Relating to health

ARTICLE 1 - PURPOSE

Creating the Minnesota universal health board to provide a single publicly
financed statewide program of comprehensive coverage for necessary health care services for Minnesota residents

ARTICLE 2 - REGIONAL BOARDS

Requiring the commissioner of health to divide the state into a certain number of regions and the regions to establish regional boards, specifying powers and membership requirements and duties; specifying a budget implementation schedule to be followed by the commissioner and the boards, requiring the universal health board to recommend in the annual report due on a certain future date setting of the budgets annually or biennially

ARTICLE 3 - MINNESOTA UNIVERSAL HEALTH BOARD

Defining certain terms; specifying Minnesota universal health board membership eligibility, composition and duties, requiring annual reports to the legislature and governor and administrative support from the commissioner of health, authorizing rules; specifying a schedule for implementation of the Minnesota universal health program by the board and the commissioner; establishing the Minnesota health care trust fund and the prevention, health services, capital, interpretation, communication and transportation, program administration, evaluation, planning and assessment and medical research accounts within the fund to be used for certain specified purposes; specifying certain citizenship or residency requirements for eligibility under the universal health program; authorizing payment for out of state care provided to state residents and coverage using a sliding fee scale to nonresidents employed in the state, requiring care to and billing of nonresidents in need of emergency services; specifying covered and excluded services, requiring the board to establish a benefits advisory committee; providing for choice of providers; prohibiting duplicate coverage; specifying certain provider responsibilities and providing for reimbursement to providers under the program, prohibiting providers from charging rates higher than the negotiated reimbursement rates or from charging separately for services, authorizing election for reimbursement on a capitation basis in place of fee for service reimbursement; requiring the board to adopt rules to establish a review and approval process for regional boards; requiring
the commissioner to study statewide health care spending to enable the board to establish and enforce the state and regional health care budgets; providing for funding of the universal health program through the consolidation of funding from existing state and federal programs and a designated progressive income tax, prohibiting copayments, deductibles or other out of pocket payments by individuals for services; repealing the requirement for the commissioner to establish specific public health goals
(ra)