§33-25A-18. Suspension or revocation of certificate of authority.

(1) The commissioner may suspend or revoke any certificate of authority issued to a health maintenance organization under this article if he or she finds that any of the following conditions exist:

(a) The health maintenance organization is operating significantly in contravention of its basic organization document, in any material breach of contract with an enrollee, or in a manner contrary to that described in and reasonably inferred from any other information submitted under section three of this article unless amendments to the submissions have been filed with an approval of the commissioner;

(b) The health maintenance organization issues evidence of coverage or uses a schedule of premiums for health care services which do not comply with the requirements of section eight of this article;

(c) The health maintenance organization does not provide or arrange for basic health care services;

(d) The Department of Human Services or other accredited entity certifies to the commissioner that: (i) The health maintenance organization is unable to fulfill its obligations to furnish health care services as required under its contract with enrollees; or (ii) the health maintenance organization does not meet the requirements of subsection (l), section four of this article;

(e) The health maintenance organization is no longer financially responsible and may reasonably be expected to be unable to meet its obligations to enrollees or prospective enrollees or is otherwise determined by the commissioner to be in a hazardous financial condition;

(f) The health maintenance organization has failed to implement a mechanism affording the enrollees an opportunity to participate in matters of policy and operation under section six of this article;

(g) The health maintenance organization has failed to implement the grievance procedure required by section twelve of this article in a manner to reasonably resolve valid grievances;

(h) The health maintenance organization, or any person on its behalf, has advertised or merchandised its services in an untrue, misrepresentative, misleading, deceptive or unfair manner;

(i) The continued operation of the health maintenance organization would be hazardous to its enrollees;

(j) The health maintenance organization has otherwise failed to substantially comply with this article;

(k) The health maintenance organization has violated a lawful order of the commissioner; or

(l) The health maintenance organization has not complied with the requirements of section seventeen-a of this article.

(2) A certificate of authority shall be suspended or revoked only after compliance with the requirements of section twenty-one of this article.

(3) When the certificate of authority of a health maintenance organization is suspended, the health maintenance organization shall not, during the period of the suspension, enroll any additional enrollees except newborn children or other newly acquired dependents of existing enrollees, and shall not engage in any advertising or solicitation whatsoever.

(4) When the certificate of authority of a health maintenance organization is revoked, the organization shall proceed, immediately following the effective date of the order of revocation, to terminate its affairs, and shall conduct no further business except as may be essential to the orderly conclusion of the affairs of the organization. It shall engage in no further advertising or solicitation whatsoever. The commissioner may, by written order, permit such further operation of the organization as he or she may find to be in the best interests of enrollees, to the end that enrollees will be afforded the greatest practical opportunity to obtain continuing health care coverage.