H-1237.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 1834
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State of Washington 52nd Legislature 1991 Regular Session
By Representatives Spanel, Day, Kremen, Braddock, Prentice, Anderson, Dellwo, Bowman, Winsley and Nelson.
Read first time February 12, 1991. Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
AN ACT Relating to directing the Washington state health care authority to study medical insurance coverage offered by public employers; creating new sections; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that health care costs are rising faster than the costs of other goods and services in the United States. Rising health care costs place a particular burden on retirees due to their relatively fixed incomes and increased reliance on medical care as they grow older. The legislature further finds that there is no standard among public employers in the state for the provision of medical insurance for retired public employees and that the lack of such a standard creates inequities among public employees. However, insufficient data on local practices is available for the legislature to make prudent policy decisions regarding retiree medical insurance. Therefore it is the legislature's intent to direct the Washington state health care authority to conduct a study of medical insurance available to retired public employees in the state.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) The Washington state health care authority shall conduct a study of medical insurance provided to retired public employees by their employers. The study shall focus on the current practices of counties, municipalities, and other political subdivisions of the state. The health care authority may extend the scope of the study to include school districts if the authority determines that insufficient information has been collected in previous studies of school district insurance practices. The health care authority may utilize representative sampling of employers to collect information.
(2) The study shall address and include:
(a) The current availability and provision of medical insurance for retired public employees;
(b) Collection of information regarding the cost to both the employer and the retired employee of coverage, the prevalence of use of available coverage by retirees, and the types of coverage made available by employers;
(c) The feasibility and cost implications to retirees, local public employers, and the state of: (i) Requiring public employers to allow retired employees to continue their employer-sponsored medical insurance at a reasonable cost; and/or (ii) allowing retired public employees to participate in medical insurance plans offered by the state employees' benefits board even if the retirees did not participate in such plans as active employees; and
(d) Additional recommendations and policy considerations for improving access by retired public employees to adequate medical insurance.
(3) The health care authority shall submit its findings and recommendations to the legislature by December 15, 1991.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.