HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

922

TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO THE HAWAII EMPLOYER-UNION HEALTH BENEFITS TRUST FUND.

 

 

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

 


     SECTION 1.  The Hawaii employer-union health benefits trust fund (EUTF) offers health benefits to the children of state and county employees and retirees.  Due to the current construction of chapter 87A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, when an employee or retiree passes away, children of the employee or retiree's surviving spouse that were born after the employee or retiree's death are eligible to participate in benefits plans offered by the fund.  The legislature finds that a child born after an employee or retiree's death, who is not the natural child of the deceased employee or retiree, should not be eligible to participate in fund benefits plans because such a child is not the child of the state or county employee or retiree.  The legislature also finds that the definition of "dependent-beneficiary" should be amended to be consistent with the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which prohibits restricting health insurance coverage to only unmarried dependents and denying health insurance coverage to married dependents.

     Finally, the legislature finds that continued viability of the EUTF necessitates the imposition of an enhancement of benefits moratorium to control health benefit costs.

     The purpose of this Act is to:

     (1)  Provide for a moratorium on benefit enhancements that increase other post-employment benefits liability within the EUTF statute; and

     (2)  Amend the definition of "dependent-beneficiary" contained in chapter 87A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to clarify eligibility of children for participation in fund benefit plans and to bring the definition of "dependent-beneficiary" into conformance with the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

SECTION 2.  Chapter 87A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§87A-    Moratorium on benefit enhancements that increase other post-employment benefits liability.  There shall be no benefit enhancements under this chapter for retired employee-beneficiaries and their eligible dependents until such time as the actuarial value of the separate trust fund for other post-employment benefits' assets equals one hundred per cent of the separate trust fund's actuarial accrued liability; except that benefit enhancements that do not increase other post-employment benefits liability or that decrease other post-employment benefits liability shall be allowed."

     SECTION 3.  Section 87A-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "dependent-beneficiary" to read as follows:

     ""Dependent-beneficiary" means an employee-beneficiary's:

     (1)  Spouse;

     (2)  [Unmarried child] Child deemed eligible by the board, including a legally adopted child, stepchild, foster child, or recognized natural child who lives with the employee-beneficiary[;], but excluding a child born more than ten months after the death of an employee killed in the performance of duty, born more than ten months after the death of an active employee who was eligible to retire on the date of death, or born more than ten months after the date of death of a retired employee-beneficiary; and

     (3)  Unmarried child regardless of age who is incapable of self-support because of a mental or physical incapacity, which existed prior to the unmarried child's reaching the age of nineteen years."

     SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2015.


 


 

Report Title:

Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund

 

Description:

Provides a moratorium on benefit enhancements that increase other post-employment benefits liability.  Amends the definition of "dependent-beneficiary."  (HB922 HD1)

 

 

 

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