S.B. 58

1

HEALTH CARE ACCESS REFORM
2 2002 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Sponsor: D. Chris Buttars
5 This act creates the Working Parent's Health Care Assistance Plan. The act directs the
6 Department of Health to establish the Working Parent's Health Care Assistance Plan which
7 provides benefits to people age 19 and older who are below 100% of the federal poverty level
8 and who meet other criteria for enrollment in the plan. The act establishes the level of
9 benefits in the plan and directs the Department of Health to establish cost containment
10 measures. The act funds the health care assistance plan by increasing the cigarette tax. The
11 act establishes a restricted account in the General Fund known as the Working Parent's
12 Health Care Assistance Account. The act requires all revenues from the increased cigarette
13 tax to be deposited into the restricted account and restricts the use of the funds to health
14 coverage expansion for low-income parents.
15 This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
16 AMENDS:
17 59-14-204, as last amended by Chapter 190, Laws of Utah 2000
18 ENACTS:
19 26-18-501, Utah Code Annotated 1953
20 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
21 Section 1. Section 26-18-501 is enacted to read:
22 Part 5. Working Parent's Health Care Assistance Plan
23 26-18-501. Working Parent's Health Care Assistance Plan.
24 (1) The department shall establish the Working Parent's Health Care Assistance Plan to
25 provide primary and preventive health care services for eligible uninsured residents of the state,
26 19 years of age and older. The Working Parent's Health Care Assistance Plan shall utilize the
27 flexibility granted to states under Section 1931 of the Social Security Act in order to maximize

28 coverage for uninsured residents of the state and to maximize federal matching funds. The
29 department shall establish eligibility for the plan, which shall require that an eligible person:
30 (a) as determined by the department, is below 100% of the federal poverty level;
31 (b) is ineligible for the state Medicaid program or the Utah Medical Assistance Program
32 established under Section 26-18-10 ;
33 (c) is ineligible for benefits under the Medicare program; and
34 (d) is not eligible for an employer-provided health insurance program and has been without
35 an employer-provided health insurance program for the past nine months or longer, provided
36 however, that the department shall establish by administrative rule minimum standards for
37 employer-provided health insurance including:
38 (i) cost-sharing requirements;
39 (ii) premium contribution requirements;
40 (iii) medical benefits requirements; and
41 (iv) other criteria determined by the department.
42 (2) The Working Parent's Health Care Assistance Plan shall be administered by the
43 department subject to appropriations from the Working Parent's Health Care Assistance Account
44 and any funds received by the state for a Medicaid expansion to working parent's below 100% of
45 the federal poverty level.
46 (3) (a) The medical benefits and services available to individuals eligible for participation
47 in the Working Parent's Health Care Assistance Plan shall be comparable to the benefits and
48 services including cost sharing available to:
49 (i) enrollees in a group plan offered under Title 49, Chapter 8, Group Insurance Program
50 Act; and
51 (ii) enrollees in the Children's Health Insurance Program created in Chapter 40 of this title.
52 (b) The department shall establish cost-containment measures designed to ensure that only
53 medically necessary services are reimbursed by the plan. The schedule, scope, maximum dollar
54 coverage, and duration of benefits established by this part may be revised by the department to
55 ensure that the costs of the plan are limited to the funds appropriated to the plan.
56 (4) Applications for the Working Parent's Health Care Assistance Plan shall be coordinated
57 with applications for any other medical assistance plans administered by the department. The
58 department shall use funds made available for this plan for community outreach services to

59 encourage enrollment and to promote the public health.
60 (5) The department shall report annually to the Legislative Health and Human Services
61 Interim Committee on enrollment demographics in the plan, claims expenditures, eligibility
62 standards, plan benefits, utilization data, estimated public health impacts, and the annualized costs
63 of the plan.
64 Section 2. Section 59-14-204 is amended to read:
65 59-14-204. Tax basis -- Rate -- Future increase -- Restricted account -- Use of
66 revenues.
67 (1) Except for cigarettes described under Section 59-14-210 , there is levied a tax upon the
68 sale, use, or storage of cigarettes in the state.
69 (2) The rates of the tax levied under Subsection (1) are:
70 (a) [2.575] 3.075 cents on each cigarette, for all cigarettes weighing not more than three
71 pounds per thousand cigarettes; and
72 (b) [3.175] 3.675 cents on each cigarette, for all cigarettes weighing in excess of three
73 pounds per thousand cigarettes.
74 (3) The tax levied under Subsection (1) shall be paid by the manufacturer, jobber,
75 distributor, wholesaler, retailer, user, or consumer.
76 (4) The tax rates specified in this section shall be increased by the commission by the same
77 amount as any future reduction in the federal excise tax on cigarettes.
78 (5) (a) There is created within the General Fund a restricted account known as the
79 "Cigarette Tax Restricted Account."
80 (b) Beginning on July 1, 1998, $250,000 of the revenues generated by the increase in the
81 cigarette tax under this section enacted during the 1997 Annual General Session shall be annually
82 deposited into the account.
83 (c) The Department of Health shall expend the funds in the account for a tobacco
84 prevention and control media campaign targeted towards children.
85 (6) (a) There is created within the General Fund a restricted account known as the
86 "Working Parent's Health Care Assistance Account."
87 (b) Beginning July 1, 2002, the revenues generated from the 1/2 cent per cigarette tax
88 increase imposed during the 2002 General Session shall be annually deposited into the account.
89 (c) The funds deposited into the restricted account created by this Subsection (6) may only

90 be used for the purposes set forth in Section 26-18-501 .




Legislative Review Note
as of 1-8-02 1:42 PM

A limited legal review of this legislation raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel