News & Information

 

FEATURED PRODUCT

CCH's Law, Explanation and Analysis of Health Care Reform Legislation
Get full explanation and analysis of every aspect of health care reform legislation. These legislative changes will imminently impact thousands of employers, private insurance providers, and the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Pre-order today and save $20!

Learn More »

CCH® BENEFITS — 07/01/09

State Health Care Reform Update

from Spencer’s Benefits Reports: For the last few years, states have been leading the way toward more comprehensive health care coverage to ensure that more people have or can obtain health insurance. Because of the potential impact of this ongoing activity on employer-provided health insurance benefits, Spencer’s Benefits Reports provides regular updates about state health care reform

Connecticut. State senators have passed two health care bills that would allow municipalities and small businesses to join the state employee health care pool. However, Gov. Jodi Rell vetoed a similar bill to allow pooling last year, and the Connecticut budget director has spoken out against it this year. For more information, visit http://www.cga.ct.gov/.

Florida. Gov. Charlie Crist has signed legislation that would provide health care coverage to an estimated 50,000 additional uninsured children. The new legislation shortens the waiting time to enroll in the state’s Kid Care program and lessens the penalties for missing a premium payment. Currently, the program provides health care to approximately 1.5 million children. For more information, visit http://www.floridakidcare.org.

Maine. Gov. John Baldacci has signed legislation into law that will impose a 2.14% surcharge on health care claims to help fund DirigoChoice, the state-subsidized program offered to small employers and individuals. This surcharge will replace a controversial assessment on health care insurers that failed to provide enough revenue to fund the program. The 2.14% surcharge will apply to claims starting October 1. For more information, visit http://www.dirigohealth.maine.gov/.

Maryland. Two-thirds of Maryland residents say that they support a health care proposal that provides catastrophic health care coverage for everyone and would be paid for by employers and individuals on a sliding scale, according to a poll from the Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative. In addition, 53% see health care reform as an urgent priority for the state, while 37% said that the state should wait for national health care reform. For more information, visit http://www.healthcareforall.com/HTML1.phtml.

Michigan. The state’s Medicaid program is growing by approximately 15,000 people per month, but fewer physicians are accepting new patients insured by the program. Physicians say that Medicaid pays too little to cover their costs, and last month the program announced an additional 4% cut, which lowered payments for hospitals, dentists, and doctors. The program currently insures 1.6 million state residents. For more information, visit http://michigan.gov/mdch/0,1607,7-132-2943_4860---,00.html.

Oregon. The state senate has approved a measure to extend state health care coverage to an additional 80,000 children and 35,000 low-income adults. To extend coverage, the measure raises taxes on hospital revenues and establishes a new tax on health insurance premiums. The state also approved a bill that would create an Oregon Health Authority that would be charged with streamlining state health care services and carrying out a variety of initiatives to contain costs and improve quality. For more information, visit http://www.leg.state.or.us/senate/senateset.htm.

Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania senate has approved a bill that would allow laid-off workers from firms with fewer than 20 employees to qualify for the federal subsidy for COBRA coverage. The federal subsidy provides coverage of 65% of workers’ COBRA premiums for nine months, but is only available to workers at firms with 20 or more employees. The Pennsylvania program extends the same subsidy to employees of smaller firms who lost their jobs between Sept. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2009. For more information, visit http://www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/health/site/default.asp.

Texas. The state senate has approved a bill that would increase enrollment in the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The bill would raise the income eligibility threshold for the program to 200% of the federal poverty level for a family of four. Also, under the bill, families’ premiums, copayments, and fees would not exceed 5% of their net income. This could extend CHIP coverage to as many as 80,000 uninsured children statewide. For more information, visit http://www.chipmedicaid.org/.

Washington. Gov. Chris Gregoire has signed legislation that delays implementation of a 2007 law giving employees up to five weeks of paid leave after the birth or adoption of a child. The effective date of the paid leave mandate has been moved from October 2009 to October 2012, and will give lawmakers more time to identify a funding source for the program. Under the law, employees would be eligible for up to $250 per week of paid leave for up to five weeks. For more information, visit http://www.leg.wa.gov/senate.

Visit our News Library to read more news stories.