06 LC 18
5078
Senate
Bill 536
By:
Senators Miles of the 43rd and Jones of the 10th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 5A of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to the Department of Community Health, so as to provide for the submission of
data relating to an
individuaĺs
employer for applicants and their dependents receiving health care benefits
under the state Medicaid program, PeachCare for Kids Program, or any other state
funded or administered health care program; to provide that the Department of
Community Health submit an annual report to the General Assembly regarding the
data relating to the employers; to provide that the report shall be available to
any member of the public upon request; to provide for related matters; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
5A of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the
Department of Community Health, is amended by adding a new Code section to the
end of such chapter to read as follows:
"31-5A-7.
(a)
Any individual who files an application for health care benefits for himself or
herself, or for his or her dependents under the state Medicaid program,
PeachCare for Kids Program, or any other state funded or administered health
care program and any individual requesting uncompensated care in a hospital
shall identify his or her employer or employers. In the event such individual
is unemployed, he or she shall identify the employer or employers of any adult
who is responsible for providing all or some of the
individuaĺs
support.
(b)
The department shall collect such information and on or before October 1 of each
year, the department shall transmit a report to the General Assembly which
includes all employers identified pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code
section who employ 25 or more public health care recipients. In determining
whether an employer has 25 or more public health care recipients, the department
shall include all public health care recipients employed by the employer and its
subsidiaries at all locations within the state. The report shall include each
employeŕs
name, address, the total number of each
employeŕs
employees and their dependents who are enrolled in each program included in
subsection (a) of this Code section, and the total cost to this state in
providing public health care benefits for such employees and their dependents.
The report shall not include the name of any individual public health care
recipient and shall be subject to privacy standards pursuant to the federal
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, P.L.104-191.
(c)
The department shall make the report provided for in subsection (b) of this Code
section available to any member of the public upon request and shall provide
such information in accordance with Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50,
relating to open
records."
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.