An employer who offers coverage under a group plan to its employees, including a small group plan as defined in section 2808-B, subsection 1, paragraph G, shall also offer its employees, at the time of offering and renewal of the health plan, the option of selecting the alternate plan or plans offered by a carrier pursuant to section 2808-B, subsection 10 or section 2808-C.

1.__Employer contributions.__An employer that contributes to the premium cost of any health plan for its employees shall contribute the same amount to the premium cost of the corresponding alternate plan or the total premium cost of the alternate plan, whichever is less.__An employer may not be required to pay more for health benefits as a result of the application of this section than would otherwise be paid.

2.__Medical savings accounts.__To the extent allowed by federal and state law, an employer may establish medical savings accounts for its employees in conjunction with an alternate plan for the purposes of supporting the deductible and coinsurance costs to plan enrollees.

Sec. 4. 24-A MRSA §4222-B, sub-§21 is enacted to read:

21. Section 2736-C, subsection 10, 2808-B, subsection 10 and 2808-C, relating to the health coverage plan, apply to health maintenance organizations.

SUMMARY

This bill requires health insurance carriers to create an alternate version of each individual and group health coverage plan. The alternate version of each plan would have the identical coverages of the primary plan except that additional deductibles and patient cost-sharing would be required. The bill also requires that employers providing health insurance coverage to their employees offer their employees the option of choosing either the primary plan or the alternate plan. To the extent allowed by federal and state law, the bill allows employers to establish medical savings accounts in conjunction with the alternate plan for the purposes of supporting the deductible and coinsurance costs to employees.