Amendment #846 to H4000

Health Insurance Expansion Fund

Representatives Benson of Lunenburg, DiNatale of Fitchburg, Calter of Kingston, Provost of Somerville and Decker of Cambridge move to amend the bill by inserting at the end thereof the following:

SECTION X. Chapter 29 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 2KKKK the following section: --

Section 2MMMM. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Health Insurance Expansion Fund. The fund shall be credited with an amount equal to the Medicaid funding provided by the federal government pursuant to the increased federal Medicaid assistance percentage under Section 2001 and 2101 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 and Section 1201 of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, the amount of which the secretary of administration and finance shall determine at the start of each fiscal year. No later than January 31 of each year, the secretary, in consultation with the executive office of health and human services, the commonwealth health insurance connector authority, healthcare providers participating in the Medicaid program, and consumer representatives, shall submit a report to the house and senate ways and means committees and the joint committee on health care financing that includes the current funding available in the fund, the funding estimated to be deposited through the end of the current and subsequent fiscal year, estimated expenditures from the fund, and recommendations for transferring such funds to other state accounts and funds in a manner consistent with the purpose of the fund. Amounts credited to the fund shall be expended, subject to appropriation, for the following purposes: (1) to support the financing of health insurance coverage for low-income Massachusetts residents, including state health insurance programs and insurance offered through the commonwealth’s health insurance exchange and (2) to improve Medicaid reimbursement to health care providers.