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To amend section 9.833 and to enact section 305.172 | 1 |
of the Revised Code to permit political | 2 |
subdivisions to offer and make contributions to | 3 |
health savings accounts for employees. | 4 |
Section 1. That section 9.833 be amended and section 305.172 | 5 |
of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows: | 6 |
Sec. 9.833. (A) As used in this section, "political | 7 |
subdivision" means a municipal corporation, township, county, | 8 |
school district, or other body corporate and politic responsible | 9 |
for governmental activities in a geographic area smaller than that | 10 |
of the state. | 11 |
(B) Political subdivisions that provide health care benefits | 12 |
for their officers or employees may do any of the following: | 13 |
(1) Establish and maintain an individual self-insurance | 14 |
program with public moneys to provide authorized health care | 15 |
benefits, including but not limited to, health care, prescription | 16 |
drugs, dental care, and vision care, in accordance with division | 17 |
(C) of this section; | 18 |
(2) Establish and maintain a health savings account program | 19 |
whereby employees or officers may establish and maintain health | 20 |
savings accounts in accordance with section 223 of the Internal | 21 |
Revenue Code. Public moneys may be used to subsidize premiums for | 22 |
federally qualified high deductible health plans that are linked | 23 |
to health savings accounts or to make contributions to health | 24 |
savings accounts. | 25 |
(3) After establishing an individual self-insurance program, | 26 |
agree with other political subdivisions that have established | 27 |
individual self-insurance programs for health care benefits, that | 28 |
their programs will be jointly administered in a manner specified | 29 |
in the agreement; | 30 |
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division (C) of this section, join in any combination with other | 32 |
political subdivisions to establish and maintain a joint | 33 |
self-insurance program to provide health care benefits; | 34 |
| 35 |
combination with other political subdivisions to procure or | 36 |
contract for policies, contracts, or plans of insurance to provide | 37 |
health care benefits for their officers and employees subject to | 38 |
the agreement; | 39 |
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plans, or programs authorized under this division. | 41 |
(C) Except as otherwise provided in division (E) of this | 42 |
section, the following apply to individual or joint self-insurance | 43 |
programs established pursuant to this section: | 44 |
(1) Such funds shall be reserved as are necessary, in the | 45 |
exercise of sound and prudent actuarial judgment, to cover | 46 |
potential cost of health care benefits for the officers and | 47 |
employees of the political subdivision. A report of amounts so | 48 |
reserved and disbursements made from such funds, together with a | 49 |
written report of a member of the American academy of actuaries | 50 |
certifying whether the amounts reserved conform to the | 51 |
requirements of this division, are computed in accordance with | 52 |
accepted loss reserving standards, and are fairly stated in | 53 |
accordance with sound loss reserving principles, shall be prepared | 54 |
and maintained, within ninety days after the last day of the | 55 |
fiscal year of the entity for which the report is provided for | 56 |
that fiscal year, in the office of the program administrator | 57 |
described in division (C)(3) of this section. | 58 |
The report required by division (C)(1) of this section shall | 59 |
include, but not be limited to, disbursements made for the | 60 |
administration of the program, including claims paid, costs of the | 61 |
legal representation of political subdivisions and employees, and | 62 |
fees paid to consultants. | 63 |
The program administrator described in division (C)(3) of | 64 |
this section shall make the report required by this division | 65 |
available for inspection by any person at all reasonable times | 66 |
during regular business hours, and, upon the request of such | 67 |
person, shall make copies of the report available at cost within a | 68 |
reasonable period of time. | 69 |
(2) Each political subdivision shall reserve funds necessary | 70 |
for an individual or joint self-insurance program in a special | 71 |
fund that may be established pursuant to an ordinance or | 72 |
resolution of the political subdivision and not subject to section | 73 |
5705.12 of the Revised Code. The political subdivision may | 74 |
allocate the costs of insurance or any self-insurance program, or | 75 |
both, among the funds or accounts in the subdivision's treasury on | 76 |
the basis of relative exposure and loss experience. | 77 |
(3) A contract may be awarded, without the necessity of | 78 |
competitive bidding, to any person, political subdivision, | 79 |
nonprofit corporation organized under Chapter 1702. of the Revised | 80 |
Code, or regional council of governments created under Chapter | 81 |
167. of the Revised Code for purposes of administration of an | 82 |
individual or joint self-insurance program. No such contract shall | 83 |
be entered into without full, prior, public disclosure of all | 84 |
terms and conditions. The disclosure shall include, at a minimum, | 85 |
a statement listing all representations made in connection with | 86 |
any possible savings and losses resulting from the contract, and | 87 |
potential liability of any political subdivision or employee. The | 88 |
proposed contract and statement shall be disclosed and presented | 89 |
at a meeting of the political subdivision not less than one week | 90 |
prior to the meeting at which the political subdivision authorizes | 91 |
the contract. | 92 |
A contract awarded to a nonprofit corporation or a regional | 93 |
council of governments under this division may provide that all | 94 |
employees of the nonprofit corporation or regional council of | 95 |
governments and the employees of all entities related to the | 96 |
nonprofit corporation or regional council of governments may be | 97 |
