Report Title:

State Health Authority

 

 

Description:

Establishes the state health authority to propose a plan to provide medical assistance for all residents of Hawaii.  (HB2291 HD1)

 


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2291

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT


 

 

RELATING TO HEALTH INSURANCE.

 

 

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

 


     SECTION 1.  (a)  There is established the state health authority.  Beginning on January 1, 2011, the authority shall be the designated state medicaid agency.

     (b)  The authority shall be composed of eleven members, three to be appointed by the governor, three appointed by the president of the senate, and three appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.  The remaining two shall be appointed by the governor from the health care industry.  There shall also be three ex officio members who are:

     (1)  The director of health or the director's designee;

     (2)  The director of business, economic development, and tourism or the director's designee; and

     (3)  The insurance commissioner or the insurance commissioner's designee.

     (c)  The authority shall be responsible for the overall health planning for the state and shall be responsible for determining future capacity needs of health providers, facilities, equipment, and support services providers.

     SECTION 2.  (a)  The authority shall develop a plan that includes:

     (1)  Providing state-funded health insurance for individuals with incomes up to three hundred per cent of the federal poverty level who are otherwise eligible for benefits under the state's medicaid programs, including QUEST; and

     (2)  Adopting all optional services allowed under the medicaid programs.

The board of trustees of the Hawaii employer-union health benefits trust fund is authorized to transfer moneys from the respective funds to the authority for the purposes of this subsection.

     (b)  The plan shall be ready to implement on or about January 1, 2012.

     SECTION 3.  (a)  The authority shall develop a plan to purchase all health care based on assessing the feasibility of:

     (1)  Reimbursing all certified health care providers at a rate to be determined by the authority within thirty days of the provision of care;

     (2)  Collecting from each employee earning a wage or salary in the State, a monthly employer health insurance assessment based on a percentage of the employee's monthly wage, based on hourly wages, of each employee of all hours worked in the month.  The authority may determine and establish the employer health insurance assessment formula, which, at all times, shall be based on the actual payments made for health care in the prior twelve-month period, plus administrative costs for the authority; and

     (3)  Collecting or receiving, for purposes of funding the authority's purchase of health care, the following:

         (A)  The employer health insurance assessment for each individual who earns a wage or salary in the state, including the current medical portion of workers' compensation insurance;

         (B)  Federal medicaid matching funds;

         (C)  State general fund appropriations;

         (D)  Self-employed health insurance assessments from individuals who are self-employed, as differentiated from the employee health insurance assessment; and

         (E)  Individual monthly dues and the medical payment portions as determined by audit of 2002 premiums covering:

              (i)  Automobile insurance policy premiums;

             (ii)  Public liability insurance premiums; and

            (iii)  Homeowners insurance policy premiums,

              paid to the authority by insurance carriers on a monthly basis.

     (b)  The authority shall seek public input during the planning and development of the program.

     (c)  The authority shall develop a detailed plan to purchase all health care for all residents of the state.  The authority shall submit the plan to purchase all health care and shall submit a proposal and any necessary legislation to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the regular session of 2011.  The authority shall be ready to implement the plan no later than January 1, 2012.

     SECTION 4.  The authority shall also:

     (1)  Reevaluate the Prepaid Health Care Act and search for other viable options for universal health care coverage; and

     (2)  Determine a funding mechanism using the employees, medicaid waiver funds, appropriations, and the health benefits portion of different types of insurance including homeowners, automobile, and liability insurance to draw on federal matching funds.

     SECTION 5.  As used in this Act, "authority" means the state health authority.

     SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2050.