Legislative Session number- 84

Bill Name: SF1638

1E Relating to health

ARTICLE 1 - HEALTHIER MINNESOTANS

Requiring the
commissioner of health in consultation with a Minnesota health improvement
partnership to develop and implement a coordinated statewide action plan for
improving the health status of Minnesotans for cost reduction purposes,
specifying certain plan requirements, requiring encouragement and facilitation
of the formation of local public private partnerships for action on certain
goals; requiring the commissioner to establish a public health challenge grant
fund and program for grants to the partnerships to support collaborative actions
to reduce the rate of increase in health care costs through improvements in
health status or the prevention of illness and injury, specifying certain grant
program and match requirements, requiring the commissioner and the commissioner
of employee relations (DOER) to enter into agreements with grantees for the
payment of a certain percentage of savings in health coverage programs to the
challenge grant fund; requiring the state agency commissioners serving on the
governor's health care cabinet in cooperation with certain organizations to
identify and contract with a private nonprofit organization to serve as a
statewide source of comparative information on health care costs and quality for
both ambulatory and inpatient care; appropriating money from the health care
access fund to the commissioner of health for the challenge grant fund,
requiring repayment

ARTICLE 2 - HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM

Providing for
universal health coverage, requiring state residents to obtain and maintain
health coverage by a certain date; specifying certain secure benefit set and
guaranteed issue requirements of health plan companies, regulating community
rate bands; providing an income tax subtraction for health coverage premiums;
requiring the commissioner of commerce to present to the legislature by a
certain date a plan for reactivating the reinsurance pool and converting the
pool for high cost cases; requiring the commissioner of health to prepare a
submit to the legislature by a certain date a report with recommendations and
proposed legislation for enforcing the requirement for continuous health
coverage; requiring the commissioners of health, human services, labor and
industry, employee relations (DOER), corrections, commerce and administration
and the Minnesota comprehensive health association board of directors in
consultation with a panel of health care providers and policy experts to define
a secure benefit set including preventive health services and prescription drug
and catastrophic health coverage, requiring commissioners submission of the
benefit set to the legislature by a certain date
(ra, ja)