§ 354. Preferred provider organizations; medical treatment. 1. Each
preferred provider organization shall provide at least two providers in
every medical specialty from which the employee may choose and at least
two hospitals from which the employee may choose in the event that
hospitalization is necessary. The commissioner of health may waive such
numerical requirements upon a finding that the geographical area in
which the preferred provider organization is located cannot meet the
requirements.

2. An employee may seek medical treatment from outside the preferred
provider organization thirty days after his or her first visit to a
preferred provider organization provider. In the event that such
employee seeks medical treatment outside the preferred provider
organization the employer may require a second opinion from a provider
within the preferred provider organization.

3. An employee may seek a second opinion with respect to such medical
treatment from another provider within the preferred provider
organization at any time.