| 1 | The Insurance Committee recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to the Employee Health Care Access Act; |
| 7 | amending s. 627.6699, F.S.; revising application of the |
| 8 | act; providing construction; authorizing carriers to offer |
| 9 | coverage to certain employees without being subject to the |
| 10 | act under certain circumstances; providing requirements; |
| 11 | providing an effective date. |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section |
| 16 | 627.6699, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 17 | 627.6699 Employee Health Care Access Act.-- |
| 18 | (4) APPLICABILITY AND SCOPE.-- |
| 19 | (a)1. This section applies to a health benefit plan that |
| 20 | provides coverage to employees of a small employer in this |
| 21 | state, unless the coverage policy is marketed directly to the |
| 22 | individual employee, and the employer does not contribute |
| 23 | directly or indirectly to participate in the collection or |
| 24 | distribution of premiums or facilitate the administration of the |
| 25 | coverage policy in any manner. For the purposes of this |
| 26 | subparagraph, an employer shall not be deemed to be contributing |
| 27 | to the premiums or facilitating the administration of coverage |
| 28 | if the employer does not contribute towards the premium and |
| 29 | merely collects the premiums for such coverage from an |
| 30 | employee's wages or salary through payroll deduction and submits |
| 31 | payment for the premiums of one or more employees in a lump sum |
| 32 | to a carrier. |
| 33 | 2. A carrier authorized to issue group or individual |
| 34 | health benefit plans under chapter 627 or chapter 641 may offer |
| 35 | coverage as described in this section to individual employees |
| 36 | without being subject to this section if the employer has not |
| 37 | had a group health benefit plan in place in the prior 6 months. |
| 38 | An employer that offers a group health benefit plan may |
| 39 | facilitate the purchase of coverage as described in this |
| 40 | paragraph to employees that are ineligible for the group health |
| 41 | benefit plan, provided the employer has not changed its |
| 42 | eligibility requirements in the prior 6 months. |
| 43 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005. |