Surgery Services This plan covers surgery services to treat a disease or injury when: • the operation is not experimental or investigational, or cosmetic in nature; • the operation is being performed at the appropriate place of service; and • the physician is licensed to perform the surgery. This plan covers reconstructive surgery and procedures when the services are performed to relieve pain, or to correct or improve bodily function that is impaired as a result of: • a birth defect; • an accidental injury; • a disease; or • a previous covered surgical procedure. Functional indications for surgical correction do not include psychological, psychiatric or emotional reasons. This plan covers the procedures listed below to treat functional impairments. • abdominal wall surgery including panniculectomy (other than an abdominoplasty); • blepharoplasty and ptosis repair; • gastric bypass or gastric banding; • nasal reconstruction and septorhinoplasty; • orthognathic surgery including mandibular and maxillary osteotomy; • reduction mammoplasty; • removal of breast implants; • removal or treatment of proliferative vascular lesions and hemangiomas; • treatment of varicose veins; or • gynecomastia.
Radiation Therapy/Chemotherapy Services This plan covers chemotherapy and radiation services. This plan covers respiratory therapy services. When respiratory services are provided in your home, as part of a home care program, durable medical equipment, supplies, and oxygen are covered as a durable medical equipment service.
Dialysis Services This plan covers dialysis services and supplies provided when you are inpatient, outpatient or in your home and under the supervision of a dialysis program. Dialysis supplies provided in your home are covered as durable medical equipment.
Anesthesia Services This plan covers general and local anesthesia services received from an anesthesiologist when the surgical procedure is a covered healthcare service. This plan covers office visits or office consultations with an anesthesiologist when provided prior to a scheduled covered surgical procedure.
Durable Medical Equipment (DME), Medical Supplies, Prosthetic Devices, Enteral Formula or Food, and Hair Prosthesis (Wigs) This plan covers durable medical equipment and supplies, prosthetic devices and enteral formula or food as described in this section. DME is equipment which: • can withstand repeated use; • is primarily and customarily used to serve a medical purpose; • is not useful to a person in the absence of an illness or injury; and • is for use in the home. DME includes supplies necessary for the effective use of the equipment. This plan covers the following DME: • wheelchairs, hospital beds, and other DME items used only for medical treatment; and • replacement of purchased equipment which is needed due to a change in your medical condition or if the device is not functional, no longer under warranty, or cannot be repaired. DME may be classified as a rental item or a purchased item. In most cases, this plan only pays for a rental DME up to our allowance for a purchased DME. Repairs and supplies for rental DME are included in the rental allowance. Medical supplies are consumable supplies that are disposable and not intended for re- use. Medical supplies require an order by a physician and must be essential for the care or treatment of an illness, injury, or congenital defect. Covered medical supplies include: • essential accessories such as hoses, tubes and mouthpieces for use with medically necessary DME (these accessories are included as part of the rental allowance for rented DME); • catheters, colostomy and ileostomy supplies, irrigation trays and surgical dressings; and • respiratory therapy equipment. This plan covers diabetic equipment and supplies for the treatment of diabetes in accordance with R.I. General Law §27-20-30. Covered diabetic equipment and supplies include: • therapeutic or molded shoes and inserts for custom-molded shoes for the prevention of amputation; • blood glucose monitors including those with special features for the legally blind, external insulin infusion pumps and accessories, insulin infusion devices and injection aids; and • lancets and test strips for glucose monitors including those with special features for the legally blind, and infusion sets for external insulin pumps. The amount you pay differs based on whether the equipment and supplies are bought from a durable medical equipment provider or from a pharmacy. See the Summary of Pharmacy Benefits and the Summary of Medical Benefits for details. Coverage for some diabetic equipment and supplies may only be available from either a DME provider or from a pharmacy. Visit our website to determine if this is applicable or call our Customer Service Department. Prosthetic devices replace or substitute all or part of an internal body part, including contiguous tissue, or replace all or part of the function of a permanently inoperative or malfunctioning body part and alleviate functional loss or impairment due to an illness, injury or congenital defect. Prosthetic devices do not include dental prosthetics. This plan covers the following prosthetic devices as required under R.I. General Law § 27-20-52: • prosthetic appliances such as artificial limbs, breasts, larynxes and eyes; • replacement or adjustment of prosthetic appliances if there is a change in your medical condition or if the device is not functional, no longer under warranty and cannot be repaired; • devices, accessories, batteries and supplies necessary for prosthetic devices; • orthopedic braces except corrective shoes and orthotic devices used in connection with footwear; and • breast prosthesis following a mastectomy, in accordance with the Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998 and R.I. General Law 27-20-29. The prosthetic device must be ordered or provided by a physician, or by a provider under the direction of a physician. When you are prescribed a prosthetic device as an