07 LC 33
2004
Senate
Bill 304
By:
Senators Stoner of the 6th, Grant of the 25th, Golden of the 8th, Thomas of the
54th , Adelman of the 42nd and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 2 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to the Department of Human Resources, so as to provide for the submission of
data relating to an individual´s employer for applicants and their
dependents receiving health care benefits under any state funded or administered
health care program; to provide that the Department of Human Resources 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
2 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the
Department of Human Resources, is amended by adding a new Code section to the
end of such chapter to read as follows:
"31-2-10.
(a)
Any individual who files an application for health care benefits for himself or
herself or for his or her dependents under any 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 individual´s
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
employer´s name, address, the total number of each employer´s
employees and their dependents who are enrolled in any program described 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.