1997 Alaska Statutes
Title 21 INSURANCE
Chapter 21.54. HEALTH INSURANCE
Sec. 21.54.020. Direct payment of hospital, medical services.

(a) An insurer may, and upon written request of the covered person shall, within 30 working days after receiving a proof of loss statement, pay indemnities under a group health insurance policy directly to the provider of the hospital, nursing, medical, dental, or surgical services. The policy may not contain a provision requiring that services be provided by a particular hospital or person, except as applicable to a health maintenance organization under AS 21.86. If the insurer pays indemnities to the covered person after the covered person has given the insurer written notice in the proof of loss statement of an election of direct payment of indemnities to the provider of the service, the insurer shall also pay those indemnities to the provider of the service.

(b) A covered person may revoke an election of direct payment of indemnities made under (a) of this section by giving written notice of the revocation to the insurer and to the provider of the services. The written notice of revocation given to the insurer must certify that the covered person has given written notice of revocation to the provider of the services. Revocation of an election of direct payment is not effective until the notice of revocation is received by the insurer and the provider of the services.

(c) The right of the covered person to request payment of indemnities under a blanket health insurance policy directly to the provider of the services or to another person may be transferred to a person who is not the covered person by a qualified domestic relations order. Rights under the qualified domestic relations order do not take effect until the order is received by the insurer. In this subsection, "qualified domestic relations order" means an order or judgment in a divorce or dissolution action under AS 25.24 that designates a person to determine to whom indemnities for a covered person should be paid under a health insurance policy.

(d) This section does not prohibit an insurer from recovering an amount mistakenly paid to a provider or a covered person.

(e) This section does not apply to payments made under a provider contract that holds the covered person harmless from charges for services except copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles.