Connecticut 2019 Regular Session

Connecticut Senate Bill SB00984 Latest Draft

Bill / Comm Sub Version Filed 04/05/2019

                             
 
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General Assembly  Substitute Bill No. 984  
January Session, 2019 
 
 
 
 
 
AN ACT CONCERNING MI NIMUM ESSENTIAL HEAL TH COVERAGE, 
REPORTS REGARDING HE ALTH INSURANCE AND TAXATI ON, A 
HEALTH INSURER SURCH ARGE AND THE CONNECT ICUT HEALTH 
INSURANCE EXCHANGE.  
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General 
Assembly convened: 
 
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective January 1, 2020) (a) For the purposes of 1 
this section, unless the context otherwise requires: 2 
(1) "Affordable Care Act" means the Patient Protection and 3 
Affordable Care Act, P.L. 111-148, as amended from time to time. 4 
(2) "Applicable individual" means, with respect to any month, an 5 
individual who (A) is a citizen or national of the United States or an 6 
alien lawfully present in the United States, (B) is not a member of an 7 
Indian tribe as defined in Section 45A(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue 8 
Code, (C) is not incarcerated, unless such individual is incarcerated 9 
pending the disposition of charges, and (D) has not received an 10 
exemption from the exchange pursuant to subdivision (15) of section 11 
38a-1084 of the general statutes, as amended by this act, because such 12 
individual has not certified that such individual is (i) a member of a 13 
recognized religious sect or division thereof described in Section 14 
1402(g)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code and an adherent of the 15 
established tenets or teachings of such religious sect or division, or (ii) 16 
a member of a religious sect or division thereof that is not described in 17  Substitute Bill No. 984 
 
 
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said section, relies solely on a religious method of healing and for 18 
whom the acceptance of medical health services would be inconsistent 19 
with such individual's religious beliefs. 20 
(3) "Dependent" has the same meaning as provided in Section 152 of 21 
the Internal Revenue Code. 22 
(4) (A) "Minimum essential coverage" means (i) coverage under the 23 
Medicare program under Part A or C of Title XVIII of the Social 24 
Security Act, (ii) coverage under the Medicaid program under Title 25 
XIX of the Social Security Act, (iii) coverage under the Children's 26 
Health Insurance Program under Title XXI of the Social Security Act, 27 
(iv) medical coverage under 10 USC Chapter 55, including, but not 28 
limited to, coverage under the TriCare program, (v) coverage under a 29 
health care program under 38 USC Chapter 17 or 18, (vi) coverage for 30 
United States Peace Corps volunteers under 22 USC 2504(e), (vii) 31 
coverage under the Nonappropriated Fund Health Benefits Program of 32 
the United States Department of Defense established under Section 349 33 
of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995, P.L. 34 
103-337, (viii) coverage under an eligible employer-sponsored plan, 35 
(ix) coverage under a health plan offered in the individual market as 36 
defined in Section 1304 of the Affordable Care Act, (x) coverage under 37 
a grandfathered health plan, as that term is used in the Affordable 38 
Care Act, or (xi) coverage under any other qualified health plan, as that 39 
term is used in Section 1311(c) of the Affordable Care Act. 40 
(B) "Minimum essential coverage" does not mean any health 41 
insurance coverage that consists of coverage of excepted benefits 42 
described in (i) Section 2791(c)(1) of the Public Health Service Act, 42 43 
USC 300gg-91(c)(1), as amended by the Affordable Care Act, or (ii) 44 
Section 2791(c)(2), (3) or (4) of the Public Health Service Act, 42 USC 45 
300gg-91(c)(2), (3) or (4), as amended by the Affordable Care Act, if 46 
such benefits are provided under a separate policy, certificate or 47 
contract of insurance. 48 
(5) "Resident of this state" has the same meaning as provided in 49  Substitute Bill No. 984 
 
