Individual and group agreements must contain the following additional mandatory provisions as applicable:
  (1) Certificate. Group agreements must include provisions that the contract holder must be provided with subscriber certificates to be delivered to each subscriber, the certificate is a part of the group contract as if fully incorporated, and any direct conflict between the group agreement and the certificate will be resolved according to the terms most favorable to the subscriber. If the same form is used as both the group contract and the certificate, a copy of the group contract must be delivered to each subscriber.
  (2) New enrollees. Group agreements must include a provision specifying the conditions under which new enrollees may be added to those originally covered, including effective date requirements. For coverage issued to employers, group agreements must include a provision for special enrollment under 45 C.F.R. §146.117 (concerning Special Enrollment Periods).
  (3) Agreements must comply with the benefit, offer, coverage, and notice requirements contained in Insurance Code Title 8, Subtitle E, (concerning Benefits Payable Under Health Coverages), as applicable.
  (4) Inability to undergo dental treatment. Group agreements, except for contracts issued to small employer plans and consumer choice health benefit plans, may not exclude from coverage under the plan an enrollee who is unable to undergo dental treatment in an office setting or under local anesthesia due to a documented physical, mental, or medical reason as determined by the enrollee's physician or the dentist providing the dental care. This benefit does not require an HMO to provide dental services if dental services are not otherwise scheduled or provided as part of the benefits covered by the agreement.
  (5) Agreements, including consumer choice health benefit plan agreements, providing coverage for children under 18 must define reconstructive surgery for craniofacial abnormalities as provided by Insurance Code §1367.153 (concerning Reconstructive Surgery for Craniofacial Abnormalities; Definition Required).
  (6) Group agreements, including consumer choice health benefit plan agreements, must cover formulas necessary to treat phenylketonuria or a heritable disease to the same extent that the agreement provides coverage for drugs that are available only on the orders of a physician, as required by Insurance Code Chapter 1359 (concerning Formulas for Individuals With Phenylketonuria or Other Heritable Diseases).

Source Note: The provisions of this §11.509 adopted to be effective August 1, 2017, 42 TexReg 2169