Bill Text: CT SB00976 | 2011 | General Assembly | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: An Act Establishing The Nutmeg Health Insurance Plan For Uninsured Individuals.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-04-13 - Favorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, Senate [SB00976 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2011-SB00976-Comm_Sub.html

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General Assembly		Raised Bill No. 976
January Session, 2011		LCO No. 3146
		*_____SB00976PD____041211____*
Referred to Committee on Insurance and Real Estate
Introduced by:
(INS)

AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE NUTMEG HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN FOR UNINSURED INDIVIDUALS.

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

Section 1. Subsection (i) of section 5-259 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2011):

(i) The Comptroller may provide for coverage of employees of municipalities, nonprofit corporations, community action agencies, [and] small employers, [and] uninsured individuals, individuals eligible for a health coverage tax credit, retired members or members of an association for personal care assistants under the plan or plans procured under subsection (a) of this section, provided: (1) Participation by each municipality, nonprofit corporation, community action agency, small employer, uninsured individual, tax-credit eligible individual, retired member or association for personal care assistants shall be on a voluntary basis; (2) where an employee organization represents employees of a municipality, nonprofit corporation, community action agency or small employer, participation in a plan or plans to be procured under subsection (a) of this section shall be by mutual agreement of the municipality, nonprofit corporation, community action agency or small employer and the employee organization only and neither party may submit the issue of participation to binding arbitration except by mutual agreement if such binding arbitration is available; (3) no group of employees shall be refused entry into the plan by reason of past or future health care costs or claim experience; (4) rates paid by the state for its employees under subsection (a) of this section are not adversely affected by this subsection; (5) administrative costs to the plan or plans provided under this subsection shall not be paid by the state; (6) participation in the plan or plans in an amount determined by the state shall be for the duration of the period of the plan or plans, or for such other period as mutually agreed by the municipality, nonprofit corporation, community action agency, small employer, uninsured individual, tax-credit eligible individual, retired member or association for personal care assistants and the Comptroller; and (7) nothing in this section or section 12-202a, 38a-551, 38a-553 or 38a-556 shall be construed as requiring a participating insurer or health care center to issue individual policies to individuals eligible for a health coverage tax credit. The coverage provided under this section may be referred to as the "Municipal Employee Health Insurance Plan". The Comptroller may arrange and procure for the employees, uninsured individuals, [and] tax-credit eligible individuals, retired members or members of an association for personal care assistants under this subsection health benefit plans that vary from the plan or plans procured under subsection (a) of this section. Notwithstanding any provision of part V of chapter 700c, the coverage provided under this subsection may be offered on either a fully underwritten or risk-pooled basis at the discretion of the Comptroller. For the purposes of this subsection, (A) "municipality" means any town, city, borough, school district, taxing district, fire district, district department of health, probate district, housing authority, regional work force development board established under section 31-3k, regional emergency telecommunications center, tourism district established under section 32-302, flood commission or authority established by special act, regional planning agency, transit district formed under chapter 103a, or the Children's Center established by number 571 of the public acts of 1969; (B) "nonprofit corporation" means (i) a nonprofit corporation organized under 26 USC 501 that has a contract with the state or receives a portion of its funding from a municipality, the state or the federal government, or (ii) an organization that is tax exempt pursuant to 26 USC 501(c)(5); (C) "community action agency" means a community action agency, as defined in section 17b-885; (D) "small employer" means a small employer, as defined in subparagraph (A) of subdivision (4) of section 38a-564; (E) "tax-credit eligible individuals" or "individuals eligible for a health coverage tax credit" means individuals who are eligible for the credit for health insurance costs under Section 35 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended, in accordance with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and Trade Adjustment Assistance programs of the Trade Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-210); (F) "association for personal care assistants" means an organization composed of personal care attendants who are employed by recipients of service (i) under the home-care program for the elderly under section 17b-342, (ii) under the personal care assistance program under section 17b-605a, (iii) in an independent living center pursuant to sections 17b-613 to 17b-615, inclusive, or (iv) under the program for individuals with acquired brain injury as described in section 17b-260a; [and] (G) "retired members" means individuals eligible for a retirement benefit from the Connecticut municipal employees' retirement system; and (H) "uninsured individuals" means individuals who have no access to employer-sponsored or government-sponsored health insurance.

Sec. 2. Subsection (k) of section 5-259 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2011):

(k) The Comptroller shall submit annually to the General Assembly a review of the coverage of employees of municipalities, nonprofit corporations, community action agencies, small employers [under subsection (i) of this section] and tax-credit eligible individuals under subsection (i) of this section beginning February 1, 2004, and uninsured individuals, retired members and members of an association for personal care assistants under subsection (i) of this section beginning February 1, 2012.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	October 1, 2011	5-259(i)
Sec. 2	October 1, 2011	5-259(k)

INS	Joint Favorable
PD	Joint Favorable