SB 204: "An Act relating to state employee health plans that give employees the option to select a federally qualified high deductible health plan and requiring employees who select that plan to establish a health savings account."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 204 01 "An Act relating to state employee health plans that give employees the option to select a 02 federally qualified high deductible health plan and requiring employees who select that 03 plan to establish a health savings account." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 06 to read: 07 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE OR INTENT. It is the intent of this Act to enable public 08 employees to purchase the health plan that fits their individual needs. The federal government 09 made a significant change to the health care financing system on January 1, 2004, by allowing 10 individuals to participate in consumer-directed health plans. When the state offers its 11 employees a health plan, one of the options shall be a high deductible health plan. Employees 12 who choose this option will be required to set up a qualified Health Savings Account. To 13 ensure that those who choose the high deductible health plan get the full-dollar benefit that 14 other employees receive, the state will seed the employee's Health Savings Account with the
01 money that is saved by that choice. Health Savings Accounts grant the consumer ownership 02 over their health care and empower the consumer to make the best decisions to get the health 03 care the consumer needs at the best possible value. The accounts are owned by the individual 04 whether or not the individual is employed, roll over from year to year, and are portable across 05 jobs and other states. Health Savings Accounts also enable the worker to set aside funds for 06 health care that are free from federal tax. These pre-tax dollars can be used to cover qualified 07 medical costs, including preventative care. 08 * Sec. 2. AS 39.30.090(a)(1) is amended to read: 09 (1) A group insurance policy shall provide one or more of the 10 following benefits: life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, 11 weekly indemnity insurance, hospital expense insurance, surgical expense insurance, 12 dental expense insurance, audiovisual insurance, or other medical care insurance. If a 13 health plan is provided, eligible employees of the state shall have the option of 14 selecting a plan that is a high deductible health plan under 26 U.S.C. 223 15 (Internal Revenue Code). An employee who selects the high deductible health 16 plan option shall establish a health savings account that is administered by a 17 person that satisfies the requirements of 26 U.S.C. 223(d)(1)(B) (Internal 18 Revenue Code) and that is selected according to the collective bargaining 19 agreement for the employee's bargaining unit or, if the employee does not belong 20 to a bargaining unit, that is selected by the Department of Administration. The 21 state shall pay to the employee's health savings account an amount of money that 22 is equal to the state contribution rate under this subsection less the cost of the 23 high deductible health plan's premium.