Tennessee § 56-7-2503 - Accident and sickness — Denial of coverage for persons with mental illness or intellectual disabilities for lack of surgical facilities prohibited.

§ 56-7-2503. Accident and sickness — Denial of coverage for persons with mental illness or intellectual disabilities for lack of surgical facilities prohibited.

Any law to the contrary notwithstanding, no policy of accident and sickness insurance may be entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 1974, if the policy by way of exclusion, definition, or otherwise denies coverage to an insured undergoing care and treatment in a facility for the care and treatment of persons with mental illness or intellectual disability, based upon the fact that the facility does not have organized facilities for operative surgery, if, in fact, the facility in question has, at the time a claim arises, a bona fide arrangement, by contract or otherwise, with an accredited hospital to perform the surgical procedures as may be required by the facility for persons with mental illness or intellectual disability. Acts 1974, ch. 625, § 1; T.C.A., § 56-1168; Acts 1992, ch. 984, § 3; T.C.A., § 56-7-1004 ; Acts 2011, ch. 158, § 29. Collateral References. What constitutes medical or surgical treatment, or the like, within exclusionary clause of accident policy or accidental-death feature of life policy. 56 A.L.R.5th 471.