SENATE BILL No. 542

 

 

September 25, 2013, Introduced by Senators CASWELL, COLBECK and HANSEN and referred to the Committee on Reforms, Restructuring and Reinventing.

 

 

 

     A bill to amend 2011 PA 152, entitled

 

"Publicly funded health insurance contribution act,"

 

by amending section 3 (MCL 15.563).

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 3. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this act, 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,

 

plus $15,000.00 times the number of employees and elected public

 

officials with family coverage, which includes individual-plus-1-

 

nonspouse-dependent 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, the state treasurer shall adjust the

 

maximum payment permitted under this section 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, 2013 through December 31, 2013, the multiplier used to calculate

 

the maximum public employer payment under subsection (1) shall be

 

$13,455.00 for employees and elected public officials with

 

individual-and-spouse coverage and shall be adjusted 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) A public employer's total annual costs of all of the

 


medical benefit plans the public employer offers or contributes to

 

for its employees and elected public officials under this section

 

do not include any of the following:

 

     (a) A payment by the public employer to an employee or elected

 

public official in lieu of medical benefit plan coverage.

 

     (b) Any amount that the public employer pays directly or

 

indirectly for the assessment levied pursuant to the health

 

insurance claims assessment act, 2011 PA 142, MCL 550.1731 to

 

550.1741.

 

     Enacting section 1. Section 3(1), (3), and (4) of the publicly

 

funded health insurance contribution act, 2011 PA 152, MCL 15.563,

 

as amended or added by this amendatory act, clarifies the original

 

intent of the legislature that the term "family coverage" includes

 

individual-plus-1-nonspouse-dependent coverage; that a public

 

employee or elected official who declines the public employer's

 

medical benefit plan coverage is not an employee or elected public

 

official for purposes of calculating the public employer's maximum

 

total annual medical benefit plan costs; and that a public

 

employer's medical benefit plan costs do not include payments to

 

employees in lieu of medical benefit plan coverage or assessments

 

levied pursuant to the health insurance claims assessment act, 2011

 

PA 142, MCL 550.1731 to 550.1741. These amendments are curative and

 

apply retroactively.