2012 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes
Title 40 - INSURANCE
Chapter 63 - Professional Health Services Plan Corporations
Section 6322 - Scope of service

     § 6322.  Scope of service.
        (a)  Territory of service.--The certificate of authority of a
     professional health service corporation shall define the limits
     of the area in which it may operate. If the corporation is
     deemed to be a holder of a certificate of authority under
     section 6304(b) of this title (relating to exemptions), the
     articles of incorporation of the corporation on the effective
     date of this chapter, regardless of any subsequent amendment to
     such articles, shall be deemed to be its initial certificate of
     authority for the purposes of this section.
        (b)  Classes and kinds of services.--The certificate of
     authority, bylaws, or resolutions of the board of directors of a
     professional health service corporation may limit the
     professional health services that will be provided for its
     subscribers, and may divide such professional health services as
     it elects to provide into classes or kinds, and it may enter
     into contracts with its subscribers or groups of subscribers to
     secure professional health services of any kind or class so
     delimited. A general medical services corporation shall make
     available to its subscribers or groups of subscribers, upon
     request of any individual for his individual subscriptions or
     any group for its group subscriptions, contracts which provide
     coverage for professional health services with appropriate
     premiums.
        (c)  Services provided only by licensed persons.--A
     professional health service corporation shall not provide
     professional health services for its subscribers otherwise than
     through health service doctors, duly licensed to practice in
     their respective fields under the laws of this Commonwealth.
        (d)  Services provided only to domiciliaries.--A professional
     health service corporation shall provide professional health
     services only to persons domiciled within this Commonwealth. If
     a subscriber, regularly domiciled within this Commonwealth and
     entitled to professional health services, or any of his
     dependents so entitled, necessarily employs professional health
     services within the meaning of this chapter, while absent from
     this Commonwealth, a professional health service corporation to
     which he is a subscriber may, in its discretion, and if
     satisfied as to the necessity for such services and satisfied
     that it was such as the subscriber would have been entitled to
     under similar circumstances in this Commonwealth, pay to the
     persons who rendered the services such fees and charges as would
     have been payable if the services had been rendered in this
     Commonwealth. A professional health service corporation
     organized under the laws of, and operating near the boundaries
     of, this Commonwealth may, with the consent of the proper
     officers of and as authorized by the laws of the adjacent state,
     provide professional health services therein; but all operations
     of any such corporation, whether within or without this
     Commonwealth, shall remain at all times subject to the
     provisions of this chapter.
        (e)  Liability of corporation limited.--All professional
     health services provided by or on behalf of a professional
     health service corporation shall be in accordance with the best
     professional health service practice in the community at the
     time, but the corporation providing such services shall not be
     liable for injuries resulting from negligence, misfeasance,
     malfeasance, nonfeasance, or malpractice, on the part of any
     officer or employee or on the part of any health service doctor
     in the course of rendering professional health services to
     subscribers, and the corporation may so provide in its contracts
     with subscribers.
        (f)  Legislative amendment of stated purposes of existing
     corporations.--The stated purposes of all existing general
     medical service corporations are hereby amended so as to include
     the furnishing of osteopathic, dental, optometric, podiatry,
     chiropractic, physical therapy, clinical social work,
     occupational therapy, psychological, speech-language pathology
     and audiology services and the services of teachers of persons
     who are hearing impaired through doctors of osteopathy,
     dentistry, optometry, podiatry and chiropractic and through
     licensed physical therapists, licensed clinical social workers,
     licensed marriage and family therapists, licensed occupational
     therapists, licensed professional counselors, psychologists,
     speech-language pathologists, audiologists and teachers of
     persons who are hearing impaired, respectively.
     (Oct. 10, 1980, P.L.801, No.151, eff. 90 days; Mar. 30, 1982,
     P.L.220, No.70, eff. imd.; Apr. 20, 1988, P.L.363, No.57, eff.
     60 days; Apr. 21, 1994, P.L.124, No.14, eff. 60 days; Oct. 9,
     2008, P.L.1393, No.108, eff. 120 days)

        2008 Amendment.  Act 108 amended subsec. (f).
        1980 Amendment.  Act 151 amended subsecs. (b) and (f).
        Cross References.  Section 6322 is referred to in section
     6324 of this title.