2
3
4
5
6
7 Cosponsors:
8 Carl R. Albrecht
9 James A. Dunnigan
Joel Ferry
Casey Snider
Ryan D. Wilcox
10
11 LONG TITLE
12 General Description:
13 This bill creates the Volunteer Emergency Medical Service Personnel Health Insurance
14 Program.
15 Highlighted Provisions:
16 This bill:
17 ▸ creates the Volunteer Emergency Medical Service Personnel Health Insurance
18 Program;
19 ▸ describes the program benefit limits and eligibility;
20 ▸ requires the Department of Health to convene an advisory board;
21 ▸ authorizes program participants to participate in the Public Employees' Benefit and
22 Insurance Program;
23 ▸ amends the definition of "volunteer" in the Volunteer Government Workers Act;
24 ▸ establishes a sunset date for the Volunteer Emergency Medical Service Personnel
25 Health Insurance Program; and
26 ▸ makes technical changes.
27 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
28 None
29 Other Special Clauses:
30 This bill provides a coordination clause.
31 Utah Code Sections Affected:
32 AMENDS:
33 49-20-201, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2015, Chapter 107
34 63I-1-226, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapters 13, 50, 64, 163, 182, 234,
35 and 417
36 67-20-2, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 249
37 ENACTS:
38 26-8a-603, Utah Code Annotated 1953
39 Utah Code Sections Affected by Coordination Clause:
40 67-20-2, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 249
41
42 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
43 Section 1. Section 26-8a-603 is enacted to read:
44 26-8a-603. Volunteer Emergency Medical Service Personnel Health Insurance
45 Program -- Creation -- Administration -- Eligibility -- Benefits -- Rulemaking -- Advisory
46 board.
47 (1) As used in this section:
48 (a) "Health benefit plan" means the same as that term is defined in Section 31A-1-301.
49 (b) "Local government entity" means a political subdivision that:
50 (i) is licensed as a ground ambulance provider under Part 4, Ambulance and Paramedic
51 Providers; and
52 (ii) as of January 1, 2022, does not offer health insurance benefits to volunteer
53 emergency medical service personnel.
54 (c) "PEHP" means the Public Employees' Benefit and Insurance Program created in
55 Section 49-20-103.
56 (d) "Political subdivision" means a county, a municipality, a limited purpose
57 government entity described in Title 17B, Limited Purpose Local Government Entities - Local
58 Districts, or Title 17D, Limited Purpose Local Government Entities - Other Entities, or an
59 entity created by an interlocal agreement under Title 11, Chapter 13, Interlocal Cooperation
60 Act.
61 (e) "Qualifying association" means an association that represents two or more political
62 subdivisions in the state.
63 (2) The Volunteer Emergency Medical Service Personnel Health Insurance Program
64 shall promote recruitment and retention of volunteer emergency medical service personnel by
65 making health insurance available to volunteer emergency medical service personnel.
66 (3) The department shall contract with a qualifying association to create, implement,
67 and administer the Volunteer Emergency Medical Service Personnel Health Insurance Program
68 described in this section.
69 (4) Participation in the program is limited to emergency medical service personnel
70 who:
71 (a) are licensed under Section 26-8a-302 and are able to perform all necessary
72 functions associated with the license;
73 (b) provide emergency medical services under the direction of a local governmental
74 entity:
75 (i) by responding to 20% of calls for emergency medical services in a rolling
76 twelve-month period;
77 (ii) within a county of the third, fourth, fifth, or sixth class; and
78 (iii) as a volunteer under the Fair Labor Standards Act, in accordance with 29 C.F.R.
79 Sec. 553.106;
80 (c) are not eligible for a health benefit plan through an employer or a spouse's
81 employer;
82 (d) are not eligible for medical coverage under a government sponsored healthcare
83 program; and
84 (e) reside in the state.
85 (5) (a) A participant in the program is eligible to participate in PEHP in accordance
86 with Subsection (5)(b) and Subsection 49-20-201(3).
87 (b) Benefits available to program participants under PEHP are limited to health
88 insurance that:
89 (i) covers the program participant and the program participant's eligible dependents on
90 a July 1 plan year;
91 (ii) accepts enrollment during an open enrollment period or for a special enrollment
92 event, including the initial eligibility of a program participant;
93 (iii) if the program participant is no longer eligible for benefits, terminates on the last
94 day of the last month for which the individual is a participant in the Volunteer Emergency
95 Medical Service Personnel Health Insurance Program; and
96 (iv) is not subject to continuation rights under state or federal law.
97 (6) (a) The department may make rules in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah
98 Administrative Rulemaking Act, to define additional criteria regarding benefit design and
99 eligibility for the program.
