If you have been following the health insurance discussion this past year you will know that the Arkansas Legislative Council hired a healthcare consultant group to make recommendations to improve the plan. Below is the first round of bills based on their recommendations.
Since these bills are drafts and have no numbers assigned I sorted the bills for this analysis in a top/down order with a brief description of the bills title and it’s intent.
Legislative Session Rule Changes
This bill would modify the law so that Health Insurance bills can be run in a fiscal session. Representative Wardlaw has confirmed to us that these bills will be filed and run this fiscal session.
Governance
This bill would create an advisory board for the Board of Finance and EBD. The Board of Finance will remain the governing board. Page 2, line 24 through page 3, line 27 details the make-up and selection process for the public school board side. Page 5, line 9 though page 6, line 11 details the make-up and selection process for the state employee board side. They are both mirrored in size and selection. The Governor(the first year appointments will be selected by the Senate Pro Tempore) will select 3. ASEA will submit 3 applications and 1 will be appointed to the board. One retired state employee(selected by the Speaker of the House in the first year) shall by appointed by the Governor. The last position is the Insurance Department Secretary. All members shall have been in the plan for at least 5 years.
Oversight
The Legislative Council will create the Employee Benefits Division Oversight Subcommittee. Any changes to your plan design, premium increases or decreases, changes to the pharmacy plan, and anything that has not already been approved will have to be vetted and approved first in this new committee.
Funding
This one page bill removes the states contribution cap. Remember when we worked to have that increased to $550 per employee? This new bill strikes that language and leaves it with no maximum.
Fiscal Impact Statement
Retirement related bills require the Bureau of Legislative Research to attach a written statement on the estimated financial cost before a bill can be run for transparency and analysis. If this bill passes, it will do the same for all public school and state employees health insurance related bills.
Funding Mechanism Trigger
This would create an alarm if EBD’s reserve balance dips below 12%(balance, minus the claims, calculated as a percentage of expenses) and that EBD would immediately have to report to the new sub-committee as to what is the problem.
Obesity Program
The plan previously had a cap on how many people could get into the Bariatric program. The consultants were adamant that these programs reduce expenses over time. This bill removes that cap.
Retiree Participation
Going forward, for retirees to participate in the health insurance program must have been in the program for at least 5 years.
What You Do Not See In These Bills
The promise we received is that retirees can opt out of the MAPD plan and return to the State’s plan. That will be discussed this Thursday, 10AM, during the Arkansas Legislative Council(ALC) meeting with the consultant group. All things point to getting our promise in writing. ASEA will be there. Representative Wardlaw has invited us to testify if needed. https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/
Summary
These bills provide the needed transparency, oversight, resources, and financial distress alarms that were not previously in place. We are endorsing the package as written. We will continue monitoring them as it moves through the legislative process.
If you would like to see these bills, you can request a copy by emailing jbridges@aseaar.org.
John Bridges, Director, Arkansas State Employees Association
Arkansas State Employees Association 