Bill Text: CT SB00955 | 2015 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: An Act Implementing Provisions Of The Budget Concerning Public Health.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-27 - Change of Reference, House to Committee on Appropriations [SB00955 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2015-SB00955-Introduced.html

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General Assembly		Governor's Bill No. 955
January Session, 2015		LCO No. 3801
		*03801__________*
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
SEN. LOONEY, 11th Dist. SEN. DUFF, 25th Dist. REP. SHARKEY, 88th Dist. REP. ARESIMOWICZ, 30th Dist.

AN ACT IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS OF THE BUDGET CONCERNING PUBLIC HEALTH.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2015) (a) Not later than September first, annually, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, in consultation with the Commissioner of Public Health, shall (1) determine the amounts appropriated for the needle and syringe exchange program, AIDS services, breast and cervical cancer detection and treatment, x-ray screening and tuberculosis care, and venereal disease control; and (2) inform the Insurance Commissioner of such amounts.

(b) (1) As used in this section: (A) "Health insurance" means health insurance of the types specified in subdivisions (1), (2), (4), (11) and (12) of section 38a-469 of the general statutes; and (B) "health care center" has the same meaning as provided in section 38a-175 of the general statutes.

(2) Each domestic insurer or health care center doing health insurance business in this state shall annually pay to the Insurance Commissioner, for deposit in the Insurance Fund established under section 38a-52a of the general statutes, a public health fee assessed by the Insurance Commissioner pursuant to this section.

(3) Not later than September first, annually, each such insurer or health care center shall report to the Insurance Commissioner, in the form and manner prescribed by said commissioner, the number of insured or enrolled lives in this state as of May first immediately preceding the date for which such insurer or health care center is providing health insurance that provides coverage of the types specified in subdivisions (1), (2), (4), (11) and (12) of section 38a-469 of the general statutes. Such number shall not include lives enrolled in Medicare, any medical assistance program administered by the Department of Social Services, workers' compensation insurance or Medicare Part C plans.

(c) Not later than November first, annually, the Insurance Commissioner shall determine the fee to be assessed for the current fiscal year against each such insurer and health care center. Such fee shall be calculated by multiplying the number of lives reported to said commissioner pursuant to subdivision (3) of subsection (b) of this section by a factor, determined annually by said commissioner as set forth in this subsection, to fully fund the aggregate amount determined under subsection (a) of this section. The Insurance Commissioner shall determine the factor by dividing the aggregate amount by the total number of lives reported to said commissioner pursuant to subdivision (3) of subsection (b) of this section.

(d) Not later than December first, annually, the Insurance Commissioner shall submit a statement to each such insurer and health care center that includes the proposed fee, identified on such statement as the "Public Health fee", for the insurer or health care center, calculated in accordance with this section. Not later than December twentieth, annually, any insurer or health care center may submit an objection to the Insurance Commissioner concerning the proposed public health fee. The Insurance Commissioner, after making any adjustment that said commissioner deems necessary, shall, not later than January first, annually, submit a final statement to each insurer and health care center that includes the final fee for the insurer or health care center. Each such insurer and health care center shall pay such fee to the Insurance Commissioner not later than February first, annually.

(e) Any such insurer or health care center aggrieved by an assessment levied under this section may appeal therefrom in the same manner as provided for appeals under section 38a-52 of the general statutes.

Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 19a-55 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2015):

(a) The administrative officer or other person in charge of each institution caring for newborn infants shall cause to have administered to every such infant in its care an HIV-related test, as defined in section 19a-581, a test for phenylketonuria and other metabolic diseases, hypothyroidism, galactosemia, sickle cell disease, maple syrup urine disease, homocystinuria, biotinidase deficiency, congenital adrenal hyperplasia and such other tests for inborn errors of metabolism as shall be prescribed by the Department of Public Health. The tests shall be administered as soon after birth as is medically appropriate. If the mother has had an HIV-related test pursuant to section 19a-90 or 19a-593, the person responsible for testing under this section may omit an HIV-related test. The Commissioner of Public Health shall (1) administer the newborn screening program, (2) direct persons identified through the screening program to appropriate specialty centers for treatments, consistent with any applicable confidentiality requirements, and (3) set the fees to be charged to institutions to cover all expenses of the comprehensive screening program including testing, tracking and treatment. The fees to be charged pursuant to subdivision (3) of this subsection shall be set at a minimum of [fifty-six] ninety-eight dollars. The Commissioner of Public Health shall publish a list of all the abnormal conditions for which the department screens newborns under the newborn screening program, which shall include screening for amino acid disorders, organic acid disorders and fatty acid oxidation disorders, including, but not limited to, long-chain 3-hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrogenase (L-CHAD) and medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD).

Sec. 3. Sections 19a-490t and 38a-1051 of the general statutes are repealed. (Effective July 1, 2015)

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	July 1, 2015	New section
Sec. 2	July 1, 2015	19a-55(a)
Sec. 3	July 1, 2015	Repealer section

Statement of Purpose:

To implement the Governor's budget recommendations.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]