HB 21-SCHOOL/UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEE HEALTH INSUR  4:17:20 PM CHAIR SUMNER announced that the final order of business would be HB 21, "An Act relating to group insurance coverage and self- insurance coverage for school district employees, employees of the University of Alaska, and employees of other governmental units in the state; and providing for an effective date." [Amendment 1 was adopted to HB 21 during the meeting on 4/24/23.] 4:17:25 PM [Amendment 2 was moved by Representative Fields during the meeting on 4/24/23, of which Representative Saddler objected for the purpose of discussion.] REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS repeated the motion to adopt Amendment 2 to HB 21, as amended, labeled, 33-LS0254\A.2, Klein, 4/17/23, which read as follows: Page 4, lines 14 - 27: Delete all material. Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 9, line 23: Delete "Sections 1 - 10" Insert "Sections 1 - 9" Page 9, lines 24 - 25: Delete "secs. 1 - 10" Insert "secs. 1 - 9" Page 10, line 3: Delete "sec. 4" Insert "sec. 3" Page 10, line 10: Delete "Sections 12 and 13" Insert "Sections 11 and 12" Page 10, line 11: Delete "sec. 14" Insert "sec. 13" REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS stated that Amendment 2 would eliminate the provision allowing for the usage of the public education fund for the purpose of onboarding new groups to Alaska Care. 4:18:54 PM REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER expressed the belief that it is unfair to characterize the provision as the ability to "raid" the public education fund. He stated that his objection stems from the idea that this would be an appropriate use of the fund because it would act as a short-term loan. 4:19:56 PM REPRESENTATIVE SARAH VANCE, Alaska State Legislature, as prime sponsor of HB 21, stated that the amendment would be detrimental to the bill. Without the ability to use the public education fund, it would place a strain on the existing health care. 4:20:45 PM JAKE ALMEIDA, Staff, Representative Sarah Vance, Alaska State Legislature, stated that the Department of Administration (DOA) sent a letter in which it said that passing the bill without this provision would potentially lead to Alaska Care having insufficient funds to pay claims. 4:21:57 PM REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS commented that the bill would currently mandate DOA to allow any school district wishing to join, be allowed to join. He said that the amendment would protect the department. 4:22:42 PM REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE asked how DOA arrived at the figure of $100 million. REPRESENTATIVE VANCE expressed uncertainty concerning the department's determination of the amount. She expressed the understanding that DOA is comfortable with the figure because only small amounts would be taken out at a time. MR. ALMEIDA added that DOA referenced rising health care costs in determining the amount. REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE commented that the amount of money referenced in the proposed legislation for onboarding seems "outlandish." 4:26:26 PM ANDREA MUECA, Health Operations Manager, Division of Retirement and Benefits, Department of Administration, stated that there are certain drugs that can cost millions of dollars. 4:27:15 PM REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE questioned the average cost for a month's worth of care. MS. MUECA answered that she would follow up to the committee with an answer. 4:28:13 PM CHAIR SUMNER asked whether the $100 million figure would be per school district. REPRESENTATIVE VANCE answered that it would be the total for all groups wishing to join Alaska Care. 4:29:00 PM REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS asked how much money is in the public education fund. REPRESENTATIVE VANCE expressed uncertainty. In response to a follow-up question, she said that school districts would only be required to pay back any expenditures and no lost revenue from the fund's earnings. 4:30:46 PM A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Fields and Carrick voted in favor of Amendment 2 to HB 21, as amended. Representatives Saddler, Wright, Prax, Ruffridge, and Sumner voted against it. Therefore, Amendment 2 failed by a vote of 2- 5. 4:31:59 PM The committee took an at-ease from 4:31 p.m. to 4:33 p.m. 4:33:29 PM REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS stated that he would not offer Amendment 3 or Amendment 4 to HB 21. 4:33:52 PM REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS moved to adopt Amendment 5 to HB 21, as amended, labeled, 33-LS0254\A.5, Klein, 4/21/23, which read as follows: Page 5, line 3: Delete "shall" Insert "may" REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER objected. 