# Best Practices - CARIN Digital Insurance Card v2.0.0

* [**Table of Contents**](toc.md)
* [**General Guidance**](General_Guidance.md)
* **Best Practices**

## Best Practices

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| *Page standards status:*[Informative](http://hl7.org/fhir/R4/versions.html#std-process) |

This page identifies best practices to be applied when implementing this Implementation Guide.

### Representing No/Expired Coverage

§c4dic-031 There are instances where an individual was previously, but is no longer a member of a health plan (coverage is expired), the health plan **SHOULD** respond to requests for C4DIC Coverage resources using the latest version of each applicable Coverage resource, even if the individual is no longer a member of the Health Plan. §

For Health Plan APIs that allow an individual to access their API despite never being a member of the Health Plan (for instance, by presenting a digital identity credential), there is no expectation of the creation of a Coverage resource.

#### Example:

An individual was insured with a diamond-level health insurance plan from 01-01-2025 to 06-30-2025. The individual received telehealth services on 04-15-2025, for which they received a bill on 08-30-2025, without their insurance applied. The individual receives a digital insurance card from the API of the diamond-level Health Plan, and submits this information to the telehealth service for proper billing.

