1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to human services; modifying premium payment 
  1.3             for the MinnesotaCare program; amending Minnesota 
  1.4             Statutes 1998, section 256L.15, subdivision 3; 
  1.5             Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 256L.15, 
  1.6             subdivision 2. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
  1.9   256L.15, subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 2.  [SLIDING FEE SCALE TO DETERMINE PERCENTAGE OF 
  1.11  GROSS INDIVIDUAL OR FAMILY INCOME.] (a) The commissioner shall 
  1.12  establish a sliding fee scale to determine the percentage of 
  1.13  gross individual or family income that households at different 
  1.14  income levels must pay to obtain coverage through the 
  1.15  MinnesotaCare program.  The sliding fee scale must be based on 
  1.16  the enrollee's gross individual or family income.  The sliding 
  1.17  fee scale must contain separate tables based on enrollment of 
  1.18  one, two, or three or more persons.  The sliding fee scale 
  1.19  begins with a premium of 1.5 percent of gross individual or 
  1.20  family income for individuals or families with incomes below the 
  1.21  limits for the medical assistance program for families and 
  1.22  children in effect on January 1, 1999, and proceeds through the 
  1.23  following evenly spaced steps:  1.8, 2.3, 3.1, 3.8, 4.8, 5.9, 
  1.24  7.4, and 8.8 5.0 percent.  These percentages are matched to 
  1.25  evenly spaced income steps ranging from the medical assistance 
  1.26  income limit for families and children in effect on January 1, 
  2.1   1999, to 275 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for the 
  2.2   applicable family size, up to a family size of five.  The 
  2.3   sliding fee scale for a family of five must be used for families 
  2.4   of more than five.  The sliding fee scale and percentages are 
  2.5   not subject to the provisions of chapter 14.  If a family or 
  2.6   individual reports increased income after enrollment, premiums 
  2.7   shall not be adjusted until eligibility renewal. 
  2.8      (b) Enrolled individuals and families whose gross annual 
  2.9   income increases above 275 percent of the federal poverty 
  2.10  guideline shall pay the maximum premium.  The maximum premium is 
  2.11  defined as a base charge for one, two, or three or more 
  2.12  enrollees so that if all MinnesotaCare cases paid the maximum 
  2.13  premium, the total revenue would equal the total cost of 
  2.14  MinnesotaCare medical coverage and administration.  In this 
  2.15  calculation, administrative costs shall be assumed to equal ten 
  2.16  percent of the total.  The costs of medical coverage for 
  2.17  pregnant women and children under age two and the enrollees in 
  2.18  these groups shall be excluded from the total.  The maximum 
  2.19  premium for two enrollees shall be twice the maximum premium for 
  2.20  one, and the maximum premium for three or more enrollees shall 
  2.21  be three times the maximum premium for one. 
  2.22     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 256L.15, 
  2.23  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  2.24     Subd. 3.  [EXCEPTIONS TO SLIDING SCALE.] An annual No 
  2.25  premium of $48 is required for all children in families with 
  2.26  income at or less than 150 percent of federal poverty guidelines.