100 (b) The department shall convene an advisory board:
101 (i) to advise the department on making rules under Subsection (6)(a); and
102 (ii) that includes representation from at least the following entities:
103 (A) the qualifying association that receives the contract under Subsection (3); and
104 (B) PEHP.
105 (7) For purposes of this section, the qualifying association that receives the contract
106 under Subsection (3) shall be considered the public agency for whom the program participant is
107 volunteering under 29 C.F.R. Sec. 553.101.
108 Section 2. Section 49-20-201 is amended to read:
109 49-20-201. Program participation -- Eligibility -- Optional for certain groups.
110 (1) (a) The state shall participate in the program on behalf of [
111 (b) Other employers, including political subdivisions and educational institutions, are
112 eligible, but are not required, to participate in the program on behalf of their employees.
113 (2) (a) As provided in Subsection 26-40-110(5), the Department of Health may
114 participate in the program for the purpose of providing health and dental benefits to children
115 enrolled in the Utah Children's Health Insurance Program created in Title 26, Chapter 40, Utah
116 Children's Health Insurance Act.
117 (b) If the Department of Health participates in the program under the provisions of this
118 Subsection (2), all insurance risk associated with the Utah Children's Health Insurance Program
119 shall be the responsibility of the Department of Health and not the program or the office.
120 (3) Volunteer emergency medical service personnel are eligible to participate in the
121 program in accordance with Section 26-8a-603.
122 [
123 employment under rules adopted by the board.
124 [
125 chapter upon becoming eligible for Medicare Part A and Part B coverage:
126 (a) retirees;
127 (b) members;
128 (c) participants;
129 (d) employees who have medical employee benefit plan coverage at the time of their
130 retirement; and
131 (e) current spouses of those who are eligible under Subsections [
132 Section 3. Section 63I-1-226 is amended to read:
133 63I-1-226. Repeal dates, Title 26.
134 (1) Subsection 26-1-7(1)(f), related to the Residential Child Care Licensing Advisory
135 Committee, is repealed July 1, 2024.
136 (2) Subsection 26-1-7(1)(h), related to the Primary Care Grant Committee, is repealed
137 July 1, 2025.
138 (3) Section 26-1-7.5, which creates the Utah Health Advisory Council, is repealed July
139 1, 2025.
140 (4) Section 26-1-40 is repealed July 1, 2022.
141 (5) Section 26-1-41 is repealed July 1, 2026.
142 (6) Section 26-7-10 is repealed July 1, 2025.
143 (7) Subsection 26-7-11(5), regarding reports to the Legislature, is repealed July 1,
144 2028.
145 (8) Section 26-7-14 is repealed December 31, 2027.
146 (9) Title 26, Chapter 9f, Utah Digital Health Service Commission Act, is repealed July
147 1, 2025.
148 (10) Subsection 26-10-6(5), which creates the Newborn Hearing Screening Committee,
149 is repealed July 1, 2026.
150 (11) Section 26-10b-106, which creates the Primary Care Grant Committee, is repealed
151 July 1, 2025.
152 (12) Subsection 26-15c-104(3), relating to a limitation on the number of
153 microenterprise home kitchen permits that may be issued, is repealed on July 1, 2022.
154 (13) Subsection 26-18-2.6(9), which addresses reimbursement for dental hygienists, is
155 repealed July 1, 2028.
156 (14) Section 26-18-27 is repealed July 1, 2025.
157 (15) Title 26, Chapter 18, Part 2, Drug Utilization Review Board, is repealed July 1,
158 2027.
159 (16) Subsection 26-18-418(2), the language that states "and the Behavioral Health
160 Crisis Response Commission created in Section 63C-18-202" is repealed July 1, 2023.
161 (17) Section 26-33a-117 is repealed on December 31, 2023.
162 (18) Title 26, Chapter 33a, Utah Health Data Authority Act, is repealed July 1, 2024.
163 (19) Title 26, Chapter 36b, Inpatient Hospital Assessment Act, is repealed July 1,
164 2024.
165 (20) Title 26, Chapter 36c, Medicaid Expansion Hospital Assessment Act, is repealed
166 July 1, 2024.
167 (21) Title 26, Chapter 36d, Hospital Provider Assessment Act, is repealed July 1, 2024.
168 (22) Section 26-39-201, which creates the Residential Child Care Licensing Advisory
169 Committee, is repealed July 1, 2024.
170 (23) Section 26-40-104, which creates the Utah Children's Health Insurance Program
171 Advisory Council, is repealed July 1, 2025.
172 (24) Section 26-50-202, which creates the Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory
173 Committee, is repealed July 1, 2025.
174 (25) Title 26, Chapter 54, Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Rehabilitation Fund and
175 Pediatric Neuro-Rehabilitation Fund, is repealed January 1, 2025.
176 (26) Title 26, Chapter 63, Nurse Home Visiting Pay-for-Success Program, is repealed
177 July 1, 2026.
178 (27) Title 26, Chapter 66, Early Childhood Utah Advisory Council, is repealed July 1,
179 2026.
