ENROLLED
       2013 Legislature                          SB 1802, 1st Engrossed
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                                             20131802er
    1  
    2         An act relating to state employee health insurance;
    3         amending s. 110.123, F.S.; modifying the terms “full
    4         time state employees” and “part-time state employee”
    5         for the purposes of expressly excluding persons paid
    6         from other-personal-services funds who work less than
    7         a certain number of hours per week from the state
    8         group insurance program; defining the term “seasonal
    9         worker”; revising provisions relating to employer
   10         contributions to employee health savings accounts;
   11         requiring each agency or entity that participates in
   12         the program to provide information about its employees
   13         in order to determine eligibility for the insurance
   14         program; amending s. 110.131, F.S.; providing that an
   15         OPS employee meeting certain criteria is eligible to
   16         participate in the state group health insurance
   17         program; authorizing the Department of Management
   18         Services to adopt emergency rules in order to modify
   19         the eligibility of certain persons and comply with
   20         federal requirements; providing effective dates.
   21  
   22  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   23  
   24         Section 1. Effective December 1, 2013, present paragraphs
   25  (i) through (n) of subsection (2) of section 110.123, Florida
   26  Statutes, are redesignated as paragraphs (j) through (o),
   27  respectively, paragraphs (c) and (f) of that subsection are
   28  amended and a new paragraph (i) is added to that subsection,
   29  paragraph (g) of subsection (3), paragraph (d) of subsection
   30  (4), and paragraph (a) of subsection (12) of that section are
   31  amended, and subsection (13) is added to that section, to read:
   32         110.123 State group insurance program.—
   33         (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
   34         (c) “Full-time state employees” means includes all full
   35  time employees of all branches or agencies of state government
   36  holding salaried positions who are and paid by state warrant or
   37  from agency funds and who work or are expected to work an
   38  average of at least 30 or more hours per week;, and employees
   39  paid from regular salary appropriations for 8 months’
   40  employment, including university personnel on academic
   41  contracts; and employees, but in no case shall “state employee”
   42  or “salaried position” include persons paid from other-personal
   43  services (OPS) funds as described in subparagraphs 1. and 2. The
   44  term “Full-time employees” includes all full-time employees of
   45  the state universities. The term does not include seasonal
   46  workers who are paid from OPS funds.
   47         1. For persons hired before April 1, 2013, the term
   48  includes any person paid from OPS funds who:
   49         a. Has worked an average of at least 30 hours or more per
   50  week during the initial measurement period from April 1, 2013,
   51  through September 30, 2013; or
   52         b. Has worked an average of at least 30 hours or more per
   53  week during a subsequent measurement period.
   54         2. For persons hired after April 1, 2013, the term includes
   55  any person paid from OPS funds who:
   56         a. Is reasonably expected to work an average of at least 30
   57  hours or more per week; or
   58         b. Has worked an average of at least 30 hours or more per
   59  week during the person’s measurement period.
   60         (f) “Part-time state employee” means an any employee of any
   61  branch or agency of state government paid by state warrant from
   62  salary appropriations or from agency funds, and who is employed
   63  for less than an average of 30 hours per week the normal full
   64  time workweek established by the department or, if on academic
   65  contract or seasonal or other type of employment which is less
   66  than year-round, is employed for less than 8 months during any
   67  12-month period, but does not in no case shall “part-time”
   68  employee include a person paid from other-personal-services
   69  (OPS) funds. The term “Part-time state employee” includes all
   70  any part-time employees employee of the state universities.
   71         (i) “Seasonal workers” has the same meaning as provided
   72  under 29 C.F.R. 500.20(s)(1).
   73         (3) STATE GROUP INSURANCE PROGRAM.—
   74         (g) Participation by individuals in the program is
   75  available to all state officers, full-time state employees, and
   76  part-time state employees; and such participation in the program
   77  or any plan is voluntary. Participation in the program is also
   78  available to retired state officers and employees, as defined in
   79  paragraph (2)(g), who elect at the time of retirement to
   80  continue coverage under the program, but they may elect to
   81  continue all or only part of the coverage they had at the time
   82  of retirement. A surviving spouse may elect to continue coverage
   83  only under a state group health insurance plan, a TRICARE
   84  supplemental insurance plan, or a health maintenance
   85  organization plan.
   86         1. Full-time state employees described in subsection
   87  (2)(c)1. are eligible for health insurance coverage in calendar
   88  year 2014 as long as they remain employed by an employer
   89  participating in the state group insurance program during the
   90  year. This subparagraph expires December 31, 2014.
   91         2. Employees paid from other-personal-services (OPS) funds
   92  are not eligible for coverage before January 1, 2014.
   93         (4) PAYMENT OF PREMIUMS; CONTRIBUTION BY STATE; LIMITATION
   94  ON ACTIONS TO PAY AND COLLECT PREMIUMS.—
   95         (d) The state contribution for health insurance coverage
   96  for a part-time permanent state employee who elects to
   97  participate in the program shall be prorated so that the amount
   98  of the cost contributed for the part-time permanent employee
   99  bears the same that relation to the amount of cost contributed
  100  for a similar full-time employee that the part-time employee’s
  101  normal workday bears to a full-time employee’s normal workday.
  102         (12) HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS.—The department is authorized
  103  to establish health savings accounts for full-time and part-time
  104  state employees in association with a health insurance plan
  105  option authorized by the Legislature and conforming to the
  106  requirements and limitations of federal provisions relating to
  107  the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization
  108  Act of 2003.
  109         (a)1. A member participating in this health insurance plan
  110  option is eligible to:
  111         1. Receive an employer contribution into the employee’s
  112  health savings account from the State Employees Health Insurance
  113  Trust Fund in an amount to be determined by the Legislature. A
  114  member is not eligible for an employer contribution upon
  115  termination of employment. For the 2013-2014 2012-2013 fiscal
  116  year, the state’s monthly contribution for employees having
  117  individual coverage shall be $41.66 and the monthly contribution
  118  for employees having family coverage shall be $83.33. For the
  119  2014-2015 fiscal year and thereafter, the state’s contribution
  120  from the trust fund into the member’s health savings account
  121  shall be set in the annual General Appropriations Act.
  122         2. A member participating in this health insurance plan
  123  option is eligible to Deposit the member’s own funds into a
  124  health savings account.
  125         (13) OTHER-PERSONAL-SERVICES EMPLOYEES (OPS).—
  126         (a) Each agency or other entity that participates in the
  127  state group insurance program shall provide information to the
  128  department on each of its employees regardless of whether the
  129  employee participates in the program. Such information must
  130  include the name of the employee, the number of hours worked by
  131  the employee, and any other information the department considers
  132  necessary for determining the eligibility of the employee to
  133  participate in the program. Such information shall be submitted
  134  as prescribed by the department.
  135         (b) Each agency or other entity that participates in the
  136  state group insurance program shall identify any of its
  137  employees paid from OPS funds or similar funds who are employed
  138  by another agency or entity participating in the state group
  139  insurance program.
  140         (c) The initial measurement period used to determine
  141  whether an employee hired before April 1, 2013, and paid from
  142  OPS funds is a full-time employee described in subparagraph
  143  (2)(c)1. is the 6-month period from April 1, 2013, through
  144  September 30, 2013.
  145         (d) All other measurement periods used to determine whether
  146  an employee paid from OPS funds is a full-time employee
  147  described in paragraph (2)(c) must be for 12 consecutive months.
  148         Section 2. Subsection (5) is added to section 110.131,
  149  Florida Statutes, to read:
  150         110.131 Other-personal-services employment.—
  151         (5) Beginning January 1, 2014, an other-personal-services
  152  (OPS) employee who has worked an average of at least 30 or more
  153  hours per week during the measurement period described in s.
  154  110.123(13)(c) or (d), or who is reasonably expected to work an
  155  average of at least 30 or more hours per week following his or
  156  her employment, is eligible to participate in the state group
  157  insurance program as provided under s. 110.123.
  158         Section 3. The Department of Management Services may adopt
  159  emergency rules to modify the eligibility requirements of
  160  persons paid from other-personal-services (OPS) funds, which are
  161  limited to compliance with the coverage requirements of the
  162  Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148,
  163  as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act
  164  of 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-152, and any regulations adopted
  165  pursuant to those acts which are in effect on July 1, 2013.
  166  Emergency rules adopted under this provision shall be limited to
  167  mitigating the state’s exposure to potential liability under the
  168  penalty provisions of those acts for failing to comply with such
  169  coverage requirements. Any emergency rules adopted pursuant to
  170  this section must expire by June 30, 2014.
  171         Section 4. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
  172  act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2013.