Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 80 Part 1.djvu/637

 80 STAT. ]

PUBLIC LAW 89.554-SEPT. 6, 1966

(5) "member of family" means the spouse of an employee or annuitant and an unmarried child under 21 years of age, including— (A) an adopted child; and (B) a stepchild, foster child, or recognized natural child who lives with the employee or annuitant in a regular parentchild relationship; or such an unmarried child regardless of a^e who is incapable of self-support because of mental or physical disability which existed before age 21; (6) "health benefits plan" means a group insurance policy or contract, medical or hospital service agreement, membership or subscription contract, or similar group arrangement provided by a carrier for the purpose of providing, paying for, or reimbursing expenses for health services; (7) "carrier" means a voluntary association, corporation, partnership, or other nongovernmental organization which is lawfully engaged in providing, paying for, or reimbursing the cost oi, health services under group insurance policies or contracts, medical or hospital service agreements, membership or subscription contracts, or similar group arrangements, in consideration of premiums or other periodic charges payable to the carrier, including a health benefits plan duly sponsored or underwritten by an employee organization; and (8) "employee organization" means an association or other organization of employees which is national in scope, or in which membership is open to all employees of a Government agency who are eligible to enroll in a health benefits plan under this chapter, and which, before January 1, 1964, applied to the Commission for approval of a plan provided under section 8903(3) of this title. § 8902. Contracting authority (a) The Civil Service Commission may contract with qualified carriers offering plans described by section 8903 of this title, without regard to section 5 of title 41 or other statute requiring competitive bidding. Each contract shall be for a uniform term of at least 1 year, but may be made automatically renewable from term to term in the absence of notice of termination by either party, (b) To be eligible as a carrier for the plan described by section 8903(2) of this title, a company must be licensed to issue group health insurance in all the States and the District of Columbia. (c) A contract for a plan described by section 8903(1) or (2) of this title shall require the carrier— (1) to reinsure with other companies which elect to participate, under an equitable formula based on the total amount of their group health insurance benefit payments in the United States during the latest year for which the information is available, to be determined by the carrier and approved by the Commission; or (2) to allocate its rights and obligations under the contract among its affiliates which elect to participate, under an equitable formula to be determined by the carrier and the affiliates and approved by the Commission. (d) Each contract under this chapter shall contain a detailed statement of benefits offered and shall include such maximums, limitations, exclusions, and other definitions of benefits as the Commission considers necessary or desirable.

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