S-4312.3          _______________________________________________

 

                            SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 6507

                  _______________________________________________

 

State of Washington              52nd Legislature             1992 Regular Session

 

By Senate Committee on Health & Long‑Term Care (originally sponsored by Senators West, Wojahn, M. Kreidler, L. Smith, Sumner and Amondson)

 

Read first time 02/27/92.Allowing deferred compensation for medicaid providers.


     AN ACT Relating to providing incentives to participate as a provider in the medical assistance program; amending RCW 41.04.250; and creating a new section.

 

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

 

     NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.      The legislature finds that:

     (1) The number of persons without access, or with increasingly limited access, to health care services continues to grow; and

     (2) The state's medical assistance program continues to provide necessary services to low-income Washington residents.

     The legislature finds and declares that incentives need to be developed for health care providers to accept and retain medical assistance patients.

 

     Sec. 2.  RCW 41.04.250 and 1981 c 256 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

     "Employee" as used in this section and RCW 41.04.260 includes all full-time, part-time and career seasonal employees of the state, a county, a municipality, or other political subdivision of the state, whether or not covered by civil service; elected and appointed officials of the executive branch of the government, including full-time members of boards, commissions, or committees; justices of the supreme court and judges of the court of appeals and of the superior and district courts; ((and)) members of the state legislature or of the legislative authority of any county, city, or town; and, for the sole purpose of participation in the deferred compensation program, an individual licensed health care providers who are independent contractors with the department of social and health services to provide care to medical assistance recipients under chapter 74.09 RCW.

     The state, through the committee for deferred compensation created in RCW 41.04.260, and any county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state acting through its principal supervising official or governing body is authorized to contract with an employee to defer a portion of that employee's income, which deferred portion shall in no event exceed the amount allowable under 26 U.S.C. Sec. 457, and deposit or invest such deferred portion in a credit union, savings and loan association, bank, or mutual savings bank or purchase life insurance, shares of an investment company, or fixed and/or variable annuity contracts from any insurance company or any investment company licensed to contract business in this state.  The committee can provide such plans as it deems are in the interests of state employees.  In addition to the types of investments described in this section, the committee may invest the deferred portion of an employee's income, without limitation as to amount, in any of the class of investments described in RCW 43.84.150 as in effect on January 1, 1981.  Any income deferred under such a plan shall continue to be included as regular compensation, for the purpose of computing the state or local retirement and pension benefits earned by any employee.

     Coverage of an employee under a deferred compensation plan under this section shall not render such employee ineligible for simultaneous membership and participation in any pension system for public employees.