their respective scopes of practice.

(3) Ensure that a physician and surgeon is available on an on-call basis at all times the service is advertised to be available to enrollees and subscribers.

(4) Ensure that the in-state or out-of-state telephone medical advice service designates an agent for service of process in California and files this designation with the commissioner.

(5) Require that the in-state or out-of-state telephone medical advice service makes and maintains records for a period of five years after the telephone medical advice services are provided, including, but not limited to, oral or written transcripts of all medical advice conversations with the disability insurer’s insureds in California and copies of all complaints. If the records of telephone medical advice services are kept out of state, the insurer shall, upon the request of the director, provide the records to the director within 10 days of the request.

(6) Ensure that the telephone medical advice services are provided consistent with good professional practice.

(b) The commissioner shall forward to the Department of Consumer Affairs, within 30 days of the end of each calendar quarter, data regarding complaints filed with the department concerning telephone medical advice services.

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 799, Sec. 43. (SB 1039) Effective January 1, 2017.)