New Mexico Statutes
Article 23 - Group and Blanket Health Insurance Contracts
Section 59A-23-7.7 - General anesthesia and hospitalization for dental surgery.

A. A blanket or group health insurance policy, health care plan or certificate of health insurance that is delivered, issued for delivery or renewed in this state shall provide coverage for hospitalization and general anesthesia provided in a hospital or ambulatory surgical center for dental surgery for the following:
(1) insureds exhibiting physical, intellectual or medically compromising conditions for which dental treatment under local anesthesia, with or without additional adjunctive techniques and modalities, cannot be expected to provide a successful result and for which dental treatment under general anesthesia can be expected to produce superior results;
(2) insureds for whom local anesthesia is ineffective because of acute infection, anatomic variation or allergy;
(3) insured children or adolescents who are extremely uncooperative, fearful, anxious or uncommunicative with dental needs of such magnitude that treatment should not be postponed or deferred and for whom lack of treatment can be expected to result in dental or oral pain or infection, loss of teeth or other increased oral or dental morbidity;
(4) insureds with extensive oral-facial or dental trauma for which treatment under local anesthesia would be ineffective or compromised; or
(5) other procedures for which hospitalization or general anesthesia in a hospital or ambulatory surgical center is medically necessary.
B. The provisions of this section do not apply to short-term travel, accident-only or limited or specified disease policies.
C. Coverage for dental surgery may be subject to copayments, deductibles and coinsurance subject to network and prior authorization requirements consistent with those imposed on other benefits under the same policy, plan or certificate.
History: Laws 2007, ch. 218, § 3.
Effective dates. — Laws 2007, ch. 218, § 6 made Laws 2007, ch. 218, § 3 effective July 1, 2007.

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