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Chapter 256L

Section 256L.15

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256L.15 Premiums.

Subdivision 1. Premium determination. (a) Families with children and individuals shall pay a premium determined according to subdivision 2.

(b) Pregnant women and children under age two are exempt from the provisions of section 256L.06, subdivision 3, paragraph (b), clause (3), requiring disenrollment for failure to pay premiums. For pregnant women, this exemption continues until the first day of the month following the 60th day postpartum. Women who remain enrolled during pregnancy or the postpartum period, despite nonpayment of premiums, shall be disenrolled on the first of the month following the 60th day postpartum for the penalty period that otherwise applies under section 256L.06, unless they begin paying premiums.

Subd. 1a. Payment options. The commissioner may offer the following payment options to an enrollee:

(1) payment by check;

(2) payment by credit card;

(3) payment by recurring automatic checking withdrawal;

(4) payment by onetime electronic transfer of funds;

(5) payment by wage withholding with the consent of the employer and the employee; or

(6) payment by using state tax refund payments.

At application or reapplication, a MinnesotaCare applicant or enrollee may authorize the commissioner to use the Revenue Recapture Act in chapter 270A to collect funds from the applicant's or enrollee's refund for the purposes of meeting all or part of the applicant's or enrollee's MinnesotaCare premium obligation. The applicant or enrollee may authorize the commissioner to apply for the state working family tax credit on behalf of the applicant or enrollee. The setoff due under this subdivision shall not be subject to the $10 fee under section 270A.07, subdivision 1.

Subd. 1b. Payments nonrefundable. Only MinnesotaCare premiums paid for future months of coverage for which a health plan capitation fee has not been paid may be refunded.

Subd. 2. Sliding fee scale to determine percentage of monthly gross individual or family income. (a) The commissioner shall establish a sliding fee scale to determine the percentage of monthly gross individual or family income that households at different income levels must pay to obtain coverage through the MinnesotaCare program. The sliding fee scale must be based on the enrollee's monthly gross individual or family income. The sliding fee scale must contain separate tables based on enrollment of one, two, or three or more persons. The sliding fee scale begins with a premium of 1.5 percent of monthly gross individual or family income for individuals or families with incomes below the limits for the medical assistance program for families and children in effect on January 1, 1999, and proceeds through the following evenly spaced steps: 1.8, 2.3, 3.1, 3.8, 4.8, 5.9, 7.4, and 8.8 percent. These percentages are matched to evenly spaced income steps ranging from the medical assistance income limit for families and children in effect on January 1, 1999, to 275 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for the applicable family size, up to a family size of five. The sliding fee scale for a family of five must be used for families of more than five. Effective October 1, 2003, the commissioner shall increase each percentage by 0.5 percentage points for enrollees with income greater than 100 percent but not exceeding 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines and shall increase each percentage by 1.0 percentage points for families and children with incomes greater than 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. The sliding fee scale and percentages are not subject to the provisions of chapter 14. If a family or individual reports increased income after enrollment, premiums shall be adjusted at the time the change in income is reported.

(b) Children in families whose gross income is above 275 percent of the federal poverty guidelines shall pay the maximum premium. The maximum premium is defined as a base charge for one, two, or three or more enrollees so that if all MinnesotaCare cases paid the maximum premium, the total revenue would equal the total cost of MinnesotaCare medical coverage and administration. In this calculation, administrative costs shall be assumed to equal ten percent of the total. The costs of medical coverage for pregnant women and children under age two and the enrollees in these groups shall be excluded from the total. The maximum premium for two enrollees shall be twice the maximum premium for one, and the maximum premium for three or more enrollees shall be three times the maximum premium for one.

(c) After calculating the percentage of premium each enrollee shall pay under paragraph (a), eight percent shall be added to the premium.

Subd. 3. Exceptions to sliding scale. Children in families with income at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty guidelines pay a monthly premium of $4.

Subd. 4. Exception for transitioned adults. County agencies shall pay premiums for single adults and households with no children formerly enrolled in general assistance medical care and enrolled in MinnesotaCare according to section 256D.03, subdivision 3, until six-month renewal. The county agency has the option of continuing to pay premiums for these enrollees past the first six-month renewal period.

HIST: 1995 c 234 art 6 s 20; 1998 c 407 art 5 s 39; 1999 c 245 art 4 s 99-101; 2001 c 203 s 16; 1Sp2001 c 9 art 2 s 65; 2002 c 220 art 15 s 24,25; 2002 c 379 art 1 s 113; 1Sp2003 c 14 art 12 s 83-85; 2005 c 10 art 1 s 57; 1Sp2005 c 4 art 8 s 74-76

* NOTE: The amendment to subdivision 2, paragraph (a), by *Laws 2005, First Special Session chapter 4, article 8, section *74, changing gross family or individual income to monthly gross *family or individual income is effective August 1, 2007, or upon *implementation of HealthMatch, whichever is later. The *amendment to subdivision 2, paragraph (a), related to premium *adjustments and changes of income and subdivision 2, paragraph *(c), are effective September 1, 2005, or upon federal approval, *whichever is later. Laws 2005, First Special Session chapter 4, *article 8, section 74, the effective date.

* NOTE: The amendment to subdivision 3 by Laws 2005, First *Special Session chapter 4, article 8, section 75, is effective *August 1, 2007, or upon HealthMatch implementation, whichever is *later. Laws 2005, First Special Session chapter 4, article 8, *section 75, the effective date.

* NOTE: Subdivision 4, as added by Laws 2005, First Special *Session chapter 4, article 8, section 76, is effective September *1, 2006. Laws 2005, First Special Session chapter 4, article 8, *section 76, the effective date.

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Revisor of Statutes