Legislative Session number- 84

Bill Name: SF0376

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
(mk)