1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to public employment; expanding access to 
  1.3             group long-term care coverage to certain political 
  1.4             subdivision employees; providing for exchange and 
  1.5             protection of data; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, 
  1.6             section 43A.318, subdivisions 1, 2. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 43A.318, 
  1.9   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] (a)  [SCOPE.] For the 
  1.11  purposes of this section, the terms defined have the meaning 
  1.12  given them. 
  1.13     (b)  [ADVISORY COMMITTEE; COMMITTEE.] "Advisory committee" 
  1.14  or "committee" means the committee created under subdivision 3. 
  1.15     (c)  [COMMITTEE MEMBER; MEMBER.] "Committee member" or 
  1.16  "member" means a person serving on the advisory committee 
  1.17  created under subdivision 3. 
  1.18     (d)  [ELIGIBLE PERSON.] "Eligible person" means: 
  1.19     (1) a person who is eligible for insurance and benefits 
  1.20  under section 43A.24, or for insurance and benefits provided to 
  1.21  employees of a political subdivision of this state; 
  1.22     (2) a person who at the time of separation from employment 
  1.23  was eligible to purchase coverage at personal expense under 
  1.24  section 43A.27, subdivision 3, regardless of whether the person 
  1.25  elected to purchase this coverage; 
  1.26     (3) a spouse of a person described in clause (1) or (2), 
  2.1   regardless of the enrollment status in the program of the person 
  2.2   described in clause (1) or (2); or 
  2.3      (4) a parent of a person described in clause (1), 
  2.4   regardless of the enrollment status in the program of the person 
  2.5   described in clause (1); or 
  2.6      (5) a parent of a person described in clause (3). 
  2.7      (e)  [PROGRAM.] "Program" means the statewide public 
  2.8   employees long-term care insurance program created under 
  2.9   subdivision 2. 
  2.10     (f)  [QUALIFIED VENDOR.] "Qualified vendor" means an entity 
  2.11  licensed or authorized to underwrite, provide, or administer 
  2.12  group long-term care insurance benefits in this state. 
  2.13     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 43A.318, 
  2.14  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  2.15     Subd. 2.  [PROGRAM CREATION; GENERAL PROVISIONS.] (a) The 
  2.16  commissioner may administer a program to make long-term care 
  2.17  coverage available to eligible persons.  The commissioner may 
  2.18  determine the program's funding arrangements, request bids from 
  2.19  qualified vendors, and negotiate and enter into contracts with 
  2.20  qualified vendors.  Contracts are not subject to the 
  2.21  requirements of section 16C.16 or 16C.19.  Contracts must be for 
  2.22  a uniform term of at least one year, but may be made 
  2.23  automatically renewable from term to term in the absence of 
  2.24  notice of termination by either party.  The program may not be 
  2.25  self-insured until the commissioner has completed an actuarial 
  2.26  study of the program and reported the results of the study to 
  2.27  the legislature and self-insurance has been specifically 
  2.28  authorized by law. 
  2.29     (b) The program may provide coverage for home, community, 
  2.30  and institutional long-term care and any other benefits as 
  2.31  determined by the commissioner.  Coverage is optional.  The 
  2.32  enrolled eligible person must pay the full cost of the coverage. 
  2.33     (c) The commissioner shall promote activities that attempt 
  2.34  to raise awareness of the need for long-term care insurance 
  2.35  among residents of the state and encourage the increased 
  2.36  prevalence of long-term care coverage.  These activities must 
  3.1   include the sharing of knowledge gained in the development of 
  3.2   the program. 
  3.3      (d) The commissioner may employ and contract with persons 
  3.4   and other entities to perform the duties under this section and 
  3.5   may determine their duties and compensation consistent with this 
  3.6   chapter. 
  3.7      (e) The benefits provided under this section are not terms 
  3.8   and conditions of employment as defined under section 179A.03, 
  3.9   subdivision 19, and are not subject to collective bargaining. 
  3.10     (f) The commissioner shall establish underwriting criteria 
  3.11  for entry of all eligible persons into the program.  Eligible 
  3.12  persons who would be immediately eligible for benefits may not 
  3.13  enroll. 
  3.14     (g) Eligible persons who meet underwriting criteria may 
  3.15  enroll in the program upon hiring and at other times established 
  3.16  by the commissioner. 
  3.17     (h) An eligible person enrolled in the program may continue 
  3.18  to participate in the program even if an event, such as 
  3.19  termination of employment, changes the person's employment 
  3.20  status. 
  3.21     (i) Participating public employee pension plans and public 
  3.22  employers may provide automatic pension or payroll deduction for 
  3.23  payment of long-term care insurance premiums to qualified 
  3.24  vendors contracted with under this section. 
  3.25     (j) Notwithstanding sections 13.43 and 13.63, the 
  3.26  commissioner may request an entity, including a public pension 
  3.27  fund, whose members are eligible to participate in the program 
  3.28  to provide the commissioner with names, home addresses, unique 
  3.29  identifiers, and work locations of eligible persons so that 
  3.30  contractors can mail eligible persons enrollment materials and 
  3.31  ensure that only eligible persons are able to enroll in the 
  3.32  program.  The commissioner shall take all necessary precautions 
  3.33  to ensure the integrity of the data and to ensure that private 
  3.34  and confidential data is not improperly released or disclosed.  
  3.35  All data required to be submitted to the commissioner under this 
  3.36  section shall be used solely for the purposes of the program, 
  4.1   consistent with the provisions of the Data Practices Act, and 
  4.2   the costs incurred in preparing and supplying the data shall be 
  4.3   considered administrative costs of the program. 
  4.4      (k) The premium charged to program enrollees must include 
  4.5   an administrative fee to cover all program expenses incurred in 
  4.6   addition to the cost of coverage.  All fees collected are 
  4.7   appropriated to the commissioner for the purpose of 
  4.8   administrating the program.