ARTICLE 11 AS AMENDED
RELATING TO THE
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 service categories: (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 (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 all
services, as listed in subsection (a), but not to
exceed six thousand dollars ($6,000) seven thousand
five hundred dollars ($7,500) 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. Comprehensive analysis.--The office of the health
insurance commissioner
is directed to undertake an analysis and study of
alternatives to the current assessments levied
upon health insurance premiums, including the child and
adult immunization assessments and the
children's health account assessment. Alternatives should
include, but not be limited to, a claims
surcharge on hospital services which would be levied on
self-insured as well as fully-insured
health plans. The analysis shall evaluate other states' tax
structures, evaluate their strengths and
weaknesses, and assess how they may or may not be applicable in
All
departments and agencies of the state shall furnish advice and information,
documentary or otherwise to the office of the health insurance commissioner
and its agents as is
deemed necessary or desirable to facilitate the purposes of
the analysis.
The office shall present
a report including findings and recommendations to the
chairpersons of the house and senate finance committees no later
than January 1, 2012.
SECTION 3. This Article shall take effect upon passage.