SF 325

1st Engrossment - 82nd Legislature (2001 - 2002) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to human services; modifying the eligibility 
  1.3             and cost sharing requirements for the prescription 
  1.4             drug program; appropriating money; amending Minnesota 
  1.5             Statutes 2000, section 256.955, subdivisions 2, 2a, 7, 
  1.6             and by adding subdivisions; repealing Minnesota 
  1.7             Statutes 2000, section 256.955, subdivision 2b. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 256.955, 
  1.10  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 2.  [DEFINITIONS.] (a) For purposes of this section, 
  1.12  the following definitions apply. 
  1.13     (b) "Health plan" has the meaning provided in section 
  1.14  62Q.01, subdivision 3. 
  1.15     (c) "Health plan company" has the meaning provided in 
  1.16  section 62Q.01, subdivision 4. 
  1.17     (d) "Qualified individual" means an individual who meets 
  1.18  the requirements described in subdivision 2a or 2b, and: 
  1.19     (1) who is not determined eligible for medical assistance 
  1.20  according to section 256B.0575, who is not determined eligible 
  1.21  for medical assistance or general assistance medical care 
  1.22  without a spenddown, or who is not enrolled in MinnesotaCare; 
  1.23     (2) is not enrolled in prescription drug coverage under a 
  1.24  health plan; 
  1.25     (3) is not enrolled in prescription drug coverage under a 
  1.26  Medicare supplement plan, as defined in sections 62A.31 to 
  2.1   62A.44, or policies, contracts, or certificates that supplement 
  2.2   Medicare issued by health maintenance organizations or those 
  2.3   policies, contracts, or certificates governed by section 1833 or 
  2.4   1876 of the federal Social Security Act, United States Code, 
  2.5   title 42, section 1395, et seq., as amended; 
  2.6      (4) has not had coverage described in clauses (2) and (3) 
  2.7   for at least four months prior to application for the program; 
  2.8   and 
  2.9      (5) is a permanent resident of Minnesota as defined in 
  2.10  section 256L.09. 
  2.11     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 256.955, 
  2.12  subdivision 2a, is amended to read: 
  2.13     Subd. 2a.  [ELIGIBILITY.] An individual satisfying the 
  2.14  following requirements and the requirements described in 
  2.15  subdivision 2, paragraph (d), is eligible for the prescription 
  2.16  drug program: 
  2.17     (1) is at least 65 years of age or older; and 
  2.18     (2) is eligible as a qualified Medicare beneficiary 
  2.19  according to section 256B.057, subdivision 3 or 3a, or is 
  2.20  eligible under section 256B.057, subdivision 3 or 3a, and is 
  2.21  also eligible for medical assistance or general assistance 
  2.22  medical care with a spenddown as defined in section 256B.056, 
  2.23  subdivision 5 enrollee whose assets are no more than $10,000 for 
  2.24  a single individual and $18,000 for a married couple or family 
  2.25  of two or more, using the asset methodology for aged, blind, or 
  2.26  disabled individuals specified in section 256B.056, subdivision 
  2.27  1a; and 
  2.28     (2) has a household income that does not exceed 150 percent 
  2.29  of the federal poverty guidelines, using the income methodology 
  2.30  for aged, blind, or disabled individuals specified in section 
  2.31  256B.056, subdivision 1a. 
  2.32     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 256.955, is 
  2.33  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  2.34     Subd. 2c.  [BURIAL EXCLUSION.] Effective upon receipt of 
  2.35  any necessary federal waivers and other required federal 
  2.36  approval, or July 1, 2002, whichever is later, assets designated 
  3.1   specifically for burial expenses up to a total of $8,000 are 
  3.2   excluded for the prescription drug program under this section 
  3.3   and for qualified Medicare beneficiaries under section 256B.057, 
  3.4   subdivisions 3 and 3a, as an alternative to the supplemental 
  3.5   security income burial exclusion policy in section 256B.056, 
  3.6   subdivision 3, paragraph (d). 
  3.7      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 256.955, 
  3.8   subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
  3.9      Subd. 7.  [COST SHARING.] Program enrollees must satisfy 
  3.10  a $420 annual monthly deductible, based upon expenditures for 
  3.11  prescription drugs, to be paid in $35 monthly increments.  The 
  3.12  monthly deductible must be calculated by the commissioner based 
  3.13  upon the household income of the enrollee expressed as a 
  3.14  percentage of the federal poverty guidelines, using the 
  3.15  following sliding scale: 
  3.16            Household Income          Monthly Deductible
  3.17              of Enrollee
  3.18       not more than 120 percent             $35
  3.19       more than 120 percent
  3.20       but not more than 125 percent         $43
  3.21       more than 125 percent
  3.22       but not more than 130 percent         $52
  3.23       more than 130 percent
  3.24       but not more than 135 percent         $60
  3.25       more than 135 percent 
  3.26       but not more than 140 percent         $68
  3.27       more than 140 percent
  3.28       but not more than 145 percent         $77
  3.29       more than 145 percent
  3.30       but not more than 150 percent         $85
  3.31     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 256.955, is 
  3.32  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.33     Subd. 10.  [DEDICATED FUND.] (a) The Minnesota prescription 
  3.34  drug dedicated fund is established as an account in the general 
  3.35  fund.  The commissioner of finance shall credit to the dedicated 
  3.36  fund all rebates paid under section 256.01, subdivision 1, 
  4.1   clause (21), any appropriations designated for the prescription 
  4.2   drug program and any federal funds received by the state to 
  4.3   implement a senior prescription drug program.  The commissioner 
  4.4   of finance shall ensure that fund money is invested under 
  4.5   section 11A.25.  All money earned by the fund must be credited 
  4.6   to the fund.  The fund shall earn a proportionate share of the 
  4.7   total state annual investment income. 
  4.8      (b) Money in the fund is appropriated to the commissioner 
  4.9   of human services for the prescription drug program. 
  4.10     Sec. 6.  [FEDERAL WAIVER REQUEST.] 
  4.11     The commissioner of human services shall seek federal 
  4.12  approval to expand the medical assistance program to provide 
  4.13  access to discounted prices for prescription drugs to Medicare 
  4.14  beneficiaries with no prescription drug coverage.  Individuals 
  4.15  in this expanded coverage group shall receive a discount for 
  4.16  prescription drugs equal to the average rebate paid to the 
  4.17  medical assistance program by pharmaceutical manufacturers.  
  4.18  Upon receipt of the waiver, the commissioner shall submit a 
  4.19  proposal to the legislature for implementation of this expansion 
  4.20  to individuals with income at or below 200 percent of the 
  4.21  federal poverty guidelines. 
  4.22     Sec. 7.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  4.23     $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  4.24  commissioner of human services, for the biennium ending June 30, 
  4.25  2003, to implement sections 1 to 4 and 8. 
  4.26     Sec. 8.  [REPEALER.] 
  4.27     Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 256.955, subdivision 2b, 
  4.28  is repealed. 
  4.29     Sec. 9.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.30     Sections 1 to 4 and 8 are effective January 1, 2002.  
  4.31  Sections 5 to 7 are effective July 1, 2001.