 
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section 12-701 of the general statutes. 50 
(6) "Taxpayer" means a resident of this state who is a taxpayer 51 
within the meaning of Section 5000A of the Internal Revenue Code. 52 
(b) (1) Each taxpayer shall, for each month beginning on or after 53 
January 1, 2020, ensure that such taxpayer, if such taxpayer is an 54 
applicable individual, and each dependent of such taxpayer, if such 55 
dependent is an applicable individual, maintains minimum essential 56 
coverage. 57 
(2) For the purposes of subdivision (1) of this subsection, an 58 
applicable individual shall be deemed to have maintained minimum 59 
essential coverage for any month during which the applicable 60 
individual is not a resident of this state if: 61 
(A) Such month occurs during any period described in Section 62 
911(d)(1)(A) or (B) of the Internal Revenue Code that is applicable to 63 
such applicable individual; 64 
(B) Such applicable individual is a bona fide resident of any 65 
possession of the United States, as determined under Section 937(a) of 66 
the Internal Revenue Code, for such month; or 67 
(C) Such applicable individual is a bona fide resident of any other 68 
state of the United States for such month. 69 
(c) The Insurance Commissioner may adopt regulations, in 70 
accordance with chapter 54 of the general statutes, to implement the 71 
provisions of this section. 72 
Sec. 2. (Effective July 1, 2019) Not later than October 1, 2019, the 73 
Commissioner of Revenue Services, in consultation with the Insurance 74 
Commissioner, the executive director of the Office of Health Strategy 75 
and the exchange established pursuant to section 38a-1081 of the 76 
general statutes, shall submit a report, in accordance with section 11-4a 77 
of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General 78  Substitute Bill No. 984 
 
 
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Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to insurance. Such 79 
report shall include the commissioner's recommendations concerning: 80 
(1) Measures to enforce the provisions of section 1 of this act, 81 
including, but not limited to, a state individual health care 82 
responsibility fee that is designed to ensure that taxpayers and 83 
dependents maintain minimum essential coverage, as those terms are 84 
defined in said section; and (2) a refundable credit against the personal 85 
income tax imposed under chapter 229 of the general statutes to help 86 
residents of this state, as defined in section 12-701 of the general 87 
statutes, offset the cost of health insurance. 88 
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2019) (a) For each calendar month 89 
beginning on or after January 1, 2020, each insurance company, 90 
fraternal benefit society, hospital service corporation, medical service 91 
corporation, health care center or other entity delivering, issuing for 92 
delivery, renewing, amending or continuing in this state an individual 93 
or group health insurance policy providing coverage of the type 94 
specified in subdivisions (1), (2), (4), (11) and (12) of section 38a-469 of 95 
the general statutes shall remit to the Insurance Commissioner, in a 96 
form and manner prescribed by the commissioner, a surcharge for 97 
each policy providing such coverage during such month or any 98 
portion of such month. The amount of such surcharge shall be 99 
calculated as follows: 100 
(1) If such policy is an individual health insurance policy, ten dollars 101 
multiplied by the number of insureds under such policy; or 102 
(2) If such policy is a group health insurance policy, five dollars 103 
multiplied by the number of insureds under such policy. 104 
(b) The monthly surcharge imposed under subsection (a) of this 105 
section shall not be considered premium for any purpose, and no 106 
portion of such surcharge shall be refundable or borne by an insured. 107 
(c) Each insurance company, fraternal benefit society, hospital 108 
service corporation, medical service corporation, health care center or 109  Substitute Bill No. 984 
 
 
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entity shall remit to the Insurance Commissioner, not later than the 110 
thirtieth day of April annually, all monthly surcharges imposed on 111 
such company, society, corporation, center or entity under subsection 112 
(a) of this section for the calendar year immediately preceding. Each 113 
remittance shall include documentation, in a form and manner 114 
prescribed by the commissioner, to substantiate the amount of the 115 
monthly surcharges being remitted by such company, society, 116 
corporation, center or entity. 117 
(d) Not later than the first day of June annually, the Insurance 118 
Commissioner shall deposit all remittances for the calendar year 119 
immediately preceding in the Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange 120 
Fund established pursuant to section 5 of this act. 121 
(e) The surcharge imposed under subsection (a) of this section shall 122 
constitute a special purpose assessment for the purposes of section 12-123 
211 of the general statutes. 124 
(f) The Insurance Commissioner may adopt regulations, in 125 
accordance with chapter 54 of the general statutes, to implement the 126 
provisions of this section. 127 
Sec. 4. Section 38a-1080 of the general statutes is repealed and the 128 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 129 
For purposes of sections 38a-1080 to 38a-1093, inclusive, as amended 130 
by this act, and section 5 of this act: 131 
(1) "Board" means the board of directors of the Connecticut Health 132 
Insurance Exchange; 133 
(2) "Commissioner" means the Insurance Commissioner; 134 
(3) "Exchange" means the Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange 135 
established pursuant to section 38a-1081; 136 
(4) "Affordable Care Act" means the Patient Protection and 137  Substitute Bill No. 984 
 
