HOUSE BILL NO. 5956
July 22, 2020, Introduced by Reps. Manoogian,
Camilleri, Brixie, Peterson, Sowerby, Sabo, Tyrone Carter, Hood, Pohutsky,
Kennedy, Hope, Chirkun, Shannon, Anthony, Stone, Brenda Carter, Clemente,
Lasinski, Greig, Hertel, Bolden, Pagan, Guerra, Yancey, Gay-Dagnogo and
Koleszar and referred to the Committee on Education.
A bill to amend 2011 PA 152, entitled
"Publicly funded health insurance contribution act,"
by amending the title and sections 2, 3, and 4 (MCL 15.562, 15.563, and 15.564), section 2 as amended by 2013 PA 269, section 3 as amended by 2018 PA 477, and section 4 as amended by 2013 PA 271.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
An act to limit regulate a public employer's expenditures for employee medical benefit plans; to provide the power and duties of certain state agencies and officials; to provide for exceptions; and to provide for sanctions.
(a) "Designated
state official" means:
(i) For an election affecting employees and officers in the
judicial branch of state government, the state court administrator.
(ii) For an election
affecting senate employees and officers, the secretary of the senate.
(iii) For an election
affecting house of representatives employees and officers, the clerk of the
house.
(iv) For an election
affecting legislative council employees, the legislative council.
(v) For an election
affecting employees in the state classified service, the civil service
commission.
(vi) For an election
affecting executive branch employees who are not in the state classified
service, the state employer.
(b) "Flexible spending account" means a medical
expense flexible spending account in conjunction with a cafeteria plan as
permitted under the federal internal revenue code of 1986.
(c) "Health savings account" means an account as
permitted under section 223 of the internal revenue code of 1986, 26 USC 223.
(d) "Local unit of government" means a city,
village, township, or county, a municipal electric utility system as defined in
section 4 of the Michigan energy employment act of 1976, 1976 PA 448, MCL
460.804, an authority created under chapter VIA of the aeronautics code of the
state of Michigan, 1945 PA 327, MCL 259.108 to 259.125c, or an authority
created under 1939 PA 147, MCL 119.51 to 119.62.
(e) "Medical benefit plan" means a plan established
and maintained by a carrier, a voluntary employees' beneficiary association
described in section 501(c)(9) of the internal revenue code of 1986, 26 USC
501, or by 1 or more public employers, that provides for the payment of medical
benefits, including, but not limited to, hospital and physician services,
prescription drugs, and related benefits, for public employees or elected
public officials. Medical benefit plan does not include benefits provided to
individuals retired from a public employer or a public employer's contributions
to a fund used for the sole purpose of funding health care benefits that are
available to a public employee or an elected public official only upon
retirement or separation from service.
(f) "Medical benefit plan costs" does not include a
payment by the public employer to an employee or elected public official in
lieu of medical benefit plan coverage and, for a medical benefit plan coverage
year beginning after the
later of January 1, 2014, or the effective date of the amendatory act that added this
subdivision, includes, but is not limited to, all of the
following:
(i) Any amount that
the public employer pays directly or indirectly for the assessment levied
pursuant to the health
insurance claims assessment act, former 2011 PA 142 , MCL 550.1731 to 550.1741.or the assessment levied pursuant to
the insurance provider assessment act, 2018 PA 175, MCL 550.1751 to 550.1767.
(ii) Insurance agent
or company commissions.
(iii) Any additional
amount the public employer is required to pay as a fee or tax under the patient
protection and affordable care act, Public Law 111-148, as amended by the
federal health care and education reconciliation act of 2010, Public Law
111-152.
(g) "Medical benefit plan coverage year" means the
12-month period after the effective date of the contractual or self-insured
medical coverage plan that a public employer provides to its employees or
public officials.
(h) "Public employer" means this state; a local
unit of government or other political subdivision of this state; any
intergovernmental, metropolitan, or local department, agency, or authority, or
other local political subdivision; a school district, a public school academy, or an
intermediate school district, as those terms are defined in sections 4 to 6 of
the revised school code, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.4 to 380.6; public school employer; a
community college or junior college described in section 7 of article VIII of
the state constitution of 1963; or an institution of higher education described
in section 4 of article VIII of the state constitution of 1963.
(i)
"Public school employer" means a school district, public school
academy, or intermediate school district, as those terms are defined in
sections 4 to 6 of the revised school code, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.4 to 380.6.
Sec. 3. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this act and subject to subsection (4), a public
employer that offers or contributes to a medical benefit plan for its employees
or elected public officials shall pay no more of the annual costs or
illustrative rate and any payments for reimbursement of co-pays, deductibles,
or payments into health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts, or
similar accounts used for health care costs, than a total amount equal to
$5,500.00 times the number of employees and elected public officials with
single-person coverage, $11,000.00 times the number of employees and elected
public officials with individual-and-spouse coverage or
individual-plus-1-nonspouse-dependent coverage, plus $15,000.00 times the
number of employees and elected public officials with family coverage, for a
medical benefit plan coverage year beginning on or after January 1, 2012. A
public employer may allocate its payments for medical benefit plan costs among
its employees and elected public officials as it sees fit. By October 1 of each
year after 2011 and before 2019, the state treasurer shall adjust the maximum
payment permitted under this subsection for each coverage category for medical
benefit plan coverage years beginning the succeeding calendar year, based on
the change in the medical care component of the United States Consumer Price
Index for the most recent 12-month period for which data are available from the
United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. By April 1 of
each year after 2018, the state treasurer shall adjust the maximum payment
permitted under this subsection for each coverage category for medical benefit
plan coverage years beginning the succeeding calendar year, based on the change
in the medical care component of the United States Consumer Price Index for the
most recent 12-month period for which data are available from the United States
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
(2) For a medical benefit
plan coverage year beginning January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2014, the
multiplier used to calculate the maximum public employer payment under
subsection (1) is $12,250.00 for employees and elected public officials with
individual-and-spouse coverage or individual-plus-1-nonspouse-dependent
coverage. The state treasurer shall adjust the multiplier each year as provided
in subsection (1).
(3) For purposes of
calculating a public employer's maximum total annual medical benefit plan costs
under subsection (1), "employee or elected public official" does not
include an employee or elected public official who declines the medical benefit
plan offered or contributed to by the public employer.
(4) Beginning December 14, 2020, a public school employer shall not comply with this section if doing so would result in a violation of section 4.
Sec. 4. (1) By a majority vote of its governing body
each year, prior to the beginning of the medical benefit plan coverage year, a
public employer, excluding this state, may elect to comply with this section
for a medical benefit plan coverage year instead of the requirements in section
3. The designated state official may elect to comply with this section instead
of section 3 as to medical benefit plans for state employees and state
officers.
(3) For medical benefit plan coverage years that begin after December 13, 2020, a public school employer shall pay at least 90% of the total annual costs of all of the medical benefit plans it offers or contributes to for its employees and elected public officials. For purposes of this subsection, total annual costs include the premium or illustrative rate of the medical benefit plan and all employer payments for reimbursement of co-pays, deductibles, and payments into health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts, or similar accounts used for health care but do not include beneficiary-paid copayments, coinsurance, deductibles, other out-of-pocket expenses, other service-related fees that are assessed to the coverage beneficiary, or beneficiary payments into health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts, or similar accounts used for health care. For purposes of this subsection, each elected public official who participates in a medical benefit plan offered by a public school employer shall be required to pay not more than 10% of the total annual costs of that plan. The public school employer may allocate the employees' share of total annual costs of the medical benefit plans among the employees of the public school employer as it sees fit.