Insurance coverage for advanced practice registered nurses

(a) Each policy of accident and health or sickness insurance delivered or issued for delivery in this State shall recognize advanced practice registered nurses, as defined under section 457-8.5(a), as participating providers, and shall include coverage for care provided by participating advanced practice registered nurses practicing within the scope of their licenses for purposes of health maintenance, diagnosis, or treatment, to the extent that the policy provides benefits for identical services rendered by another health care provider. (b) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, an insurer may recognize a participating advanced practice registered nurse as a primary care provider if the insured's policy requires the selection of a primary care provider. The insurer shall include participating advanced practice registered nurses who practice as primary care providers on any publicly available list of participating primary care providers; provided that the insurer retains the right to determine the contracting criteria for a participating primary care provider. (c) For the purposes of this section, "participating advanced practice registered nurse" means an advanced practice registered nurse who has contracted with the insurer to provide health care services to its insureds.