HB 7238 Summary

• Modifies the Municipal Employees Health Insurance Program to allow the Comptroller to provide health coverage to municipalities, nonprofits, community action agencies, small employers, eligible individuals, retired members, and personal care assistant associations on a voluntary basis.

• Shifts administrative cost responsibility from the state to participating entities, eliminating state payment of plan administration costs.

• Requires participation decisions by employers with represented employees to be made by mutual agreement with the employee organization only, with neither party able to submit the issue to binding arbitration except by mutual agreement.

• Prohibits denial of employee groups from plan entry based on past or future health care costs or claim experience, and protects state employee rates from adverse effects.

• Permits the Comptroller to offer health benefit plans on either a fully underwritten or risk-pooled basis and allows variations from the standard state employee plan, effective October 1, 2019.