HB4478 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB093 19548 SAS 45288 b

93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004
HB4478

Introduced 02/03/04, by Karen May

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

215 ILCS 105/3

from Ch. 73, par. 1303

Amends the Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan Act. Requires the Illinois Comprehensive Health Insurance Board to conduct a study pertaining to the feasability of establishing a small employer health insurance pool in which employers may provide affordable health insurance coverage to their employees. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning insurance.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan Act is amended by changing Section 3 as follows:

(215 ILCS 105/3) (from Ch. 73, par. 1303)

Sec. 3. Operation of the Plan.

a. There is hereby created an Illinois Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan.

b. The Plan shall operate subject to the supervision and control of the board. The board is created as a political subdivision and body politic and corporate and, as such, is not a State agency. The board shall consist of 10 public members, appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Initial members shall be appointed to the Board by the Governor as follows: 2 members to serve until July 1, 1988, and until their successors are appointed and qualified; 2 members to serve until July 1, 1989, and until their successors are appointed and qualified; 3 members to serve until July 1, 1990, and until their successors are appointed and qualified; and 3 members to serve until July 1, 1991, and until their successors are appointed and qualified. As terms of initial members expire, their successors shall be appointed for terms to expire the first day in July 3 years thereafter, and until their successors are appointed and qualified.

Any vacancy in the Board occurring for any reason other than the expiration of a term shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment.

Any member of the Board may be removed by the Governor for neglect of duty, misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office.

In addition, a representative of the Governor's Office of Management and Budget, a representative of the Office of the Attorney General and the Director or the Director's designated representative shall be members of the board. Four members of the General Assembly, one each appointed by the President and Minority Leader of the Senate and by the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, shall serve as nonvoting members of the board. At least 2 of the public members shall be individuals reasonably expected to qualify for coverage under the Plan, the parent or spouse of such an individual, or a surviving family member of an individual who could have qualified for the plan during his lifetime. The Director or Director's representative shall be the chairperson of the board. Members of the board shall receive no compensation, but shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in the necessary performance of their duties.

c. The board shall make an annual report in September and shall file the report with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives. The report shall summarize the activities of the Plan in the preceding calendar year, including net written and earned premiums, the expense of administration, the paid and incurred losses for the year and other information as may be requested by the General Assembly. The report shall also include analysis and recommendations regarding utilization review, quality assurance and access to cost effective quality health care.

d. In its plan of operation the board shall:

(1) Establish procedures for selecting a plan administrator in accordance with Section 5 of this Act.

(2) Establish procedures for the operation of the board.

(3) Create a Plan fund, under management of the board, to fund administrative, claim, and other expenses of the Plan.

(4) Establish procedures for the handling and accounting of assets and monies of the Plan.

(5) Develop and implement a program to publicize the existence of the Plan, the eligibility requirements and procedures for enrollment and to maintain public awareness of the Plan.

(6) Establish procedures under which applicants and participants may have grievances reviewed by a grievance committee appointed by the board. The grievances shall be reported to the board immediately after completion of the review. The Department and the board shall retain all written complaints regarding the Plan for at least 3 years. Oral complaints shall be reduced to written form and maintained for at least 3 years.

(7) Provide for other matters as may be necessary and proper for the execution of its powers, duties and obligations under the Plan.

e. No later than 5 years after the Plan is operative the board and the Department shall conduct cooperatively a study of the Plan and the persons insured by the Plan to determine: (1) claims experience including a breakdown of medical conditions for which claims were paid; (2) whether availability of the Plan affected employment opportunities for participants; (3) whether availability of the Plan affected the receipt of medical assistance benefits by Plan participants; (4) whether a change occurred in the number of personal bankruptcies due to medical or other health related costs; (5) data regarding all complaints received about the Plan including its operation and services; (6) and any other significant observations regarding utilization of the Plan. The study shall culminate in a written report to be presented to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House and the chairpersons of the House and Senate Insurance Committees. The report shall be filed with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives. The report shall also be available to members of the general public upon request.

(e-5) The board shall conduct a feasibility study of establishing a small employer health insurance pool in which employers may provide affordable health insurance coverage to their employees. The board may contract with a private entity or enter into intergovernmental agreements with State agencies for the completion of all or part of the study. The study shall:

(i) Analyze other states' experience in establishing small employer health insurance pools;

(ii) Assess the need for a small employer health insurance pool, including the number of individuals who might benefit from it;

(iii) Recommend means of establishing a small employer health insurance pool; and

(iv) Estimate the cost of providing a small employer health insurance pool through the Illinois Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan or another, public or private entity.

The board may accept donations, in trust, from any legal source, public or private, for deposit into a trust account specifically created for expenditure, without the necessity of being appropriated, solely for the purpose of conducting all or part of the study. The board shall issue a report with recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly by January 1, 2005. As used in this subsection e-5, "small employer" means an employer having between one and 50 employees.

f. The board may:

(1) Prepare and distribute certificate of eligibility forms and enrollment instruction forms to insurance producers and to the general public in this State.

(2) Provide for reinsurance of risks incurred by the Plan and enter into reinsurance agreements with insurers to establish a reinsurance plan for risks of coverage described in the Plan, or obtain commercial reinsurance to reduce the risk of loss through the Plan.

(3) Issue additional types of health insurance policies to provide optional coverages as are otherwise permitted by this Act including a Medicare supplement policy designed to supplement Medicare.

(4) Provide for and employ cost containment measures and requirements including, but not limited to, preadmission certification, second surgical opinion, concurrent utilization review programs, and individual case management for the purpose of making the pool more cost effective.

(5) Design, utilize, contract, or otherwise arrange for the delivery of cost effective health care services, including establishing or contracting with preferred provider organizations, health maintenance organizations, and other limited network provider arrangements.

(6) Adopt bylaws, rules, regulations, policies and procedures as may be necessary or convenient for the implementation of the Act and the operation of the Plan.

(7) Administer separate pools, separate accounts, or other plans or arrangements as required by this Act to separate federally eligible individuals or groups of federally eligible individuals who qualify for plan coverage under Section 15 of this Act from eligible persons or groups of eligible persons who qualify for plan coverage under Section 7 of this Act and apportion the costs of the administration among such separate pools, separate accounts, or other plans or arrangements.

g. The Director may, by rule, establish additional powers and duties of the board and may adopt rules for any other purposes, including the operation of the Plan, as are necessary or proper to implement this Act.

h. The board is not liable for any obligation of the Plan. There is no liability on the part of any member or employee of the board or the Department, and no cause of action of any nature may arise against them, for any action taken or omission made by them in the performance of their powers and duties under this Act, unless the action or omission constitutes willful or wanton misconduct. The board may provide in its bylaws or rules for indemnification of, and legal representation for, its members and employees.

i. There is no liability on the part of any insurance producer for the failure of any applicant to be accepted by the Plan unless the failure of the applicant to be accepted by the Plan is due to an act or omission by the insurance producer which constitutes willful or wanton misconduct.

(Source: P.A. 92-597, eff. 6-28-02; 93-622, eff. 12-18-03.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.