Amendment #90 to H4617

Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure

Representatives Jones of North Reading, Hill of Ipswich, Poirier of North Attleborough, Gifford of Wareham, Frost of Auburn and Smola of Warren move to amend the bill by adding the following section:-

"SECTION X. Chapter 118E, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is amended by adding the following section:-

Section 78. (a) The division shall create a Health Insurance Responsibility Disclosure form. Every employer with 6 or more employees, doing business in the commonwealth, shall annually complete and submit said form under oath. The form shall indicate whether the employer has offered to pay for or arrange for the purchase of health care insurance and information about such health care insurance such as the premium cost, benefits offered, cost sharing details, eligibility criteria and other information necessary to implement subsection (17) of section 9A. The division may make arrangements with other agencies of the commonwealth, including the department of revenue and the department of unemployment assistance, to assist with the administration of this section. Employers shall provide supplemental information that is necessary to implement said subsection (17) of said section 9A to the division or its designee, upon request. An employer receiving information that identifies, or could be used to identify, a MassHealth member or recipient of subsidized health insurance shall not use or disclose such information except as authorized by the division.

(b) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, information reported under subsection (a) that identifies individual employees by name or health insurance status or is protected health information shall not be a public record under clause twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4 or under chapter 66, but the information may be exchanged among the executive office of health and human service, the commonwealth health insurance connector authority, the department of unemployment assistance, the center for health information and analysis and the department of revenue as necessary to implement subsection (17) of section 9A. An employer who knowingly falsifies or fails to file any information required by this section, or its implementing regulation, shall be subject to a penalty of not less than $1,000 or more than $5,000 for each violation.”