 
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Affordable Care Act, P.L. 111-148, as amended by the Health Care and 138 
Education Reconciliation Act, P.L. 111-152, as both may be amended 139 
from time to time, and regulations adopted thereunder; 140 
(5) (A) "Health benefit plan" means an insurance policy or contract 141 
offered, delivered, issued for delivery, renewed, amended or 142 
continued in the state by a health carrier to provide, deliver, pay for or 143 
reimburse any of the costs of health care services. 144 
(B) "Health benefit plan" does not include: 145 
(i) Coverage of the type specified in subdivisions (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), 146 
(14), (15) and (16) of section 38a-469 or any combination thereof; 147 
(ii) Coverage issued as a supplement to liability insurance; 148 
(iii) Liability insurance, including general liability insurance and 149 
automobile liability insurance; 150 
(iv) Workers' compensation insurance; 151 
(v) Automobile medical payment insurance; 152 
(vi) Credit insurance; 153 
(vii) Coverage for on-site medical clinics; or 154 
(viii) Other similar insurance coverage specified in regulations 155 
issued pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability 156 
Act of 1996, P.L. 104-191, as amended from time to time, under which 157 
benefits for health care services are secondary or incidental to other 158 
insurance benefits. 159 
(C) "Health benefit plan" does not include the following benefits if 160 
they are provided under a separate insurance policy, certificate or 161 
contract or are otherwise not an integral part of the plan: 162 
(i) Limited scope dental or vision benefits; 163  Substitute Bill No. 984 
 
 
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(ii) Benefits for long-term care, nursing home care, home health 164 
care, community-based care or any combination thereof; or 165 
(iii) Other similar, limited benefits specified in regulations issued 166 
pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 167 
1996, P.L. 104-191, as amended from time to time; 168 
(iv) Other supplemental coverage, similar to coverage of the type 169 
specified in subdivisions (9) and (14) of section 38a-469, provided 170 
under a group health plan. 171 
(D) "Health benefit plan" does not include coverage of the type 172 
specified in subdivisions (3) and (13) of section 38a-469 or other fixed 173 
indemnity insurance if (i) such coverage is provided under a separate 174 
insurance policy, certificate or contract, (ii) there is no coordination 175 
between the provision of the benefits and any exclusion of benefits 176 
under any group health plan maintained by the same plan sponsor, 177 
and (iii) the benefits are paid with respect to an event without regard 178 
to whether benefits were also provided under any group health plan 179 
maintained by the same plan sponsor; 180 
(6) "Health care services" has the same meaning as provided in 181 
section 38a-478; 182 
(7) "Health carrier" means an insurance company, fraternal benefit 183 
society, hospital service corporation, medical service corporation, 184 
health care center or other entity subject to the insurance laws and 185 
regulations of the state or the jurisdiction of the commissioner that 186 
contracts or offers to contract to provide, deliver, pay for or reimburse 187 
any of the costs of health care services; 188 
(8) "Internal Revenue Code" means the Internal Revenue Code of 189 
1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the 190 
United States, as amended from time to time; 191 
(9) "Person" has the same meaning as provided in section 38a-1; 192  Substitute Bill No. 984 
 