inpatient and it is billed by a provider other than the hospital where you are an inpatient, the outpatient benefit limit will apply. Enteral formula or food is nutrition that is absorbed through the intestinal tract, whether delivered through a feeding tube or taken orally. Enteral nutrition is covered when it is the sole source of nutrition and prescribed by the physician for home use. In accordance with R.I. General Law §27-20-56, this plan covers enteral formula taken orally for the treatment of: • malabsorption caused by Crohn’s Disease; • ulcerative colitis; • gastroesophageal reflux; • chronic intestinal pseudo obstruction; and • inherited diseases of amino acids and organic acids. Food products modified to be low protein are covered for the treatment of inherited diseases of amino acids and organic acids. Preauthorization may be required. The amount that you pay may differ depending on whether the nutrition is delivered through a feeding tube or taken orally. When enteral formula is delivered through a feeding tube, associated supplies are also covered. This plan covers hair prosthetics (wigs) worn for hair loss suffered as a result of cancer treatment in accordance with R.I. General Law § 27-20-54 and subject to the benefit limit and copayment listed in the Summary of Medical Benefits. This plan will reimburse the lesser of the provider’s charge or the benefit limit shown in the Summary of Medical Benefits. If the provider’s charge is more than the benefit limit, you are responsible for paying any difference. This plan covers Early Intervention Services in accordance with R.I. General Law §27- 20-50. Early Intervention Services are educational, developmental, health, and social services provided to children from birth to thirty-six (36) months. The child must be certified by the Rhode Island Department of Human Services (DHS) to enroll in an approved Early Intervention Services program. Services must be provided by a licensed Early Intervention provider and rendered to a Rhode Island resident. Members not living in Rhode Island may seek services from the state in which they reside; however, those services are not covered under this plan. Early Intervention Services as defined by DHS include but are not limited to the following: • speech and language therapy; • physical and occupational therapy; • evaluation; • case management; • nutrition; • service plan development and review; • nursing services; and • assistive technology services and devices.
Ambulance Services Ground Ambulance Air and Water Ambulance
Durable Medical Equipment Durable Medical Equipment is equipment that is Medically Necessary for treatment of an illness or Accidental Injury or to prevent further deterioration. This equipment is designed for repeated use and used to treat a medical condition or illness, and includes items such as oxygen equipment, functional wheelchairs, and crutches. Durable Medical Equipment may require Prior Authorization. Only Durable Medical Equipment considered standard and/or basic as defined by nationally recognized guidelines are Covered.
Dental Services The following dental services are not covered, except as described under Dental Services in Section 3: • Dental injuries incurred as a result of biting or chewing. • General dental services including, but not limited to, extractions including full mouth extractions, prostheses, braces, operative restorations, fillings, frenectomies, medical or surgical treatment of dental caries, gingivitis, gingivectomy, impactions, periodontal surgery, non-surgical treatment of temporomandibular joint dysfunctions, including appliances or restorations necessary to increase vertical dimensions or to restore the occlusion. • Panorex x-rays or dental x-rays. • Orthodontic services, even if related to a covered surgery. • Dental appliances or devices. • Preparation of the mouth for dentures and dental or oral surgeries such as, but not limited to, the following: o apicoectomy, per tooth, first root; o alveolectomy including curettage of osteitis or sequestrectomy; o alveoloplasty, each quadrant; o complete surgical removal of inaccessible impacted mandibular tooth mesial surface; o excision of feberous tuberosities; o excision of hyperplastic alveolar mucosa, each quadrant; o operculectomy excision periocoronal tissues; o removal of partially bony impacted tooth; o removal of completely bony impacted tooth, with or without unusual surgical complications; o surgical removal of partial bony impaction; o surgical removal of impacted maxillary tooth; o surgical removal of residual tooth roots; and o vestibuloplasty with skin/mucosal graft and lowering the floor of the mouth. • The following dialysis services received in your home: o installing or modifying of electric power, water and sanitary disposal or charges for these services; o moving expenses for relocating the machine; o installation expenses not necessary to operate the machine; and o training in the operation of the dialysis machine when the training in the operation of the dialysis machine is billed as a separate service. • Dialysis services received in a physician’s office.
Prosthodontics We Cover prosthodontic services as follows:
Mental Health Services This agreement covers medically necessary services for the treatment of mental health disorders in a general or specialty hospital or outpatient facilities that are: • reviewed and approved by us; and • licensed under the laws of the State of Rhode Island or by the state in which the facility is located as a general or specialty hospital or outpatient facility. We review network and non-network programs, hospitals and inpatient facilities, and the specific services provided to decide whether a preauthorization, hospital or inpatient facility, or specific services rendered meets our program requirements, content and criteria. If our program content and criteria are not met, the services are not covered under this agreement. Our program content and criteria are defined below.