180 (28) Title 26, Chapter 68, COVID-19 Vaccine Restrictions Act, is repealed July 1,
181 2024.
182 (29) Section 26-8a-603 is repealed July 1, 2027.
183 Section 4. Section 67-20-2 is amended to read:
184 67-20-2. Definitions.
185 As used in this chapter:
186 (1) "Agency" means:
187 (a) a department, institution, office, college, university, authority, division, board,
188 bureau, commission, council, or other agency of the state;
189 (b) a county, city, town, school district, or special improvement or taxing district; or
190 (c) any other political subdivision.
191 (2) "Compensatory service worker" means a person who performs a public service with
192 or without compensation for an agency as a condition or part of the person's:
193 (a) incarceration;
194 (b) plea;
195 (c) sentence;
196 (d) diversion;
197 (e) probation; or
198 (f) parole.
199 (3) (a) "Volunteer" means [
200 other compensation except:
201 (i) expenses actually and reasonably incurred as approved by the supervising agency[
202 and
203 (ii) health insurance received by a participant in the Volunteer Emergency Medical
204 Service Personnel Health Insurance Program described in Section 26-8a-603.
205 (b) "Volunteer" does not include:
206 (i) a person participating in human subjects research to the extent that the participation
207 is governed by federal law or regulation inconsistent with this chapter; or
208 (ii) a compensatory service worker.
209 (c) "Volunteer" includes a juror or potential juror appearing in response to a summons
210 for a trial jury or grand jury.
211 (4) "Volunteer facilitator" means a business or nonprofit organization that, from
212 individuals who have a relationship with the business or nonprofit organization, such as
213 membership or employment, provides volunteers to an agency or facilitates volunteers
214 volunteering with an agency.
215 (5) "Volunteer safety officer" means an individual who:
216 (a) provides services as a volunteer under the supervision of an agency; and
217 (b) at the time the individual provides the services to the supervising agency described
218 in Subsection (5)(a), the individual is:
219 (i) exercising peace officer authority as provided in Section 53-13-102; or
220 (ii) if the supervising agency described in Subsection (5)(a) is a fire department:
221 (A) on the rolls of the supervising agency as a firefighter;
222 (B) not regularly employed as a firefighter by the supervising agency; and
223 (C) acting in a capacity that includes the responsibility for the extinguishment of fire.
224 (6) "Volunteer search and rescue team member" means an individual who:
225 (a) provides services as a volunteer under the supervision of a county sheriff; and
226 (b) at the time the individual provides the services to the county sheriff described in
227 Subsection (6)(a), is:
228 (i) certified as a member of the county sheriff's search and rescue team; and
229 (ii) acting in the capacity of a member of the search and rescue team of the supervising
230 county sheriff.
231 Section 5. Coordinating H.B. 289 with H.B. 287 -- Technical amendment.
232 If this H.B. 289 and H.B. 287, Volunteer Government Workers Act, both pass and
233 become law, it is the intent of the Legislature that the Office of Legislative Research and
234 General Counsel, in preparing the Utah Code database for publication, modify Subsection
235 67-20-2(5)(a) in H.B. 287 to read:
236 "[
237 pay or other compensation except [
238 approved by the supervising agency[
239 (i) expenses actually and reasonably incurred;
240 (ii) a stipend for future higher education expenses, awarded from the National Service
241 Trust under 45 C.F.R Secs. 2526.10 and 2527.10;
242 (iii) a stipend, below the IRS aggregate amount, for:
243 (A) emergency volunteers, including emergency medical service volunteers, volunteer
244 safety officers, and volunteer search and rescue team members; or
245 (B) non-emergency volunteers, including senior program volunteers and community
246 event volunteers;
247 (iv) (A) health benefits provided through the supervising agency; or
248 (B) for a volunteer who participates in the Volunteer Emergency Medical Service
249 Personnel Health Insurance Program described in Section 26-8a-603, health insurance provided
250 through the program;
251 (v) passthrough stipends or other compensation provided to volunteers through a
252 federal or state program, including Americorp Seniors volunteers, consistent with 42 U.S.C.
253 Sec. 5058;
254 (vi) stipends or other compensation, below the IRS aggregate amount, provided to
255 volunteers from any person;
256 (vii) uniforms, identification, personal protective equipment, or safety equipment used
257 by a volunteer only while volunteering for the supervising entity;
258 (viii) a nonpecuniary item not exceeding $50 in value;
259 (ix) nonpecuniary items, below the IRS aggregate amount, donated to the supervising
260 agency with the express intent of benefitting a volunteer; or
261 (x) meals or gifts, not exceeding $50 in value, provided as part of a volunteers
262 appreciation event by the volunteering agency."