(a) Each health insurance claim form processed or otherwise used by an insurer, including those used by the Department of Public Welfare for public health care coverage, shall be the uniform claim form developed by the department. The claim form shall be identical in form and content except as provided in subsection (c). The department shall, in consultation with the Department of Public Welfare, insurers and health care providers or their representatives, first consider the feasibility of utilizing the UB-82/HCFA-1450 and HCFA-1500 forms, or their successors, as a uniform claim form. If these forms are deemed to be unsatisfactory, the department shall, in consultation with the Department of Public Welfare, insurers and health care providers or their representatives, develop a uniform claim form for use by all insurers, the Department of Public Welfare's public health care coverage program and health care providers. The uniform claim form shall contain blank spaces at appropriate places in the document for approved additional information requests under subsection (c).

(b) The feasibility study and subsequent development of the uniform claim form shall be complete within one hundred eighty (180) days of the effective date of this article. All insurers, the Department of Public Welfare's public health care coverage program and health care providers shall be required to use the uniform claim form within one hundred twenty (120) days after the uniform claim form is developed. The department may consider a request from the Department of Public Welfare for an extension in meeting the implementation schedule of this section.

(d) In the case of vision and dental claim forms and in the case of supplemental major medical claim forms, utilization of the uniform claim form shall be at the discretion of the individual insurer.