 
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(10) "Qualified dental plan" means a limited scope dental plan that 193 
has been certified in accordance with subsection (e) of section 38a-1086; 194 
(11) "Qualified employer" has the same meaning as provided in 195 
Section 1312 of the Affordable Care Act; 196 
(12) "Qualified health plan" means a health benefit plan that has in 197 
effect a certification that the plan meets the criteria for certification 198 
described in Section 1311(c) of the Affordable Care Act and section 199 
38a-1086; 200 
(13) "Qualified individual" has the same meaning as provided in 201 
Section 1312 of the Affordable Care Act; 202 
(14) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the United States 203 
Department of Health and Human Services; and 204 
(15) "Small employer" has the same meaning as provided in section 205 
38a-564.  206 
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2019) The exchange shall establish 207 
and administer a fund, to be known as the "Connecticut Health 208 
Insurance Exchange Fund", to provide funding for (1) state-financed 209 
health insurance premium and cost-sharing subsidies to individuals in 210 
this state, and (2) a reinsurance program for the purpose of decreasing 211 
the cost of health insurance in this state. The fund shall contain any 212 
moneys required by law to be deposited in the fund and shall be 213 
accounted for separately from all other moneys, funds and accounts. 214 
Sec. 6. Section 38a-1084 of the general statutes is repealed and the 215 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 216 
The exchange shall: 217 
(1) Administer the exchange for both qualified individuals and 218 
qualified employers; 219 
(2) Commission surveys of individuals, small employers and health 220  Substitute Bill No. 984 
 
 
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care providers on issues related to health care and health care 221 
coverage; 222 
(3) Implement procedures for the certification, recertification and 223 
decertification, consistent with guidelines developed by the Secretary 224 
under Section 1311(c) of the Affordable Care Act, and section 38a-1086, 225 
of health benefit plans as qualified health plans; 226 
(4) Provide for the operation of a toll-free telephone hotline to 227 
respond to requests for assistance; 228 
(5) Provide for enrollment periods, as provided under Section 229 
1311(c)(6) of the Affordable Care Act; 230 
(6) Maintain an Internet web site through which enrollees and 231 
prospective enrollees of qualified health plans may obtai n 232 
standardized comparative information on such plans including, but 233 
not limited to, the enrollee satisfaction survey information under 234 
Section 1311(c)(4) of the Affordable Care Act and any other 235 
information or tools to assist enrollees and prospective enrollees 236 
evaluate qualified health plans offered through the exchange;  237 
(7) Publish the average costs of licensing, regulatory fees and any 238 
other payments required by the exchange and the administrative costs 239 
of the exchange, including information on moneys lost to waste, fraud 240 
and abuse, on an Internet web site to educate individuals on such 241 
costs; 242 
(8) On or before the open enrollment period for plan year 2017, 243 
assign a rating to each qualified health plan offered through the 244 
exchange in accordance with the criteria developed by the Secretary 245 
under Section 1311(c)(3) of the Affordable Care Act, and determine 246 
each qualified health plan's level of coverage in accordance with 247 
regulations issued by the Secretary under Section 1302(d)(2)(A) of the 248 
Affordable Care Act; 249 
(9) Use a standardized format for presenting health benefit options 250  Substitute Bill No. 984 
 
 
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in the exchange, including the use of the uniform outline of coverage 251 
established under Section 2715 of the Public Health Service Act, 42 252 
USC 300gg-15, as amended from time to time; 253 
(10) Inform individuals, in accordance with Section 1413 of the 254 
Affordable Care Act, of eligibility requirements for the Medicaid 255 
program under Title XIX of the Social Security Act, as amended from 256 
time to time, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) under 257 
Title XXI of the Social Security Act, as amended from time to time, or 258 
any applicable state or local public program, and enroll an individual 259 
in such program if the exchange determines, through screening of the 260 
application by the exchange, that such individual is eligible for any 261 
such program; 262 
(11) Collaborate with the Department of Social Services, to the 263 
extent possible, to allow an enrollee who loses premium tax credit 264 
eligibility under Section 36B of the Internal Revenue Code and is 265 
eligible for HUSKY A or any other state or local public program, to 266 
remain enrolled in a qualified health plan; 267 
(12) Establish and make available by electronic means a calculator to 268 
determine the actual cost of coverage after application of any premium 269 
tax credit under Section 36B of the Internal Revenue Code and any 270 
cost-sharing reduction under Section 1402 of the Affordable Care Act; 271 
(13) Establish a program for small employers through which 272 
qualified employers may access coverage for their employees and that 273 
shall enable any qualified employer to specify a level of coverage so 274 
that any of its employees may enroll in any qualified health plan 275 
offered through the exchange at the specified level of coverage; 276 
(14) Offer enrollees and small employers the option of having the 277 
exchange collect and administer premiums, including through 278 
allocation of premiums among the various insurers and qualified 279 
health plans chosen by individual employers; 280 
(15) (A) Grant a certification, subject to Section 1411 of the 281  Substitute Bill No. 984 
 
