Raised S.B. No. 1008
Session Year 2021
 

AN ACT CONCERNING HEALTH EQUITY, THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC AND PULSE OXIMETERS.

To: (1) Require the Insurance Commissioner, in consultation with the Commissioner of Public Health, to adopt regulations to ensure that (A) each health care provider, health carrier, pharmacist, pharmacy and pharmacy benefits manager doing business in this state is informed that a pulse oximeter is more likely to produce an inaccurate blood oxygen level reading for an insured who is an individual of color as opposed to an insured who is a white individual, and (B) each insured in this state (i) who receives a covered pulse oximeter is informed that such pulse oximeter is more likely to produce an inaccurate blood oxygen level reading for such insured if such insured is an individual of color as opposed to an insured who is a white individual, and (ii) is informed that if such insured receives an inaccurate blood oxygen level reading as measured by a pulse oximeter such insured may be deprived of medically necessary health care services due to such inaccurate reading; and (2) provide that no insurer, health care center, hospital service corporation, medical service corporation, fraternal benefit society or other entity delivering, issuing, renewing, amending or continuing certain individual and group health insurance policies in this state may deny coverage for an otherwise covered benefit if such denial is exclusively based on an insured's blood oxygen level as measured by a pulse oximeter.

Introduced by: