1 | A bill to be entitled |
2 | An act relating to the Fair Share Health Care Fund; |
3 | providing definitions; creating the fund; providing |
4 | purposes and uses of the fund; providing duties of the |
5 | Agency for Health Care Administration and the Chief |
6 | Financial Officer; providing for audit of the fund; |
7 | providing employer reporting guidelines; specifying |
8 | required information; providing reporting guidelines for |
9 | the secretary of the Agency for Health Care |
10 | Administration; specifying required information; providing |
11 | for determining fair share health care payments by |
12 | employers; providing for employer payments into the fund; |
13 | providing criteria; providing civil penalties for late |
14 | reporting or nonpayment; providing for future review and |
15 | termination or re-creation of the fund; providing an |
16 | effective date. |
17 |
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18 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
19 |
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20 | Section 1. Fair Share Health Care Fund.-- |
21 | (1) DEFINITIONS.--For purposes of this section: |
22 | (a) "Earnings" means compensation paid or payable, in |
23 | money of a sum certain, for personal services or labor whether |
24 | denominated as wages, salary, commission, or bonus. |
25 | (b) "Employee" has the same meaning as provided in s. |
26 | 440.02, Florida Statutes. |
27 | (c) "Employer" has the same meaning as provided in s. |
28 | 440.02, Florida Statutes. The term "employer" does not include |
29 | the Federal Government, this state, another state, or a |
30 | political subdivision of this state or another state. |
31 | (d) "Fund" means the Fair Share Health Care Fund. |
32 | (e) "Health care expenditures" means the amount paid by an |
33 | employer to provide health care benefits or reimburse employees |
34 | for employees' health care costs, including, but not limited to, |
35 | payments for medical care, prescription drugs, vision care, and |
36 | medical savings accounts. |
37 | (f) "Secretary" means the secretary of the Agency for |
38 | Health Care Administration. |
39 | (2) FAIR SHARE HEALTH CARE FUND.-- |
40 | (a) The Fair Share Health Care Fund is created in the |
41 | Agency for Health Care Administration. |
42 | (b) The purpose of the fund is to help finance coverage |
43 | for uninsured employees. The fund may be used to support the |
44 | operations of the state Medicaid program or to help uninsured |
45 | employees and their dependents obtain health care or coverage |
46 | through another state program. |
47 | (c) The fund also may be used to provide subsidies for |
48 | approved health coverage options, to be designated by the Agency |
49 | for Health Care Administration. In designating approved health |
50 | coverage options, the agency shall: |
51 | 1. Identify specific health coverage plans for employees |
52 | and dependents, including, but not limited to, those employees |
53 | whose employers have paid into the fund. These options may |
54 | include Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program, |
55 | and private insurance. |
56 | 2. Ensure that the coverage is affordable, accessible, and |
57 | meaningful and equivalent to the Federal Employees Health |
58 | Benefit Plan's standard Blue Cross/Blue Shield option. |
59 | (d) The fund consists of: |
60 | 1. Any revenue received from payments made by employers |
61 | under this section. |
62 | 2. Any other money from any other source accepted for the |
63 | benefit of the fund. |
64 | (e) The Chief Financial Officer shall hold the fund |
65 | separately and shall account for the fund. The Chief Financial |
66 | Officer shall invest the money of the fund in the same manner as |
67 | other state money may be invested and any investment earnings of |
68 | the fund shall be retained to the credit of the fund. |
69 | (f) The fund shall be subject to an audit by the |
70 | Department of Revenue. |
71 | (3) APPLICABILITY.--This section applies to an employer |
72 | with 10,000 or more employees in this state. |
73 | (4) EMPLOYER REPORTING GUIDELINES.-- |
74 | (a) On January 1, 2007, and annually thereafter, an |
75 | employer shall submit on a form and in a manner approved by the |
76 | secretary: |
77 | 1. The employer's definition of full-time employee and |
78 | part-time employee. |
79 | 2. The number of full-time and part-time employees of the |
80 | employer in this state as of January 1 of the previous year. |
81 | 3. The number of full-time and part-time employees |
82 | eligible to receive health care expenditures and the number of |
83 | full-time and part-time employees receiving health care |
84 | expenditures from the employer. |
85 | 4. The amount spent by the employer in the previous |
86 | calendar year on health care costs for employees in the state. |
87 | 5. The percentage of payroll that was spent by the |
88 | employer in the previous calendar year on health care costs for |
89 | employees in the state. |
90 | (b) The information required shall: |
91 | 1. Be designated in a report signed by the principal |
92 | executive officer or an individual performing a similar |
93 | function. |
94 | 2. Include an affidavit under penalty of perjury that the |
95 | information required under paragraph (a) was reviewed by the |
96 | signing officer, was based on the officer's knowledge, and does |
97 | not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit a |
98 | material fact necessary to make the statement. |
99 | (c) When calculating the percentage of payroll under |
100 | subparagraph (a)2. or the amount spent on health care under |
101 | subparagraph (a)3., an employer may exempt earnings paid to an |
102 | employee who is enrolled in or eligible for Medicare. |
103 | (5) REPORTING GUIDELINES FOR THE SECRETARY; DETERMINATION |
104 | OF FAIR SHARE HEALTH CARE PAYMENTS.--On or before March 15 of |
105 | each year, the secretary shall report to the Governor and the |
106 | Legislature on: |
107 | (a) The name of each nonprofit and for-profit employer |
108 | with 10,000 or more employees in the state. |
109 | (b) The employer's definition of full-time employee and |
110 | part-time employee. |
111 | (c) The number of full-time and part-time employees. |
112 | (d) The number of full-time and part-time employees |
113 | eligible to receive health care expenditures. |
114 | (e) The number of full-time and part-time employees |
115 | receiving health care benefits or expenditures from the |
116 | employer. |
117 | (f) The source of health care benefits for those eligible |
118 | full-time and part-time employees not receiving health care |
119 | expenditures through an employer subject to reporting under this |
120 | section. |
121 | (g) The percent of total earnings each nonprofit and for- |
122 | profit employer with 10,000 or more employees in the state |
123 | spends on health care costs. |
124 | (h) The average percentage of total earnings for-profit |
125 | employers with 10,000 or more employees in the state spend on |
126 | health care costs. |
127 | (i) The average percentage of total earnings nonprofit |
128 | employers with 10,000 or more employees in the state spend on |
129 | health care costs. |
130 | (6) PAYMENT TO THE FUND.-- |
131 | (a) An employer that is organized as a nonprofit |
132 | organization and does not spend at least 7 percent of total |
133 | earnings of employees on health care costs shall pay to the |
134 | secretary an amount equal to the difference between what the |
135 | employer spends for health care costs and an amount equal to 7 |
136 | percent. |
137 | (b) An employer that is not organized as a nonprofit |
138 | organization and does not spend at least 9 percent of total |
139 | earnings of employees on health care costs shall pay to the |
140 | secretary an amount equal to the difference between what the |
141 | employer spends for health care costs and an amount equal to 9 |
142 | percent. |
143 | (c) An employer may not deduct any payment made under |
144 | paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) from the earnings of an employee. |
145 | (d) An employer shall make the payment required under this |
146 | section to the secretary on a periodic basis as determined by |
147 | the secretary. |
148 | (e) The secretary shall deposit all payments received from |
149 | employers under this section into the fund. |
150 | (f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any |
151 | balance in the fund at the end of any fiscal year shall remain |
152 | in the fund at the end of the year and shall be available for |
153 | carrying out the purposes of the fund. |
154 | (7) PENALTIES FOR LATE REPORTING OR NONPAYMENT.-- |
155 | (a) Failure to report in accordance with subsection (4) |
156 | shall result in the imposition by the secretary of a civil |
157 | penalty of $1,000 for each day that the report is not timely |
158 | filed. The penalties shall be deposited into the fund. |
159 | (b) Failure to make the payment required under subsection |
160 | (6) shall result in the imposition by the secretary of a civil |
161 | penalty of $500,000. The penalties shall be deposited into the |
162 | fund. |
163 | (8) REVIEW AND REPEAL.--In accordance with s. 19(f)(2), |
164 | Art. III of the State Constitution, the fund shall, unless |
165 | terminated sooner, be terminated on January 1, 2011. Before its |
166 | scheduled termination, the fund shall be reviewed as provided in |
167 | s. 215.3206(1) and (2), Florida Statutes. |
168 | Section 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 2007. |