Section 47D: Cardiac rehabilitation expense benefits
Section 47D. Any blanket or general policy of insurance, except a blanket or general policy of insurance which provides supplemental coverage to medicare or other governmental programs, described in subdivision (A), (C) or (D) of section one hundred and ten which provides hospital expense and surgical expense insurance and which is issued or subsequently renewed by agreement between the insurer and the policy holder, within or without the commonwealth, during the period this provision is effective, or any policy of accident or sickness insurance as described in section one hundred and eight which provides hospital expense and surgical expense insurance, except a policy which provides supplemental coverage to medicare or other governmental programs, and which is delivered or issued for delivery or subsequently renewed by agreement between the insurer and the policy holder in the commonwealth, during the period that this provision is effective, or any employees' health and welfare fund which provides hospital expense and surgical expense benefits and which is promulgated or renewed to any person or group of persons in the commonwealth, while this provision is effective, shall provide benefits for the expense of cardiac rehabilitation. Cardiac rehabilitation shall mean multidisciplinary, medically necessary treatment of persons with documented cardiovascular disease, which shall be provided in either a hospital or other setting and which shall meet standards promulgated by the commissioner of public health after reviewing proposals submitted by the Massachusetts Society for Cardiac Rehabilitation, Inc. and after notice and public hearing on the proposed standards. Such standards shall include, but not be limited to, outpatient treatment which is to be initiated within twenty-six weeks after the diagnosis of such disease.