ARTICLE 19 SUBSTITUTE
A
RELATING TO
CHILDREN'S HEALTH ACCOUNT
SECTION 1. Section 42-12-29 of the General Laws in Chapter
42-12 entitled
“Department of Human
Services” is hereby amended to read as follows:
42-12-29.
Children's health account. -- (a) There is created
within the general fund a
restricted receipt account to be known as the "children's
health account". All money in the
account shall be utilized by the department of human services
to effectuate coverage for the
following: (1) home
health services, which include pediatric private duty nursing and certified
nursing assistant services; (2) comprehensive, evaluation,
diagnosis, assessment, referral and
evaluation (CEDARR) services, which include CEDARR family
center services, home based
therapeutic services, personal assistance services and supports
(PASS) and kids connect services
and children's intensive services (CIS) (3)
child and adolescent treatment services (CAITS). All
money received pursuant to this section shall be deposited
in the children's health account. The
general treasurer is authorized and directed to draw his or
her orders on the account upon receipt
of properly authenticated vouchers from the department
of human services.
(b) Beginning in the
fiscal year 2007, each insurer licensed or regulated pursuant to the
provisions of chapters 18, 19, 20, and 41 of title 27 shall be
assessed for the purposes set forth in
this section. The department of human services shall make
available to each insurer, upon its
request, information regarding the department of human
services child health program and the
costs related to the program. Further, the department of
human services shall submit to the
general assembly an annual report on the program and cost
related to the program, on or before
February 1 of each year. Annual assessments shall be based on direct premiums
written in the
year prior to the assessment and shall not include any
Medicare Supplement Policy (as defined in
§ 27-18-2.1(g)), Medicare managed care, Medicare,
Federal Employees Health Plan,
Medicaid/RIte
Care or dental premiums. As to
accident and sickness insurance, the direct
premium written shall include, but is not limited to, group,
blanket, and individual policies. Those
insurers assessed greater than five hundred thousand dollars
($500,000) for the year shall be
assessed four (4) quarterly payments of twenty-five percent
(25%) of their total assessment.
Beginning July 1, 2006, the annual rate of assessment
shall be determined by the director of
human services in concurrence with the primary payors, those being insurers likely to be assessed
at greater than five hundred thousand dollars
($500,000). The director of the department of
human services shall deposit that amount in the
"children's health account". The assessment shall
be used solely for the purposes of the "children's
health account" and no other.
(c) Any funds collected
in excess of funds needed to carry out the programs shall be
deducted from the subsequent year's assessment.
(d) The total annual
assessment on all insurers shall be equivalent to the amount paid by
the department of human services for such services, as
listed in subsection (a), but not to exceed
five thousand dollars ($5,000) six thousand dollars ($6,000) per child per
service per year.
(e) The children's health account shall be exempt from
the indirect cost recovery
provisions of § 35-4-27 of the general laws.
SECTION 2. This article shall take effect as of July 1,
2010.