When This Plan is primary, it determines payment for its benefits first before those of any other Plan without considering any other Plan's benefits. When This Plan is secondary, it determines its benefits after those of another Plan and must make payment in an amount so that, when combined with the amount paid by the Primary Plan, the total benefits paid or provided by all Plans for the claim are coordinated up to 100 percent of the total Allowable Expense for that claim. This means that when This Plan is secondary, it must pay the amount which, when combined with what the Primary Plan paid, does not exceed 100 percent of the Allowable Expense. In addition, if This Plan is secondary, it must calculate its savings (its amount paid subtracted from the amount it would have paid had it been the Primary Plan) and record these savings as a benefit reserve for you. This reserve must be used to pay any expenses during that calendar year, whether or not they are an Allowable Expense under This Plan. If This Plan is secondary, it will not be required to pay an amount in excess of its maximum benefit plus any accrued savings. “Allowable Expense ,”except as outlined below, means any health care expense, including coinsurance or copayments and without reduction for any applicable deductible, that is covered in full or in part by any of the Plans covering you. When coordinating benefits as the secondary plan, Delta Dental of Washington must pay an amount which, together with the payment made by the Primary Plan, cannot be less than the same allowable expense as the secondary plan would have paid if it was the primary plan. In no event will Delta Dental of Washington be required to pay an amount in excess of its maximum benefit plus accrued savings. When Medicare, Part A and Part B or Part C is primary, Medicare’s allowable amount is the highest expense. An expense or a portion of an expense that is not covered by any of the plans is not an allowable expense. The following are examples of expenses that are not Allowable Expenses: ▪ If you are covered by two or more Plans that compute their benefit payments on the basis of a maximum allowable amount, relative value schedule reimbursement method or other similar reimbursement method, any amount charged by the provider in excess of the highest reimbursement amount for a specific benefit is not an Allowable Expense. ▪ If you are covered by two or more Plans that provide benefits or services on the basis of negotiated fees, an amount in excess of this plan’s negotiated fees is not an Allowable Expense. “Closed Panel Plan” is a Plan that provides dental benefits to you in the form of services through a panel of providers who are primarily employed by the Plan, and that excludes coverage for services provided by other providers, except in cases of emergency or referral by a panel member. “Custodial Parent” is the parent awarded custody by a court decree or, in the absence of a court decree, is the parent with whom the child resides more than one-half of the calendar year without regard to any temporary visitation. Order of Benefit Determination Rules: When you are covered by two or more Plans, the rules for determining the order of benefit payments are as follows: The Primary Plan must pay or provide its benefits as if the Secondary Plan or Plans did not exist. A Plan that does not contain a coordination of benefits provision that is consistent with Chapter 284-51 of the Washington Administrative Code is always primary unless the provisions of both Plans state that the complying Plan is primary, except coverage that is obtained by virtue of membership in a group that is designed to supplement a part of a basic package of benefits and provides that this supplementary coverage is excess to any other parts of the Plan provided by the contract holder. A Plan may consider the benefits paid or provided by another Plan in calculating payment of its benefits only when it is secondary to that other Plan. Each Plan determines its order of benefits using the first of the following rules that apply: 2024-01-03100-BB 39 DCL 20240101
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