Report Title:

Public Health Fund, Beneficiaries

 

Description:

Requires child beneficiaries under the public employees' health fund to be unmarried.

 

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

1446

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' HEALTH FUND.

 

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

SECTION 1. Section 87-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By amending the definition of "dependent-beneficiary" to read:

"(4) "Dependent-beneficiary" means an employee-beneficiary's spouse and any unmarried child[,] under the age of nineteen, including an adopted child, stepchild, foster child, or recognized natural child [who lives with the employee-beneficiary, deemed eligible by the board to receive health or dental services of a health benefits plan;] or an unmarried child under the age of twenty-four who is enrolled in an educational institution for not less than the minimum number of credit hours required by the institution for full-time students, or an unmarried child regardless of age who is incapable of self-support because of a mental or physical incapacity that existed prior to the unmarried child's reaching the age of nineteen;"

2. By amending the definition of "employee-beneficiary" to read:

"(6) "Employee-beneficiary" means an employee, the beneficiary of an employee who is killed in the performance of the employee's duty, an employee who retired prior to the establishment of the fund, or the beneficiary of a retired member of the employees' retirement system, a county pension system, or a police, firefighters, or bandsmen pension system of the State or county, upon the death of the retired member and, which beneficiary, if a child, [does not marry,] who is not married and who is under the age of nineteen, or if a surviving spouse, does not remarry; [provided that for the purposes of this paragraph, "family member" means the deceased retired member's or employee's spouse and unmarried child under the age of nineteen years (including a legally adopted child and a stepchild or recognized natural child who lives with the deceased retired member or employee in a regular parent-child relationship), or unmarried child regardless of age who is incapable of self-support because of a mental or physical incapacity which existed prior to the unmarried child's reaching the age of nineteen years;] and provided further that the employee, the employee's beneficiary, or the beneficiary of the deceased retired member is deemed eligible by the board to receive health or dental services of a health benefits plan or a long-term care benefits plan;"

SECTION 2. Section 87-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) The State through the department of budget and finance and the several counties through their respective departments of finance shall pay to the fund a monthly contribution equal to the amount established under chapter 89C or specified in the applicable public sector collective bargaining agreement, whichever is appropriate, for each unmarried child who has not attained the age of nineteen of all employee-beneficiaries who are enrolled for dental plan benefits. The contributions shall be used towards the payment of costs of dental benefits of a health benefits plan. Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary, no part of the fund shall be used to finance the contributions except a rate credit or reimbursement or earnings or interest therefrom received by the fund or general revenues appropriated for that purpose."

SECTION 3. Section 87-4.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:

"(c) The State through the department of budget and finance and the several counties through their respective departments of finance shall pay to the fund a monthly contribution equal to the total monthly premium for each unmarried child who has not attained the age of nineteen of all employee-beneficiaries who are enrolled [in the fund's dental plan for children under this section.] for dental plan benefits."

SECTION 4. Section 87-4.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:

"(d) The State, through the department of budget and finance and the several counties through their respective departments of finance, after an employee's retirement pursuant to this section, shall pay to the fund a monthly contribution equal to the total monthly premium for each unmarried child who has not attained the age of nineteen of all employee-beneficiaries who are enrolled [in the fund's dental plan for children under this section.] for dental plan benefits."

SECTION 5. Section 87-22.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§87-22.5 Determination of dental plan benefits. Pursuant to section 87-4, the board of trustees shall provide dental plan benefits to the unmarried children of employee-beneficiaries who have not attained the age of nineteen in the following manner:

(1) For those children of employee-beneficiaries who are not participating in a dental program of an employee organization (hereafter called "nonparticipating employee-beneficiaries"), the board shall determine a dental plan and eligibility requirements for such benefits based upon a statutory monthly contribution per enrolled child;

(2) For those children of employee-beneficiaries who participate in the dental program of an employee organization, the board shall allot the statutory monthly contribution per enrolled child or the actual monthly cost of the child's coverage, whichever is less, towards the purchase of dental plan benefits under the dental program of an employee organization; provided that no enrolled child shall have more than one allotment a month; or

(3) Paragraphs (1) and (2) notwithstanding, an employee-beneficiary shall be required to enroll all of the employee-beneficiary's unmarried children who are under the age of nineteen in the children's dental plan for nonparticipating employee-beneficiaries or the dental program of an employee organization."

SECTION 6. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2002.

INTRODUCED BY:

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