Minnesota Legislature
HF 39
as introduced - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am
Current Version - as introduced
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A bill for an act
relating to health; establishing the fair share health care fund; requiring certain
employer payments to the fund; providing for criminal penalties; proposing
coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 16A; 175.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1.
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[16A.726] FAIR SHARE HEALTH CARE FUND.
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A fair share health care fund is created in the state treasury to finance medical
assistance and MinnesotaCare coverage for uninsured workers. The fund is a directly
appropriated special revenue fund. The commissioner shall deposit to the credit of the
fund money made available to the fund. Notwithstanding section 11A.20, all investment
income and all investment losses attributable to the investment of the fair share health care
fund not currently needed shall be credited to the fair share health care fund.
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new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
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This section is effective July 1, 2007.
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Sec. 2.
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[175.40] CITATION; FINDINGS; PURPOSE.
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new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end
new text begin Citation. new text end
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Sections 16A.726 and 175.40 to 175.44 may be cited as
the "Fair Share Health Care Act."
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new text begin Subd. 2. new text end
new text begin Findings. new text end
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The legislature finds that:
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(1) Historically, large American companies have provided health insurance to their
employees; however, in recent years, some large companies have cut health insurance
benefits to reduce costs.
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(2) Companies that do not provide health insurance are, in effect, subsidized by
companies that do. Nationwide, responsible companies that cover health benefits not only
pay a total of $150,000,000,000 annually to insure their own employees, but also pay
$31,000,000,000 to insure other companies' workers through dependent coverage.
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(3) Companies that do not provide health insurance are, in effect, also subsidized
by state taxpayers. Nationwide, states pay a total of $8,000,000,000 annually to provide
public assistance health insurance to companies that pay poverty-level wages to the
employees and their families.
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(4) Companies that do not provide health insurance have an unfair competitive
advantage over companies that do.
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new text begin Subd. 3. new text end
new text begin Purpose. new text end
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This law is enacted to protect the health of workers and their
families, to end an unfair drain on state health resources, and to create a more competitive
business environment by requiring large companies to pay their fair share of their
employees' health care costs.
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new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
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This section is effective July 1, 2007.
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Sec. 3.
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[175.41] DEFINITIONS.
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new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end
new text begin Applicability. new text end
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For purposes of sections 175.40 to 175.44, the
following definitions apply.
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new text begin Subd. 2. new text end
new text begin Commissioner. new text end
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"Commissioner" means the commissioner of labor and
industry.
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new text begin Subd. 3. new text end
new text begin Employee. new text end
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"Employee" means a person who performs services for hire for
an employer and includes all individuals employed at any site owned or operated by an
employer. Employee does not include an independent contractor.
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new text begin Subd. 4. new text end
new text begin Employer. new text end
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"Employer" has the meaning provided in section 177.23,
subdivision 6, except that employer does not include the federal or state governments, or
any political subdivision of a state.
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new text begin Subd. 5. new text end
new text begin Health care costs. new text end
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"Health care costs" means the amount paid by an
employer to provide health care to employees in the state to the extent those costs may be
deductible by the employer under federal tax law. Health care costs includes expenditures
for medical care, prescription drugs, vision care, medical savings accounts, and any other
costs to provide health benefits to employees.
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new text begin Subd. 6. new text end
new text begin Wages. new text end
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"Wages" has the meaning provided in section 177.23, subdivision
4.
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new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
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This section is effective July 1, 2007.
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Sec. 4.
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[175.42] HEALTH CARE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
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new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end
new text begin Information required. new text end
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On or before July 1 of each year, every
employer with more than 10,000 employees in the state shall report to the commissioner:
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(1) the average number of employees in the state during the previous calendar year
and the number of employees as of December 31;
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(2) the amount spent by the employer on health care costs for employees in the
state during the previous calendar year; and
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(3) the percentage of wages that was spent by the employer on health care costs for
employees in the state during the previous calendar year.
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new text begin Subd. 2. new text end
new text begin Additional requirements. new text end
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The information required shall:
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(1) be provided in a format approved by the commissioner;
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(2) be signed by the chief executive officer or an individual who performs a similar
function; and
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(3) include an affidavit under penalty of perjury that the information was reviewed
by the signing officer and that the information is complete, does not contain any untrue
statement of a material fact, and does not omit any material fact.
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new text begin Subd. 3. new text end
new text begin Exemption. new text end
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When calculating the percentage of wages spent on health
care costs for employees in the state, an employer may exempt:
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(1) wages paid to any employee in excess of the median household income in the
state as published by the United States Census Bureau; and
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(2) wages paid to an employee who is enrolled in or eligible for Medicare.
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new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
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This section is effective July 1, 2007.
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Sec. 5.
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[175.43] PAYMENT TO THE FAIR SHARE HEALTH CARE FUND.
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new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end
new text begin For-profit employers. new text end
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An employer with more than 10,000
employees in the state that is not organized as a nonprofit organization and does not spend
at least ten percent of total wages paid to employees in the state for health care costs shall
pay to the fair share health care fund an amount equal to the difference between what the
employer spends for health care costs and ten percent of total wages paid to employees in
the state.
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new text begin Subd. 2. new text end
new text begin Nonprofit employers. new text end
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An employer with more than 10,000 employees in
the state that is organized as a nonprofit organization and does not spend at least eight
percent of total wages paid to employees in the state for health care costs shall pay to the
fair share health care fund an amount equal to the difference between what the employer
spends for health care costs and eight percent of total wages paid to employees in the state.
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new text begin Subd. 3. new text end
new text begin Other employer requirements. new text end
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An employer may not deduct any
payment made under this section from the wages of an employee. An employer shall make
the payment required under this section to the fair share health care fund on a periodic
basis as determined by the commissioner.
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new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
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This section is effective July 1, 2007.
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Sec. 6.
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[175.44] ENFORCEMENT.
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new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end
new text begin Commissioner's duty. new text end
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The commissioner shall adopt rules to
implement and administer compliance with sections 175.40 to 175.44.
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new text begin Subd. 2. new text end
new text begin Civil penalties. new text end
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Failure to file a report in accordance with section 175.42
shall result in a civil penalty of $1,000 for each day that the report is not timely filed.
Failure to make a payment required under section 175.43 shall result in a civil penalty of
$500,000.
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new text begin Subd. 3. new text end
new text begin Criminal penalty. new text end
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A person who knowingly violates or attempts to violate
sections 175.40 to 175.44, or a person who knowingly advises another person to violate
those sections, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison
and a fine of up to $10,000.
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new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
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This section is effective July 1, 2007.
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