as introduced - 86th Legislature (2009 - 2010) Posted on 02/09/2010 02:17am
A bill for an act
relating to insurance; requiring school districts to obtain employee health
coverage through the public employees insurance program; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2008, sections 43A.316, subdivisions 9, 10, by adding subdivisions;
62E.02, subdivision 23; 62E.10, subdivision 1; 62E.11, subdivision 5; 297I.05,
subdivision 5.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 43A.316, is amended by adding a
subdivision to read:
new text begin
The commissioner, with the approval
of the school employee insurance committee, is authorized to plan, develop, purchase,
administer, and evaluate disease management and other programs, strategies, and
incentives to improve the health and health outcomes of members.
new text end
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 43A.316, subdivision 9, is amended to read:
new text begin (a) new text end The insurance trust fund in the state treasury
consists of deposits of the premiums received from employers participating in the
program and transfers before July 1, 1994, from the excess contributions holding account
established by section 353.65, subdivision 7. All money in the fund is appropriated to
the commissioner to pay insurance premiums, approved claims, refunds, administrative
costs, and other related deleted text begin servicedeleted text end costsnew text begin , including costs incurred under chapters 62E and
297I in connection with the school employee insurance programnew text end . Premiums paid by
employers to the fund are exempt from the taxes imposed by chapter 297Inew text begin , except as
described in paragraph (b)new text end . The commissioner shall reserve an amount of money to cover
the estimated costs of claims incurred but unpaid. The State Board of Investment shall
invest the money according to section 11A.24. Investment income and losses attributable
to the fund must be credited to the fund.
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(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), premium revenues collected from the school
employee insurance program, described in subdivisions 12 and 13, are not exempt from
the taxes imposed under section 297I.05, subdivision 5, paragraph (b).
new text end
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 43A.316, subdivision 10, is amended to read:
new text begin (a) new text end The public employee insurance program and, where
applicable, the employers participating in it are exempt from chapters 60A, 62A, 62C,
62D, 62E, and 62H, section 471.617, subdivisions 2 and 3, and the bidding requirements
of section 471.6161.
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(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the school employee insurance program,
described in subdivisions 12 and 13, is a contributing member of the Minnesota
Comprehensive Health Association and must pay assessments made by the association on
the premium revenue attributed to the school employee insurance program, prorated as
provided in section 62E.11, subdivision 5, paragraph (b).
new text end
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 43A.316, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:
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(a) For purposes of subdivisions 11 to 14, the terms defined
in this subdivision have the meanings given.
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(b) "Eligible employee" means an employee of a school employer, a dependent of
such an employee, a retiree, or other person, who is eligible for health insurance coverage
under the school employer's plan.
new text end
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(c) "School Employee Insurance Committee" means the committee created in
subdivision 14.
new text end
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(d) "School employer" means a school district as defined in section 120A.05, service
cooperative as defined in section 123A.21, intermediate district as defined in section
136D.01, Cooperative Center for Vocational Education as defined in section 123A.22,
regional management information center as defined in section 123A.23, or an education
unit organized under a joint powers agreement under section 471.59.
new text end
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 43A.316, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:
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The commissioner shall develop
and administer within the public employees insurance program a separately rated and
administered program for eligible employees of school employers, to be called the
school employee insurance program. The initial offerings shall be the PEIP Advantage,
Advantage Value, and Advantage HSA plans offered by the public employee insurance
program. Health coverage offered through the school employee insurance program shall
be made available beginning January 1, 2011.
new text end
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 43A.316, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:
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A school employer
that provides health coverage to eligible employees or contributes money to pay for all or
part of the cost of health coverage for eligible employees, must purchase such coverage
through the school employee insurance program under subdivision 12.
new text end
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 43A.316, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:
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(a) Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, all plan design decisions, including all pilot or demonstration programs
in which school employees participate, must first be developed by the School Employee
Insurance Committee in consultation with the commissioner or the commissioner's
designee and other consultants as the committee sees fit. This paragraph does not apply to
the initial offerings specified in subdivision 12.
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(b) The committee must be composed of 14 members who represent school
district employees and employers in equal number. The employee representatives shall
be appointed as follows: four shall be appointed by Education Minnesota, one shall be
appointed by the Service Employees International Union, one shall be appointed by the
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, and one shall be
appointed by the Minnesota School Employees Association. The seven school employer
representatives who serve on the School Employee Insurance Committee must be
appointed by the Minnesota School Boards Association. Members of the committee shall
be appointed no later than August 1, 2009, and shall serve at the will of the appointing
organization.
