2021 -- S 0101

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LC000648

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2021

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES -- HEALTH CARE FOR FAMILIES

     

     Introduced By: Senators Calkin, Anderson, Mack, Mendes, Bell, and Quezada

     Date Introduced: January 26, 2021

     Referred To: Senate Finance

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Chapter 40-8.4 of the General Laws entitled "Health Care for Families" is

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hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

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     40-8.4-21. Employer public assistance assessment.

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     (a) Employer Assessment. Each employer employing no less than three hundred (300)

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employees within the state of Rhode Island, shall pay quarterly an assessment for each employee

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who is a Medicaid beneficiary for every day of the quarter, whether full- or part-time; provided,

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however, no nonprofit organization or governmental entity shall be considered an employer for the

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purposes of this section. The assessment shall be computed by multiplying the wages the employer

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paid any such employee by ten percent (10%), up to an annual maximum assessment of one

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thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) per Medicaid beneficiary employee. Working adults with

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disabilities, as further defined by regulation authorized in subsection (g) of this section, employees

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enrolled in RIte Share and employees who only have children enrolled in Medicaid are exempted

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employees for whom the employer will not be charged an employer assessment under this section.

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     (b) Wages. For the purposes of this section, “wages” means all compensation due to an

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employee by reason of his or her employment.

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     (c) Appeal. An employer notified of a liability determination under this section may request

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a hearing with the department of labor and training to appeal the liability determination. The request

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for a hearing shall be filed not more than fifteen (15) days after the receipt of notice of the

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determination. The decision rendered at the conclusion of the hearing shall be considered a final

 

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agency order.

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     (d) Eligibility inquiries. Notwithstanding the appeal right in subsection (c) of this section,

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an employer may issue to the department of human services a request for review of the Medicaid

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eligibility of any employee for whom the employer is charged an assessment. Except where

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prohibited by federal law, the state is authorized to make a limited disclosure to the inquiring

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employer regarding the name of any Medicaid beneficiary employee for whom the employer is

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being assessed under subsection (a) of this section.

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     (e) Discrimination prohibited. No employer may take any adverse action against any

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employee or potential employee on the basis of the employee’s status as a Medicaid beneficiary.

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Any employer found to have discriminated on this basis shall be subject to a penalty prescribed in

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regulations promulgated pursuant to this section.

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     (f) Data sharing. The departments of administration, revenue, human services, and labor

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and training, and the executive office of health and human services are authorized to share data and

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information to implement this section. Data collected by the departments of administration,

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revenue, human services, labor and training, or the executive office of health and human services

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for the implementation of this section shall not be a public record.

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     (g) Regulations. The departments of labor and training and human services are authorized

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to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this section, including additional

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parameters on which employees cause the assessment and the definition of working disabled adults

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exempted from the employer assessment contained in subsection (a) of this section, in consultation

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with the executive office of health and human services and department of revenue.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2022.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES -- HEALTH CARE FOR FAMILIES

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     This act would establish a "Medicaid Employer Assessment" for employers with three

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hundred (300) or more employees. The assessment is for each employee enrolled in Medicaid. The

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assessment would equal ten percent (10%) of the employee's wages capped at one thousand five

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hundred dollars ($1,500) per employee/per year.

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     This act would take effect on January 1, 2022.

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