 
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Affordable Care Act, attesting that, for purposes of the individual 282 
responsibility penalty under Section 5000A of the Internal Revenue 283 
Code, an individual is exempt from the individual responsibility 284 
requirement or from the penalty imposed by said Section 5000A 285 
because: 286 
[(A)] (i) There is no affordable qualified health plan available 287 
through the exchange, or the individual's employer, covering the 288 
individual; or 289 
[(B)] (ii) The individual meets the requirements for any other such 290 
exemption from the individual responsibility requirement or penalty; 291 
(B) Grant a certification, subject to section 1 of this act, attesting that, 292 
for purposes of said section, an individual is exempt from the 293 
requirement that the individual maintain minimum essential coverage 294 
pursuant to said section because such individual meets the 295 
requirements for an exemption from such requirement; 296 
(16) (A) Provide to the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States 297 
the following: 298 
[(A)] (i) A list of the individuals granted a certification under 299 
subparagraph (A) of subdivision (15) of this section, including the 300 
name and taxpayer identification number of each individual; 301 
[(B)] (ii) The name and taxpayer identification number of each 302 
individual who was an employee of an employer but who was 303 
determined to be eligible for the premium tax credit under Section 36B 304 
of the Internal Revenue Code because: 305 
[(i)] (I) The employer did not provide minimum essential health 306 
benefits coverage; or 307 
[(ii)] (II) The employer provided the minimum essential coverage 308 
but it was determined under Section 36B(c)(2)(C) of the Internal 309 
Revenue Code to be unaffordable to the employee or not provide the 310  Substitute Bill No. 984 
 
 
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required minimum actuarial value; and 311 
[(C)] (iii) The name and taxpayer identification number of: 312 
[(i)] (I) Each individual who notifies the exchange under Section 313 
1411(b)(4) of the Affordable Care Act that such individual has changed 314 
employers; and 315 
[(ii)] (II) Each individual who ceases coverage under a qualified 316 
health plan during a plan year and the effective date of that cessation; 317 
(B) Provide to the Commissioner of Revenue Services the following: 318 
(i) The information described in subparagraph (A) of this 319 
subdivision; and 320 
(ii) A list of the individuals granted a certification under 321 
subparagraph (B) of subdivision (15) of this section, including the 322 
name and taxpayer identification number of each individual; 323 
(17) Provide to each employer the name of each employee, as 324 
described in subparagraph [(B)] (A)(ii) of subdivision (16) of this 325 
section, of the employer who ceases coverage under a qualified health 326 
plan during a plan year and the effective date of the cessation; 327 
(18) Perform duties required of, or delegated to, the exchange by the 328 
Secretary or the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States related 329 
to determining eligibility for premium tax credits, reduced cost-330 
sharing or individual responsibility requirement exemptions; 331 
(19) Select entities qualified to serve as Navigators in accordance 332 
with Section 1311(i) of the Affordable Care Act and award grants to 333 
enable Navigators to: 334 
(A) Conduct public education activities to raise awareness of the 335 
availability of qualified health plans; 336 
(B) Distribute fair and impartial information concerning enrollment 337  Substitute Bill No. 984 
 
