CT SB00260

Expands health insurance coverage for routine patient care costs in clinical trials to include Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis, in addition to cancer clinical trials, effective January 1, 2011.

Requires clinical trials for prevention of these diseases to be phase III trials involving therapeutic intervention approved by National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute cooperative groups, FDA, Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs, or Medicare-qualified entities, and conducted at multiple institutions.

Establishes standardized approval forms and timelines for insurers: 5 business days to request additional information, 5-10 business days to approve or deny coverage requests, and 14 business days for phase III prevention trial requests.

Requires insurers and providers to cover only routine patient care costs (medically necessary services related to trial treatment) and prohibits billing insured persons for covered services except for contractual deductibles and copayments.

Allows individuals or providers to appeal coverage denials through external independent review and permits insurers with substantially equivalent coverage policies to be exempt from these requirements upon departmental certification.