covered by the individual or joint self-insurance program under | 98 |
the terms and conditions set forth in the contract. | 99 |
(4) The individual or joint self-insurance program shall | 100 |
include a contract with a member of the American academy of | 101 |
actuaries for the preparation of the written evaluation of the | 102 |
reserve funds required under division (C)(1) of this section. | 103 |
(5) A joint self-insurance program may allocate the costs of | 104 |
funding the program among the funds or accounts in the treasuries | 105 |
of the participating political subdivisions on the basis of their | 106 |
relative exposure and loss experience. | 107 |
(6) An individual self-insurance program may allocate the | 108 |
costs of funding the program among the funds or accounts in the | 109 |
treasury of the political subdivision that established the | 110 |
program. | 111 |
(7) Two or more political subdivisions may also authorize the | 112 |
establishment and maintenance of a joint health care cost | 113 |
containment program, including, but not limited to, the employment | 114 |
of risk managers, health care cost containment specialists, and | 115 |
consultants, for the purpose of preventing and reducing health | 116 |
care costs covered by insurance, individual self-insurance, or | 117 |
joint self-insurance programs. | 118 |
(8) A political subdivision is not liable under a joint | 119 |
self-insurance program for any amount in excess of amounts payable | 120 |
pursuant to the written agreement for the participation of the | 121 |
political subdivision in the joint self-insurance program. Under a | 122 |
joint self-insurance program agreement, a political subdivision | 123 |
may, to the extent permitted under the written agreement, assume | 124 |
the risks of any other political subdivision. A joint | 125 |
self-insurance program established under this section is deemed a | 126 |
separate legal entity for the public purpose of enabling the | 127 |
members of the joint self-insurance program to obtain insurance or | 128 |
to provide for a formalized, jointly administered self-insurance | 129 |
fund for its members. An entity created pursuant to this section | 130 |
is exempt from all state and local taxes. | 131 |
(9) Any political subdivision may issue general obligation | 132 |
bonds, or special obligation bonds that are not payable from real | 133 |
or personal property taxes, and may also issue notes in | 134 |
anticipation of such bonds, pursuant to an ordinance or resolution | 135 |
of its legislative authority or other governing body for the | 136 |
purpose of providing funds to pay expenses associated with the | 137 |
settlement of claims, whether by way of a reserve or otherwise, | 138 |
and to pay the political subdivision's portion of the cost of | 139 |
establishing and maintaining an individual or joint self-insurance | 140 |
program or to provide for the reserve in the special fund | 141 |
authorized by division (C)(2) of this section. | 142 |
In its ordinance or resolution authorizing bonds or notes | 143 |
under this section, a political subdivision may elect to issue | 144 |
such bonds or notes under the procedures set forth in Chapter 133. | 145 |
of the Revised Code. In the event of such an election, | 146 |
notwithstanding Chapter 133. of the Revised Code, the maturity of | 147 |
the bonds may be for any period authorized in the ordinance or | 148 |
resolution not exceeding twenty years, which period shall be the | 149 |
maximum maturity of the bonds for purposes of section 133.22 of | 150 |
the Revised Code. | 151 |
Bonds and notes issued under this section shall not be | 152 |
considered in calculating the net indebtedness of the political | 153 |
subdivision under sections 133.04, 133.05, 133.06, and 133.07 of | 154 |
the Revised Code. Sections 9.98 to 9.983 of the Revised Code are | 155 |
hereby made applicable to bonds or notes authorized under this | 156 |
section. | 157 |
(10) A joint self-insurance program is not an insurance | 158 |
company. Its operation does not constitute doing an insurance | 159 |
business and is not subject to the insurance laws of this state. | 160 |
(D) A political subdivision may procure group life insurance | 161 |
for its employees in conjunction with an individual or joint | 162 |
self-insurance program authorized by this section, provided that | 163 |
the policy of group life insurance is not self-insured. | 164 |
(E) Divisions (C)(1), (2), and (4) of this section do not | 165 |
apply to individual self-insurance programs in municipal | 166 |
corporations, townships, or counties. | 167 |
(F) A public official or employee of a political subdivision | 168 |
who is or becomes a member of the governing body of the program | 169 |
administrator of a joint self-insurance program in which the | 170 |
political subdivision participates is not in violation of division | 171 |
(D) or (E) of section 102.03, division (C) of section 102.04, or | 172 |
section 2921.42 of the Revised Code as a result of either of the | 173 |
following: | 174 |
(1) The political subdivision's entering under this section | 175 |
into the written agreement to participate in the joint | 176 |
self-insurance program; | 177 |
(2) The political subdivision's entering under this section | 178 |
into any other contract with the joint self-insurance program. | 179 |
Sec. 305.172. As used in this section, "county officer or | 180 |
employee" includes, but is not limited to, a member or employee of | 181 |
the county board of elections. | 182 |
The board of county commissioners of any county may establish | 183 |
and maintain a health savings account program whereby county | 184 |
officers or employees may establish and maintain health savings | 185 |
accounts in accordance with section 223 of the Internal Revenue | 186 |
Code. Public moneys may be used to subsidize premiums for | 187 |
federally qualified high deductible health plans that are linked | 188 |
to health savings accounts or to make contributions to health | 189 |
savings accounts. | 190 |
Section 2. That existing section 9.833 of the Revised Code is | 191 |
hereby repealed. | 192 |