H 580

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1H.580
2SHORT FORM
3 Introduced by Representative Kleppner of Burlington
4 Referred to Committee on
5 Date:
6 Subject: Health; health insurance; public employees; State employees; school
7employees; municipal employees; health care costs
8 Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to make all
9 public employees who are eligible to receive health benefits through their
10 employment, including current and retired State employees, school employees,
11 municipal employees, and employees of the University of Vermont and the
12 Vermont State Colleges, eligible for coverage through the State employees’
13 health plan, which would become the public employees’ health plan. It would
14 establish the independent Commission on Public Employee Health Benefits to
15 determine the design of the health benefit plan and the respective percentages
16 of plan premiums that will be borne by the public employers and by the
17 participating public employees. The bill would also remove health care from
18 the matters subject to collective bargaining between public employers and
19 public employees.
20    The bill proposes to move the costs of insurance for current and retired
21 school employees out of the Education Fund, and the costs of insurance for
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1 other current and retired public employees out of each individual agency’s
2 budget, and instead to reflect all of these insurance costs in the budget for the
3 public employees’ health plan. The bill would require the Governor’s
4 proposed budget for each fiscal year to include as a separate line item the
5 recommended appropriation amount for public employee health benefits to be
6 provided through the public employees’ health plan. The bill would direct the
7 Secretary of Administration to provide information about the public
8 employees’ health plan annually as part of the Agency of Administration’s
9 budget presentation, including information regarding the estimated total cost of
10 the plan for the upcoming fiscal year; the costs of the plan to date for the
11 current fiscal year and the estimated total cost over that full fiscal year; the
12 percentage change in the total cost of the plan year over year; the number of
13 covered lives in the plan during each of the previous two plan years, during the
14 current plan year, and as estimated for the upcoming plan year; the cost per
15 covered life in the plan during each of the previous two plan years, during the
16 current plan year, and as estimated for the upcoming plan year; and the
17 percentage change in the cost per covered life in the plan year over year. The
18 bill would also require the Governor’s proposed budget for each fiscal year to
19 include as a separate line item the recommended appropriation amount for the
20 Medicaid program in the same section of the budget as the amount for the
21 public employees’ health plan or in an adjacent section so that all budget
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1 provisions related to State costs for health care services can be viewed
2 together. Additional State health care expenditures to be included and reported
3 in the same or an adjacent section of the budget would include the
4 appropriations for VPharm, the Medicare Savings Programs, Dr. Dynasaur,
5 premium and cost-sharing assistance for eligible individuals enrolled in
6 qualified health benefit plans, and Dr. Dynasaur-like coverage for eligible
7 immigrant populations.
8    The bill would direct the Green Mountain Care Board and the Agency of
9 Human Services to provide certain information about costs and expenditures
10 for health insurance, public health benefit programs, and health care goods and
11 services by and on behalf of Vermonters annually as part of the Board’s and
12 Agency’s respective budget presentations, including total costs and
13 expenditures; costs and expenditures per covered life; cost and expenditure
14 trends over time; and costs borne by the State, by the federal government, and
15 by Vermont households.
16    An act relating to public employee health benefits and State health care cost
17    transparency
18 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
19(TEXT OMITTED IN SHORT-FORM BILLS)
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