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(c) The School Employee Insurance Committee members are eligible for
compensation and expense reimbursement under section 15.0575, subdivision 3. In
addition, the actual salary lost by a committee member or cost charged by an employer of
a committee member for time missed while performing the duties of a committee member
must be reimbursed to the committee member.
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Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 43A.316, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:
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The commissioner may, on behalf of the program,
participate in an insured or self-insured reinsurance pool.
new text end
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 62E.02, subdivision 23, is amended to read:
"Contributing member" means those companies
regulated under chapter 62A and offering, selling, issuing, or renewing policies or
contracts of accident and health insurance; health maintenance organizations regulated
under chapter 62D; nonprofit health service plan corporations regulated under chapter
62C; community integrated service networks regulated under chapter 62N; fraternal
benefit societies regulated under chapter 64B; the Minnesota employees insurance
program established in section 43A.317, effective July 1, 1993; deleted text begin anddeleted text end joint self-insurance
plans regulated under chapter 62Hnew text begin ; and the school employee insurance program created
under section 43A.316new text end . For the purposes of determining liability of contributing members
pursuant to section 62E.11 payments received from or on behalf of Minnesota residents
for coverage by a health maintenance organization deleted text begin ordeleted text end new text begin , anew text end community integrated service
networknew text begin , or the school employee insurance programnew text end shall be considered to be accident
and health insurance premiums.
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 62E.10, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
There is established a Comprehensive
Health Association to promote the public health and welfare of the state of Minnesota with
membership consisting of all insurers; self-insurers; fraternals; joint self-insurance plans
regulated under chapter 62H; the Minnesota employees insurance program established
in section 43A.317, effective July 1, 1993;new text begin the school employee insurance program
created under section 43A.316, subdivision 12;new text end health maintenance organizations; and
community integrated service networks licensed or authorized to do business in this
state. The Comprehensive Health Association is exempt from the taxes imposed under
chapter 297I and any other laws of this state and all property owned by the association
is exempt from taxation.
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 62E.11, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
new text begin (a) new text end Each contributing member of the association shall
share the losses due to claims expenses of the comprehensive health insurance plan for
plans issued or approved for issuance by the association, and shall share in the operating
and administrative expenses incurred or estimated to be incurred by the association
incident to the conduct of its affairs. Claims expenses of the state plan which exceed
the premium payments allocated to the payment of benefits shall be the liability of the
contributing members. Contributing members shall share in the claims expense of the
state plan and operating and administrative expenses of the association in an amount equal
to the ratio of the contributing member's total accident and health insurance premium,
received from or on behalf of Minnesota residents as divided by the total accident and
health insurance premium, received by all contributing members from or on behalf of
Minnesota residents, as determined by the commissioner. Payments made by the state
to a contributing member for medical assistance, MinnesotaCare, or general assistance
medical care services according to chapters 256, 256B, and 256D shall be excluded when
determining a contributing member's total premium.
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(b) In making the allocation of losses provided in paragraph (a), the association's
assessment against the school employee insurance program must be based on premiums
received from school employers that, on May 1, 2009, were receiving health care coverage
from a contributing member. For purposes of this calculation, premiums of the program
used must be net of rate credits and retroactive rate refunds on the same basis as the
premiums of other association members.
new text end
Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 297I.05, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
(a) A tax is imposed on health maintenance organizations,
community integrated service networks, and nonprofit health care service plan
corporations. The rate of tax is equal to one percent of gross premiums less return
premiums on all direct business received by the organization, network, or corporation or
its agents in Minnesota, in cash or otherwise, in the calendar year.
(b) new text begin A tax is imposed on the school employee insurance program created under
section 43A.316, subdivision 12. The rate of tax shall be the rate specified in paragraph (a)
and shall be assessed upon gross premiums less return premiums received in the calendar
year from school employers that, on May 1, 2009, were receiving health care coverage
from an entity that is required to pay the tax under paragraph (a).
new text end
new text begin (c) new text end The commissioner shall deposit all revenues, including penalties and interest,
collected under this chapter from health maintenance organizations, community integrated
service networks, deleted text begin anddeleted text end nonprofit health service plan corporationsnew text begin , and the school employee
insurance programnew text end in the health care access fund. Refunds of overpayments of tax
imposed by this subdivision must be paid from the health care access fund. There is
annually appropriated from the health care access fund to the commissioner the amount
necessary to make any refunds of the tax imposed under this subdivision.
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Sections 1 to 12 are effective for coverage to begin January 1, 2011.
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