A. A health carrier subject to subsection B of § 38.2-5801 shall establish and maintain for each of its MCHIPs a complaint system approved by the Commission and the State Health Commissioner to provide reasonable procedures for the resolution of written complaints in accordance with requirements in or established pursuant to provisions in this title and Title 32.1 and shall include the following:

1. A record of the complaints shall be maintained for no less than five years.

2. Such health carrier shall provide complaint forms and/or written procedures to be given to covered persons who wish to register written complaints. Such forms or procedures shall include the address and telephone number of the managed care licensee to which complaints shall be directed and the mailing address, telephone number, and electronic mail address of the Office of the Managed Care Ombudsman, and shall also specify any required limits imposed by or on behalf of the MCHIP. Such forms and written procedures shall include a clear and understandable description of the covered person's right to appeal adverse decisions pursuant to § 32.1-137.15.

B. The Commission, in cooperation with the State Health Commissioner, shall examine the complaint system. The effectiveness of the complaint system of the managed care health insurance plan licensee in allowing covered persons, or their duly authorized representatives, to have issues regarding quality of care appropriately resolved under this chapter shall be assessed by the State Health Commissioner pursuant to provisions in Title 32.1 and the regulations promulgated thereunder. Compliance by the health carrier and its managed care health insurance plans with the terms and procedures of the complaint system, as well as the provisions of this title, shall be assessed by the Commission.

C. The health carrier for each MCHIP shall submit to the Office of the Managed Care Ombudsman and the State Health Commissioner an annual complaint report in a form prescribed by the Commission and the Board of Health. The complaint report shall include (i) a description of the procedures of the complaint system, (ii) the total number of complaints handled through the grievance or complaint system, (iii) the disposition of the complaints, (iv) a compilation of the nature and causes underlying the complaints filed, (v) the time it took to process and resolve each complaint, and (vi) the number, amount, and disposition of malpractice claims adjudicated during the year with respect to any of the MCHIP's affiliated providers.

D. The provisions of this section shall not apply to plans administered by the Department of Medical Assistance Services that provide benefits pursuant to Title XIX or Title XXI of the Social Security Act, as amended.

E. The provisions of Chapter 5 (§ 38.2-500 et seq.) of this title shall apply to the health carrier, its MCHIPs, and evidence of coverage and representations thereto, except to the extent that the Commission determines that the nature of the health carrier, its MCHIP, and evidences of coverage and representations thereto render any of the provisions clearly inappropriate.

1998, c. 891; 1999, cc. 643, 649; 2000, c. 922; 2006, c. 866.