 
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in qualified health plans and the availability of premium tax credits 338 
under Section 36B of the Internal Revenue Code and cost-sharing 339 
reductions under Section 1402 of the Affordable Care Act; 340 
(C) Facilitate enrollment in qualified health plans; 341 
(D) Provide referrals to the Office of the Healthcare Advocate or 342 
health insurance ombudsman established under Section 2793 of the 343 
Public Health Service Act, 42 USC 300gg-93, as amended from time to 344 
time, or any other appropriate state agency or agencies, for any 345 
enrollee with a grievance, complaint or question regarding the 346 
enrollee's health benefit plan, coverage or a determination under that 347 
plan or coverage; and 348 
(E) Provide information in a manner that is culturally and 349 
linguistically appropriate to the needs of the population being served 350 
by the exchange; 351 
(20) Review the rate of premium growth within and outside the 352 
exchange and consider such information in developing 353 
recommendations on whether to continue limiting qualified employer 354 
status to small employers; 355 
(21) Credit the amount, in accordance with Section 10108 of the 356 
Affordable Care Act, of any free choice voucher to the monthly 357 
premium of the plan in which a qualified employee is enrolled and 358 
collect the amount credited from the offering employer; 359 
(22) Consult with stakeholders relevant to carrying out the activities 360 
required under sections 38a-1080 to 38a-1090, inclusive, as amended by 361 
this act, including, but not limited to: 362 
(A) Individuals who are knowledgeable about the health care 363 
system, have background or experience in making informed decisions 364 
regarding health, medical and scientific matters and are enrollees in 365 
qualified health plans; 366  Substitute Bill No. 984 
 
 
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(B) Individuals and entities with experience in facilitating 367 
enrollment in qualified health plans; 368 
(C) Representatives of small employers and self-employed 369 
individuals; 370 
(D) The Department of Social Services; and 371 
(E) Advocates for enrolling hard-to-reach populations; 372 
(23) Meet the following financial integrity requirements: 373 
(A) Keep an accurate accounting of all activities, receipts and 374 
expenditures and annually submit to the Secretary, the Governor, the 375 
Insurance Commissioner and the General Assembly a report 376 
concerning such accountings; 377 
(B) Fully cooperate with any investigation conducted by the 378 
Secretary pursuant to the Secretary's authority under the Affordable 379 
Care Act and allow the Secretary, in coordination with the Inspector 380 
General of the United States Department of Health and Human 381 
Services, to: 382 
(i) Investigate the affairs of the exchange; 383 
(ii) Examine the properties and records of the exchange; and 384 
(iii) Require periodic reports in relation to the activities undertaken 385 
by the exchange; and 386 
(C) Not use any funds in carrying out its activities under sections 387 
38a-1080 to 38a-1089, inclusive, as amended by this act, that are 388 
intended for the administrative and operational expenses of the 389 
exchange, for staff retreats, promotional giveaways, excessive 390 
executive compensation or promotion of federal or state legislative and 391 
regulatory modifications; 392 
(24) (A) Seek to include the most comprehensive health benefit 393  Substitute Bill No. 984 
 
 
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plans that offer high quality benefits at the most affordable price in the 394 
exchange, (B) encourage health carriers to offer tiered health care 395 
provider network plans that have different cost-sharing rates for 396 
different health care provider tiers and reward enrollees for choosing 397 
low-cost, high-quality health care providers by offering lower 398 
copayments, deductibles or other out-of-pocket expenses, and (C) offer 399 
any such tiered health care provider network plans through the 400 
exchange; [and] 401 
(25) Report at least annually to the General Assembly on the effect 402 
of adverse selection on the operations of the exchange and make 403 
legislative recommendations, if necessary, to reduce the negative 404 
impact from any such adverse selection on the sustainability of the 405 
exchange, including recommendations to ensure that regulation of 406 
insurers and health benefit plans are similar for qualified health plans 407 
offered through the exchange and health benefit plans offered outside 408 
the exchange. The exchange shall evaluate whether adverse selection is 409 
occurring with respect to health benefit plans that are grandfathered 410 
under the Affordable Care Act, self-insured plans, plans sold through 411 
the exchange and plans sold outside the exchange; [.] and 412 
(26) Establish and administer the "Connecticut Health Insurance 413 
Exchange Fund" pursuant to section 5 of this act. 414 
Sec. 7. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2019) (a) For the purposes of this 415 
section: 416 
(1) "Exchange" means the Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange 417 
established pursuant to section 38a-1081 of the general statutes; 418 
(2) "Plan year" has the same meaning as that term is used in section 419 
38a-1084 of the general statutes, as amended by this act; and 420 
(3) "Qualified health plan" has the same meaning as provided in 421 
section 38a-1080 of the general statutes, as amended by this act. 422 
(b) Each insurer, health care center, fraternal benefit society, hospital 423  Substitute Bill No. 984 
 
