community colleges; state
health insurance
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Committee on Public Institutions & Rural Affairs |
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Committee on Retirement & Government Operations |
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Caucus and COW |
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As Passed the House |
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SB 1039 allows all school districts, community college districts, special taxing districts and public entities organized pursuant to the laws of this state to participate in the state health and accident insurance program.
Current law allows the Department of Administration (DOA) to expend public monies to procure health and accident coverage for fulltime officers, employees of the state and its departments and agencies, their dependents and any school district, charter school, city or county that meets the requirements prescribed in statute. Currently a school district must be comprised of five hundred or fewer full-time employees to be eligible for DOA health and accident insurance coverage.
DOA is required to determine the administrative costs associated with the governing body’s involvement in the plan and shall allocate these costs based on the number of total statewide employees participating in the coverage. Records shall be maintained by insurance providers delineating claims and costs attributable to the participating governing body and shall report these findings to DOA by November 1 of each year. The report shall include the impact of the governing body’s participation in the state plan and the director of DOA is required to provide this information to the legislature by December 1 of each year.
Upon determining that state health and accident insurance coverage is in the best interest of their employees, eligible governing bodies may allow their employees to participate in state coverage. It is required that state coverage be the sole coverage offered to the governing body’s employees if they participate in the state plan. Upon electing to participate in the plan, the governing body shall notify DOA by January 15 prior to the year the employees will receive coverage. All entities electing to participate must do so for at least two years and must accept all conditions of the plan determined by DOA and must accept all contractual arrangements with providers. Finally, participating governing bodies must reimburse DOA for all operational costs associated with their participation in state coverage.