REPORT TITLE:
Public Employees Health Fund

DESCRIPTION:
Requires the Public Employees Health Fund Board of Trustees to
implement the following for the benefit plan year beginning July
1, 2001:  (1) preferred provider organization plans for medical
benefits;  (2)  Medicare+Choice plans;  (3)  Revised drug benefit
plans; and  (4)  a revised methodology for computing out-of-
pocket costs to ensure comparability for all employee
beneficiaries.


 
a                                                     BUF-10(00)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        2790
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   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.  In a recent audit of the Hawaii public employees
 
 2 health fund, the legislative auditor found that from fiscal year
 
 3 1995-96 to fiscal year 1997-98, employer contributions rose from
 
 4 approximately $235,300,000 to $262,600,000; the cost to provide
 
 5 health benefits for active employees and retirees and post-
 
 6 retirement health benefit liability increased dramatically over
 
 7 the past decade; and as of July 1, 1998, the state's and
 
 8 counties' accrued liability for future retiree health benefits
 
 9 under current plans is estimated at $4,500,000,000.  By the year
 
10 2013, the legislative auditor's actuary estimated liability for
 
11 post-retirement health benefits to be $11,400,000,000.  The
 
12 annual pay-as-you-go employer costs for retiree benefits would be
 
13 $455,900,000 in the year 2013.
 
14      Health benefits have become a significant cost to public
 
15 employers and action is required to contain these rising health
 
16 fund benefit costs.
 
17      SECTION 2.  For the benefit plan year commencing July 1,
 
18 2001, the board of trustees for the public employees health fund
 
19 shall:
 

 
a                                                     BUF-10(00)
Page 2                                                     2790
                                     S.B. NO.           
                                            
                                                        


 1      (1)  Not enter into contracts for or offer the basic major
 
 2           medical plan;
 
 3      (2)  Enter into contracts for and offer Preferred Provider
 
 4           Organization Plans (PPO) for medical benefits for
 
 5           actives and retirees ineligible for medicare;
 
 6      (3)  Enter into contracts for Medicare+Choice Plans for
 
 7           medicare-eligible retirees and their medicare-eligible
 
 8           spouses; medicare-eligible retirees with medicare-
 
 9           ineligible dependent beneficiaries shall continue to be
 
10           offered the Medicare Supplemental Plan pursuant to
 
11           section 87-27, Hawaii Revised Statutes;
 
12      (4)  Enter into contracts for drug benefit plans with
 
13           premiums based on inclusion of a closed formulary for
 
14           federally approved health maintenance organization
 
15           plans and a co-payment plus a differential for non-
 
16           preferred brand name drugs based on an open formulary
 
17           for service benefit plans; and
 
18      (5)  Revise the methodology to compute carrier payments
 
19           under service benefit medicare supplemental plans to no
 
20           more than what the carrier would pay under service
 
21           benefit non-medicare retiree plans.
 
22      SECTION 3.  The board shall continue to consider strategies
 
23 or other alternatives to control the rising cost of providing
 

 
a                                                     BUF-10(00)
Page 3                                                     2790
                                     S.B. NO.           
                                            
                                                        


 1 health benefits.
 
 2      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
 3 
 
 4                           INTRODUCED BY:_________________________
 

 
a                                                     BUF-10(00)