 
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service corporation, medical service corporation or other entity that 424 
delivers, issues for delivery, renews, amends or continues not fewer 425 
than five thousand individual or group health insurance policies in 426 
this state that provide coverage of the type specified in subdivision (1), 427 
(2), (4), (11) or (12) of section 38a-469 of the general statutes during a 428 
calendar year beginning on or after January 1, 2020, shall, for the 429 
immediately following plan year, offer not fewer than one qualified 430 
health plan through the exchange. 431 
(c) The Insurance Commissioner may adopt regulations, in 432 
accordance with chapter 54 of the general statutes, to implement the 433 
provisions of this section. 434 
Sec. 8. Subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection (m) of section 5-259 of 435 
the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in 436 
lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 437 
(m) (1) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, the 438 
Comptroller shall begin procedures to convert the group 439 
hospitalization and medical and surgical insurance plans set forth in 440 
subsection (a) of this section, including any prescription drug plan 441 
offered in connection with or in addition to such insurance plans, to 442 
self-insured plans, except that any dental plan offered in connection 443 
with or in addition to such self-insured plans may be fully insured. 444 
(2) The Comptroller may enter into contracts with third-party 445 
administrators to provide administrative services only for the self-446 
insured plans set forth in subdivision (1) of this subsection. Any such 447 
third-party administrator shall be required under such contract to: 448 
[charge] 449 
(A) Charge such third-party administrator's lowest available rate for 450 
such services; [.] and 451 
(B) Offer not fewer than one qualified health plan, as defined in 452 
section 38a-1080, as amended by this act, through the exchange 453 
established pursuant to section 38a-1081 for each plan year, as that 454  Substitute Bill No. 984 
 
 
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term is used in section 38a-1084, as amended by this act, during the 455 
term of such contract if: 456 
(i) Such contract is entered into, renewed or amended on or after 457 
October 1, 2019; 458 
(ii) Such plan year begins on or after January 1, 2020, and on or after 459 
the date that such contract is entered into, renewed or amended; and 460 
(iii) Such third-party administrator is an insurer, health care center, 461 
fraternal benefit society, hospital service corporation, medical service 462 
corporation or other entity that (I) is authorized to transact health 463 
insurance business in this state, and (II) delivered, issued for delivery, 464 
renewed, amended or continued not fewer than five thousand 465 
individual or group health insurance policies in this state that 466 
provided coverage of the type specified in subdivision (1), (2), (4), (11) 467 
or (12) of section 38a-469 during the calendar year immediately 468 
preceding such plan year. 469 
Sec. 9. (Effective July 1, 2019) Not later than October 1, 2019, the 470 
Office of Health Strategy, in consultation with the Insurance 471 
Commissioner, the Healthcare Advocate, the Connecticut Health 472 
Insurance Exchange established pursuant to section 38a-1081 of the 473 
general statutes and the insurance industry, shall submit a report, in 474 
accordance with section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint 475 
standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of 476 
matters relating to insurance. Such report shall include the Office of 477 
Health Strategy's recommendations concerning the implementation of 478 
state-financed health insurance premium and cost-sharing subsidies 479 
and a reinsurance program for the purpose of decreasing the cost of 480 
health insurance in this state. 481 
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following 
sections: 
 
Section 1 January 1, 2020 New section 
Sec. 2 July 1, 2019 New section  Substitute Bill No. 984 
 
 
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Sec. 3 July 1, 2019 New section 
Sec. 4 July 1, 2019 38a-1080 
Sec. 5 July 1, 2019 New section 
Sec. 6 July 1, 2019 38a-1084 
Sec. 7 October 1, 2019 New section 
Sec. 8 October 1, 2019 5-259(m)(1) and (2) 
Sec. 9 July 1, 2019 New section 
 
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:   
In Section 7(b), "subdivision" was substituted for "subdivisions" and 
"or" was substituted for "and" for clarity; in Section 8(m)(2)(B), "that 
term is" was deleted for conciseness; and in Section 8(m)(2)(B)(iii), 
"subdivision" was substituted for "subdivisions" and "or" was 
substituted for "and" for clarity. 
 
 
INS Joint Favorable Subst.