4:34:03 PM REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS stated that Amendment 5 would change the word "shall" to "may" in regard to allowing school districts to join Alaska Care. He said it would give DOA the chance to reject a potential group from joining Alaska Care if its costs were deemed to be too high. 4:34:47 PM REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked for the bill sponsor's thoughts on the amendment. REPRESENTATIVE VANCE stated that the intent of the legislation is to lower health care costs for school districts. She expressed the opinion that the amendment would be harmful to this process. In response to a follow-up question, she said that the idea behind the bill is to reduce the health care costs of everyone by enlarging the pool. 4:37:09 PM REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS noted that the proposed bill would cover other state employees and would not be limited to school district employees. REPRESENTATIVE VANCE responded that the offered amendment referenced a section of the bill pertaining to school district and University of Alaska employees. 4:38:36 PM A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Fields and Carrick voted in favor of Amendment 5 to HB 21, as amended. Representatives Ruffridge, Saddler, Wright, Prax and Sumner voted against it. Therefore, Amendment 5 failed by a vote of 2- 5. 4:39:14 PM REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS stated that he would not offer Amendment 6, Amendment 7, or Amendment 8. 4:39:57 PM REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK moved to adopt Amendment 9 to HB 21, as amended, labeled 33-LS0254\A.9, Klein, 4/21/23, which read as follows: Page 1, line 2: Delete ", employees of the University of Alaska" Page 4, line 29: Delete "University and" Page 4, line 30: Delete "University and school" Insert "School" Page 5, line 29: Delete ", a regional educational attendance area, or the University of Alaska" Insert "or a regional educational attendance area" Page 5, line 30, through page 6, line 15: Delete all material and insert: "(2) "school employer" means a municipal school district or a regional educational attendance area." Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 8, line 31, through page 9, line 3: Delete all material. Renumber the following bill sections accordingly. Page 9, line 23: Delete "Sections 1 - 10" Insert "Sections 1 - 8" Page 9, lines 24 - 25: Delete "secs. 1 - 10" Insert "secs. 1 - 8" Page 10, line 10: Delete "Sections 12 and 13" Insert "Sections 10 and 11" Page 10, line 11: Delete "sec. 14" Insert "sec. 12" There being no objection, Amendment 9 to HB 21 was adopted. 4:40:24 PM REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER moved to rescind the committee's action in failing to adopt Amendment 9 to HB 21. There being no objection, the action on Amendment 9 was rescinded. 4:40:42 PM REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK stated that the amendment would remove the ability of the University of Alaska employees to join Alaska Care. She stated that the university does not have an official statement on the bill, and it recently renegotiated its health care contracts to give employees more health care options. She expressed her concern that the bill would create unintended consequences for the public education fund and described the relationship between the state and the university as unique compared to other state employees. 4:42:57 PM REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked whether the university has the option to choose not to enroll in Alaska Care. REPRESENTATIVE VANCE answered yes. REPRESENTATIVE PRAX commented that he is unsure why the university should not be given the choice to join Alaska Care. REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK responded that the amendment is concerned with the stability of the public education fund, not the University of Alaska employees. She expressed concern that the large size of the university could be detrimental to Alaska Care. 4:46:02 PM REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER expressed the opinion that university employees do not have a unique place as public employees. He expressed the understanding that the proposed legislation would help manage the state's health care expenditures. 4:47:42 PM REPRESENTATIVE PRAX expressed the opinion that HB 21 should be passed to the floor with a minimal number of amendments. 4:48:43 PM The committee took an at-ease from 4:48 p.m. to 4:50 p.m. 4:50:05 PM REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER maintained his objection. A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Carrick and Fields voted in favor of Amendment 9 to HB 21, as amended. Representatives Wright, Saddler, Ruffridge, Prax, and Sumner voted against it. Therefore, Amendment 9 to HB 21 failed by a vote of 2-5. 4:50:47 PM The committee took an at-ease from 4:50 p.m. to 4:51 p.m. 4:51:24 PM CHAIR SUMNER announced that HB 21, as amended, was held over.