SF 1302

as introduced - 90th Legislature (2017 - 2018) Posted on 03/24/2017 09:39am

A bill for an act
relating to human services; establishing a family medical account program;
requiring reports; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter
256B.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [256B.695] FAMILY MEDICAL ACCOUNT (FMA) PROGRAM.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Establishment. new text end

new text begin The commissioner of human services shall establish the
family medical account program by January 1, 2018, or upon federal approval, whichever
is later. For purposes of this section, "financial institution" has the meaning given in section
47.59, subdivision 1, paragraph (k).
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin General criteria. new text end

new text begin (a) The program must provide participants with medical
assistance benefits, consisting of: (1) coverage of all medical assistance medical goods and
services, after an annual deductible has been met; and (2) contributions into a family medical
account, which may be used to pay for medical goods and services subject to the deductible.
new text end

new text begin (b) The program must provide enrollment counseling to program participants by:
new text end

new text begin (1) providing incentives for patients to seek preventive health services;
new text end

new text begin (2) providing enrollment counseling and related information;
new text end

new text begin (3) requiring that transactions involving family medical accounts be conducted
electronically; and
new text end

new text begin (4) providing participants with access to negotiated provider payment rates.
new text end

new text begin (c) The program must provide ongoing education to program participants by:
new text end

new text begin (1) educating patients on the high cost of medical care;
new text end

new text begin (2) reducing the inappropriate use of health care services; and
new text end

new text begin (3) enabling patients to take responsibility for health care outcomes.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Eligible persons. new text end

new text begin (a) Persons eligible for medical assistance and having an
income of 138 percent or less of the federal poverty level under section 256B.055,
subdivisions 3a, 9, 10, 15, and 16, may elect to participate in the program. Beneficiaries in
Medicaid-managed care organizations may elect to enroll in the FMA program at times
determined by the commissioner.
new text end

new text begin (b) The commissioner shall fully inform eligible persons of the availability of the program
and the comparative attributes of the FMA program and other programs.
new text end

new text begin (c) Enrollment is effective for a period of 12 months and may be extended for additional
12-month periods. Enrollment in the program is subject to the individual maintaining
eligibility for medical assistance.
new text end

new text begin (d) A person, who, for any reason, except fraud, is disenrolled from the program shall
have the FMA funds vested one year after enrollment and placed in a state approved
investment account for the person's use for medical goods and services.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3a. new text end

new text begin Excluded persons. new text end

new text begin Individuals who, when applying, are disabled, 65 years
of age or older, or enrollees in Medicaid-managed care organizations are excluded.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Medical assistance benefits. new text end

new text begin (a) Participants in the program shall receive the
following medical assistance benefits:
new text end

new text begin (1) coverage for medical expenses for medical goods and services for which benefits
are otherwise provided under medical assistance, after the annual deductible specified in
paragraph (b) has been met; and
new text end

new text begin (2) contributions into an FMA. Use of an FMA is limited to outpatient and emergency
room goods and services.
new text end

new text begin (b) Any outpatient treatment service costing over $....... is limited to a $....... co-pay.
new text end

new text begin (c) The amount of the annual deductible shall be 100 percent of the annualized amount
of contributions to the FMA.
new text end

new text begin (d) The following services are not subject to the annual deductible:
new text end

new text begin (1) preventive services as specified by the commissioner;
new text end

new text begin (2) prescription drugs prescribed for the treatment of diabetes, high blood pressure, high
cholesterol, epilepsy, and other health conditions as determined by the commissioner; and
new text end

new text begin (3) inpatient hospital care and services at surgery centers. No FMA emergency room
charge is deducted if the participant is admitted to inpatient care.
new text end

new text begin (e) After a person has satisfied the annual deductible, medical assistance benefits for
that person shall consist of the benefits that would otherwise be provided to that person
under medical assistance had the individual not been enrolled in the program. Program
participants shall be subject to all medical assistance cost-sharing requirements.
new text end

new text begin (f) The commissioner shall contract directly with medical providers to provide the
medical assistance benefits specified in paragraph (a), clause (1), and may purchase
reinsurance for the cost of providing these medical assistance benefits.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Operation of family medical accounts. new text end

new text begin (a) The state shall contribute an annual
amount into the FMA of each participating person. For the first calendar year of the program,
the amount contributed by the state shall equal $....... for an individual and $....... for a child
unless otherwise adjusted by the legislature which the commissioner shall pay in either
monthly or biweekly increments as long as the participant is eligible. For future calendar
years, these annual amounts must be increased by the change in the medical component of
the consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U).
new text end

new text begin (b) The commissioner shall contract with a third-party administrator to administer and
coordinate family medical accounts. The third-party administrator shall be audited annually
under parameters determined by the commissioner. A health plan company, or a financial
institution under contract under paragraph (c), may not serve as a third-party administrator.
new text end

new text begin (c) The commissioner may contract with a financial institution to establish family medical
accounts and investment accounts for program participants. The commissioner shall negotiate,
as part of the contract, the amount of any administrative fee to be paid by the financial
institution to the third-party administrator on behalf of program participants and the interest
rate to be paid by the financial institution to program participants.
new text end

