Report Title:

Employer's share of prepaid health care premiums.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

132

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS TO STUDY HOW TO ENSURE EQUALITY IN THE AMOUNT OF THE EMPLOYER'S SHARE OF PREPAID HEALTH CARE PREMIUMS BETWEEN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS.

 

 

WHEREAS, in 1974 the legislature enacted the Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Act, H.R.S. Sections 393-1 to 393-51, which requires employers to provide health care plans and allocates the premium costs between the employer and the employee; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Act caps the employee's share of health care premiums to one-half of the premium cost, or 1.5% of their wages, whichever is less; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Act requires the employer to pay at least one-half of the premium cost and provides that if the employee's contribution is less than one-half of the premium, the employer shall be liable for the entire remaining portion of the premium; and

WHEREAS, in 1974 limiting the employee's contribution to 1.5% of wages was appropriate, the rapid increase in the cost of medical coverage has shifted a larger and larger portion of the premium to employers; and

WHEREAS, regarding public employees, the State of Hawaii pays 60% of the premium cost of medical coverage; and

WHEREAS, there should be equity in treatment between public and private sector employers as to what portion of health care premiums they should be required to fund; and

WHEREAS, at present the laws of Hawaii obligate private sector employers to pay a larger percentage of health plan premiums than does the State; and

WHEREAS, in 1974 the Congress enacted the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. 1001-1461; and

WHEREAS, section 504 of ERISA (29 U.S.C. 1144) pre-empts any and all state laws that related to employee benefit plans; and

WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii requested and obtained an exemption from Federal pre-emption under ERISA of the Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Act; and

WHEREAS, the ERISA exemption of the Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Act at 29 U.S.C. 1144(b)(5), essentially casts in Federal stone the Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Act as it existed on September 2, 1974, and prevents the elected representatives of the people of Hawaii from amending their own laws without Congressional approval; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to develop a plan to equalize the amount of the employer contribution for prepaid health care plans so that private employers are not required to pay a larger share of premiums than do public sector employers; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to consult with the United States Department of Labor in preparing a plan to equalize public and private section premium contributions and examine how ERISA should be changed to allow the State of Hawaii to amend the Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Act as required to achieve the goals of this resolution; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to submit the information requested by this resolution to the Legislature no later than thirty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2002;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Hawaii Congressional Delegation, the United States Secretary of Labor, and the Director of the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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