Providing for health care cost containment

ARTICLE 1 - HEALTH CARE COST CONTAINMENT; CONSUMER EMPOWERMENT

Requiring the commissioner of employee relations (DOER) during collective bargaining negotiations with state employees to propose inclusion of a plan of hospital and medical benefits combining a high deductible health plan with a health saving account for certain federal qualification purposes; requiring the commissioner of human services to establish an information web site to assist health care providers in obtaining oral language interpreter services needed for certain patients seeking health care services; conforming state income tax provisions relating to health savings accounts to changes under the federal medicare prescription drug improvement and modernization act of 2003 to encourage consumer driven health plans

ARTICLE 2 - HEALTH CARE COST CONTAIMENT; COST SHIFTING

Limiting the expansion of state health care programs (medical assistance (MA), general assistance medical care (GAMC) and MinnesotaCare), requiring reimbursement rates for major service categories to cover the estimated provider costs; requiring the commissioner of health to evaluate the financial impact of cost shifting due to state health care program reimbursement rates on private sector payors and individuals paying for health care services out of pocket and present results and recommendations to the legislature by a certain date, classifying payment and reimbursement data collected by the commissioner in the evaluation

ARTICLE 3 - HEALTH CARE COST CONTAINMENT; REDUCING GOVERNMENT MANDATES

Placing a moratorium on the enactment of new mandated health benefits; requiring the commissioner of commerce to permit health carriers to offer alternative health benefit plans to small employers under certain conditions; repealing certain expenditure reporting requirements of hospitals and health care providers

ARTICLE 4 - HEALTH CARE COST CONTAINMENT; HEALTH PLAN COMPETITION AND REFORM

Clarifying certain health plan forms and rates approval requirements for accident and sickness insurance; expanding the definition of health maintenance organization and authorizing the qualification of out of state corporations as HMOs subject to obtaining a certificate of authority to conduct business in the state; increasing the minimum and maximum premium rates for the Minnesota comprehensive health association (MCHA); transferring regulatory authority over HMOs, community health clinics prepaid option plans, community integrated service networks (CISN), health care cooperatives, health care purchasing alliances and accountable provider networks and county based purchasing programs from the commissioner of health to the commissioner of commerce after a certain date and requiring certain conforming statutory changes by the revisor of statutes

ARTICLE 5 - HEALTH CARE COST CONTAINMENT; MEDICAL MALPRACTICE REFORM

Providing for the use of best practice guidelines in medical malpractice cases as an absolute defense against allegations; limiting the amount of damages allowed to be awarded for noneconomic losses in malpractice actions against health care providers regardless of the number of parties involved, prohibiting disclosure of the limit to the trier of fact, requiring reduction of amounts awarded in excess of the limit; limiting the amount of punitive, exemplary and similar damages allowed to be awarded, prohibiting disclosure of the limit to the jury and exempting private nonprofit hospitals from damage liability; requiring damages awarded to be paid directly to the Minnesota comprehensive health association (MCHA) to be used to reduce member assessments; prohibiting the award of excessive attorney fees
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