new text begin (d) Amounts in, or contributed to, an FMA shall not be counted as income or assets for
purposes of determining medical assistance eligibility.
new text end

new text begin (e) All payments shall be made by the state or third-party administrator directly to
providers of medical goods and services.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Incentives for preventive care. new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner may develop and provide
positive incentives for individuals enrolled in the program to obtain prenatal care,
vaccinations, and other appropriate preventive care. In developing these incentives, the
commissioner may consider various rewards for individuals demonstrating healthy prevention
practices and may consider providing positive incentives for accessing preventive services
that are in addition to those available to medical assistance enrollees not participating in
the program.
new text end

new text begin (b) The commissioner shall provide additional payments to primary care providers who
coordinate care for enrollees.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Using money in the family medical account. new text end

new text begin (a) Except as provided in
subdivision 10, money in an FMA may be used only for paying for medical care, as defined
in section 213(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
new text end

new text begin (b) Money in an FMA may not be used to pay providers for medical goods and services
unless: (1) the providers are licensed or otherwise authorized under state law to provide the
goods or services; and (2) the provider meets medical assistance program standards and
complies with medical assistance prohibitions related to fraud and abuse.
new text end

new text begin (c) Money in an FMA may not be used to pay a provider for goods or services if the
commissioner determines that the goods or services are not medically appropriate or
necessary.
new text end

new text begin (d) The commissioner shall establish procedures to: (1) penalize or disenroll from the
program persons and providers who make nonqualified withdrawals from an FMA; and (2)
recoup costs that derive from nonqualified withdrawals.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Electronic transactions required. new text end

new text begin The commissioner shall require all
withdrawals and payments from FMAs to be made electronically. The method developed
or selected for the program must include photo identification and electronic locks to prevent
unauthorized use and must provide real-time, encounter-level payment to health care
providers. The method used must: (1) allow information from a patient's medical record to
be stored and accessed by the patient and health care providers; (2) be capable of storing
and transferring for analysis the encounter-level data for both provider- and enrollee-specific
and aggregate health care quality measurement and monitoring; and (3) enable the provider
to confirm that the electronic means accurately identifies the participant.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 9. new text end

new text begin Access to negotiated provider payment rates. new text end

new text begin The commissioner shall allow
participants who are subject to a deductible or co-pay to obtain medical goods and services
from providers who choose to serve program participants at payment rates that do not exceed
the medical assistance payment rates.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 10. new text end

new text begin Maintaining an FMA for persons who become ineligible; vesting. new text end

new text begin (a) If a
participant becomes ineligible for medical assistance, the state shall make no further
contributions to the participant's FMA.
new text end

new text begin (b) Following application of paragraph (a), money in the account shall remain available
to the account holder for one year from the date on which the individual became ineligible
for medical assistance, under the same terms and conditions that would apply had the
individual remained eligible for the program, except that the money in the FMA may also
be used as provided in paragraph (c).
new text end

new text begin (c) For those participants no longer enrolled in the program, money in the FMA may be
used to purchase medical goods and services from health care providers. Money used for
this purpose must be transferred by the state or third-party administrator directly from the
account to the medical provider of goods and services or from an investment account of
which the use is limited to the provision of medical goods and services. In the event of the
person's death, the amount in the investment account shall be distributed to the primary
beneficiary of the estate or, if there is no named beneficiary, to the estate.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 11. new text end

new text begin Commissioner duties. new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner shall provide enrollment
counselors and ongoing education for program participants. The counseling and education
must be designed to meet the program goals specified in subdivision 2, paragraphs (b) and
(c); provide participants with assistance accessing providers and obtaining negotiated
provider payment rates; and provide participants with information on the benefits of
maintaining continuity of care both before and after meeting the required deductible.
new text end

new text begin (b) The commissioner shall make the services of the Office of Ombudsman available to
program participants and shall require the office to address access, service, and billing
problems related to providing medical assistance benefits under subdivision 4.
new text end

new text begin (c) The commissioner shall implement a streamlined medical assistance renewal process
for program participants. This process must include:
new text end

new text begin (1) requiring eligibility renewals every 12 months;
new text end

new text begin (2) allowing passive renewal, under which individuals receive from the commissioner
a completed renewal form; and
new text end

new text begin (3) providing to the commissioner updated information or a signed statement attesting
that the individual's eligibility information has not changed.
new text end

new text begin (d) The commissioner may adopt rules under chapter 14 to establish criteria for the
operation of family medical accounts and may establish conditions limiting the use of money
in an account to include a deduction of $25 from the participant's FMA account if the
participant does not contact the nurse hotline before going to the emergency room. If the
medical event requires hospitalization, this deduction does not apply.
new text end

new text begin (e) The commissioner shall present annual progress reports on the program to the
legislature, beginning October 1, one year after implementation of the program and each
October 1 thereafter. The commissioner shall include in the progress reports recommendations
for any changes in law necessary to improve operation of the program or to comply with
federal requirements. The commissioner shall include in the report due October 1, 2023,
recommendations on whether the program should be expanded to include additional
participants.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 12. new text end

new text begin Federal approval. new text end

new text begin The commissioner shall seek all federal approvals necessary
to establish and implement the family medical account program.
new text end