REPORT TITLE:
Public Employees Health Fund


DESCRIPTION:
Extends health insurance coverage to unmarried dependent children
of state and county employee-beneficiaries who are full-time
students up to age 24.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                            1432        
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES HEALTH FUND.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  Section 87-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended as follows:
 
 3      1.  By amending the definition of "dependent-beneficiary" to
 
 4 read:
 
 5     "(4)  "Dependent-beneficiary" means an employee-beneficiary's
 
 6           spouse and any unmarried child[,] under the age of
 
 7           nineteen, including an adopted child, stepchild, foster
 
 8           child, or recognized natural child [who lives with the
 
 9           employee-beneficiary], or an unmarried child under the
 
10           age of twenty-four who is enrolled in an educational
 
11           institution for not less than the minimum number of
 
12           credit hours required by the educational institution
 
13           for full-time students, or an unmarried child
 
14           regardless of age who is incapable of self-support
 
15           because of a mental or physical incapacity which
 
16           existed prior to the unmarried child's reaching the age
 
17           of nineteen, deemed eligible by the board to receive
 
18           health or dental services of a health benefits plan;"
 

 
Page 2                                         1432        
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 1      2.  By amending the definition of "employee-beneficiary" to
 
 2 read:
 
 3     "(6)  "Employee-beneficiary" means an employee, the
 
 4           beneficiary of an employee who is killed in the
 
 5           performance of the employee's duty, an employee who
 
 6           retired prior to the establishment of the fund, or the
 
 7           beneficiary of a retired member of the employees'
 
 8           retirement system, a county pension system, or a
 
 9           police, firefighters, or bandsmen pension system of the
 
10           State or county, upon the death of the retired member
 
11           and, which beneficiary, if a child, does not marry, or
 
12           if a surviving spouse, does not remarry; [provided that
 
13           for the purposes of this paragraph, "family member"
 
14           means the deceased retired member's or employee's
 
15           spouse and unmarried child under the age of nineteen
 
16           years (including a legally adopted child and a
 
17           stepchild or recognized natural child who lives with
 
18           the deceased retired member or employee in a regular
 
19           parent-child relationship), or unmarried child
 
20           regardless of age who is incapable of self-support
 
21           because of a mental or physical incapacity which
 
22           existed prior to the unmarried child's reaching the age
 
23           of nineteen years; and] provided [further] that the
 

 
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                                     H.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1           employee, the employee's beneficiary, or the
 
 2           beneficiary of the deceased retired member is deemed
 
 3           eligible by the board to receive health or dental
 
 4           services of a health benefits plan or a long-term care
 
 5           benefits plan;"
 
 6      SECTION 2.  Section 87-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 7 amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
 
 8      "(b)  The State through the department of budget and finance
 
 9 and the several counties through their respective departments of
 
10 finance shall pay to the fund a monthly contribution equal to the
 
11 amount established under chapter 89C or specified in the
 
12 applicable public sector collective bargaining agreement,
 
13 whichever is appropriate, for each unmarried child who has not
 
14 attained the age of nineteen of all employee-beneficiaries who
 
15 are enrolled for dental plan benefits.  The contributions shall
 
16 be used towards the payment of costs of dental benefits of a
 
17 health benefits plan.  Notwithstanding any provisions to the
 
18 contrary, no part of the fund shall be used to finance the
 
19 contributions except a rate credit or reimbursement or earnings
 
20 or interest therefrom received by the fund or general revenues
 
21 appropriated for that purpose."
 
22      SECTION 3.  Section 87-4.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
23 amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
 

 
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 1      "(c)  The State through the department of budget and finance
 
 2 and the several counties through their respective departments of
 
 3 finance shall pay to the fund a monthly contribution equal to the
 
 4 total monthly premium for each unmarried child who has not
 
 5 attained the age of nineteen of all employee-beneficiaries who
 
 6 are enrolled [in the fund's dental plan for children under this
 
 7 section.] for dental plan benefits."
 
 8      SECTION 4.  Section 87-22.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 9 amended to read as follows:
 
10      "§87-22.5  Determination of dental plan benefits.  Pursuant
 
11 to section 87-4, the board of trustees shall provide dental plan
 
12 benefits to the unmarried children of employee-beneficiaries who
 
13 have not attained the age of nineteen in the following manner:
 
14      (1)  For those children of employee-beneficiaries who are
 
15           not participating in a dental program of an employee
 
16           organization (hereafter called "nonparticipating
 
17           employee-beneficiaries"), the board shall determine a
 
18           dental plan and eligibility requirements for such
 
19           benefits based upon a statutory monthly contribution
 
20           per enrolled child;
 
21      (2)  For those children of employee-beneficiaries who
 
22           participate in the dental program of an employee
 
23           organization, the board shall allot the statutory
 

 
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 1           monthly contribution per enrolled child or the actual
 
 2           monthly cost of the child's coverage, whichever is
 
 3           less, towards the purchase of dental plan benefits
 
 4           under the dental program of an employee organization;
 
 5           provided that no enrolled child shall have more than
 
 6           one allotment a month; or
 
 7      (3)  Paragraphs (1) and (2) notwithstanding, an employee-
 
 8           beneficiary shall be required to enroll all of the
 
 9           employee-beneficiary's unmarried children who are under
 
10           the age of nineteen in the children's dental plan for
 
11           nonparticipating employee-beneficiaries  or the dental
 
12           program of an employee organization."
 
13      SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
14 New statutory material is underscored.
 
15      SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
16 
 
17                              INTRODUCED BY:______________________