Report Title:

EUTF; Part-time, Temporary, and Seasonal or Casual Employees; Coverage

 

Description:

Requires the Hawaii employer-union health benefits trust fund to provide medical, hospital, and surgical benefits plans to part‑time, temporary, and seasonal or casual employees with contributions from the employer.

 


THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

101

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to the employer-union health benefits trust fund.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  Section 87A-19, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "[[]§87A-19[]]  Plans for part-time, temporary, and seasonal or casual employees.  (a)  The board [may] shall offer medical, hospital, [or] and surgical benefits plans to part‑time, temporary, and seasonal or casual employees at [no] a shared cost to the employers.  The board may [determine] exclude from eligibility [for] part-time, temporary, and seasonal or casual employees who already possess health insurance coverage through another employer or as a retirement benefit by rules exempt from chapter 91 as provided in section 87A-26.

     (b)  The board shall establish the medical, hospital, or surgical benefits plan or plans, which shall be exempt from the minimum group requirements of article 10A of chapter 431.  The medical, hospital, or surgical benefits plan or plans shall provide, pay for, arrange for, or reimburse the cost of medical, hospital, or surgical services, and may include prescribed hospital in-patient and out-patient service and medical benefits.

     (c)  The board [may] shall contract for [the] medical, hospital, [or] and surgical benefits [plan or] plans[.], which may include:

     (1)  A consumer-driven, high deductible, health benefits plan, including a health reimbursement retirement arrangement or health savings account;

     (2)  A health benefits plan; and

     (3)  An enriched health benefits plan.

     (d)  The State, through the department of budget and finance, and the counties, through their respective departments of finance, shall pay to the board's designated carriers' monthly contributions equal to       of the actual cost of the health benefits plan or plans; provided that the monthly contribution shall not exceed the actual cost of the health benefits plan or plans.  Each part-time, temporary, and seasonal or casual employee enrolled for medical, hospital, or surgical benefits shall pay monthly contributions directly to the board's designated carriers.  The monthly contributions may include the carrier's administrative costs."

     SECTION 2.  The board of trustees of the Hawaii employer-union health benefits trust fund shall submit a report to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2008 on the establishment, implementation, cost, and effectiveness of health benefits plans for part-time, temporary, seasonal or casual employees.  If no health benefits plans have been established for part-time, temporary, seasonal or casual employees pursuant to this Act, the board of trustees' report shall indicate the reasons for the delay in establishing the plans, the inability to establish the plans, recommendations on other feasible options for providing health care coverage to these employees, and any proposed legislation necessary for providing health care coverage to part-time, temporary, seasonal or casual employees.

     SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

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