SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1465        FILED ON: 1/14/2009

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 530

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Nine

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An Act improving the insurance partnership program..

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Subsection (1) of section 9C of chapter 118E of the General Laws, is hereby amended by deleting the definition of "Eligible Employee" in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following:

"Eligible employee'', an employee: (i) who is employed by an eligible employer; (ii) who resides in the commonwealth; (iii) who has not attained age 65; and (iv) who meets the financial and other eligibility standards set forth in regulations promulgated by the division, if the gross family income standard does not exceed 400 per cent of the federal poverty level.

SECTION 2. Subsection (1) of section 9C of chapter 118E of the General Laws, is hereby further amended by deleting the definition of "Eligible self-employed single individual" in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following:

"Eligible self-employed single individual'', a person with or without dependents (i) who receives any gross income from self-employment; (ii) who resides in the commonwealth; (iii) who has not attained age 65; and (iv) who meets the financial and other eligibility standards set forth in regulations promulgated by the division, provided that the gross family income standard shall not exceed 400 per cent of the federal poverty level.

SECTION 3. Subsection (1) of section 9C of chapter 118E of the General Laws, is hereby further amended by deleting the definition of "Eligible self-employed husband and wife" in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following:

"Eligible self-employed husband and wife'', a married couple with or without dependents (i) where either spouse receives any gross income from self employment; (ii) where both spouses reside in the commonwealth; (iii) where neither spouse has attained age 65; and (iv) who meets the financial and other eligibility standards set forth in regulations promulgated by the division, provided that the gross family income standard shall not exceed 400 per cent of the federal poverty level.

SECTION 4. Section 9C of said chapter 118E of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking paragraph (4) in its entirety and replacing it with the following new paragraph:

(4) The amount of payments for each employer under paragraph (C) of subsection (2) shall be as follows: (i) $600 for each eligible employee for whom the eligible employer pays 50 percent or more of the cost of qualified medical insurance; (ii) $1,200 for each eligible employee for whom the eligible employer pays 50 percent or more of the cost of qualified two-person family medical insurance, and (iii) $1,500 for each eligible employee for whom the eligible employer pays 50 percent or more of the cost of qualified family medical insurance, provided that the division may use reasonable data sources in determining the number of eligible employees of an eligible employer qualifying for such payments under clauses (i), (ii), and (iii).