BILL NUMBER: S1773

SPONSOR: WEBB
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the state finance law, in relation to participation in
state contracts

 
PURPOSE:

To prohibit the state from entering into business with contractors who
do not provide their employees with health coverage that includes
supplemental breast cancer screenings.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill adds a new section to the state finance law,
providing that a clause shall be interested in all contracts entered
into by the state, and any of its public departments, agencies, or offi-
cials, from entering into a contract with a contractor that has partic-
ipated or is participating or shall participate in a health plan which
does not cover supplemental breast cancer screenings. The comptroller
              

will have the power to declare the contract void if it is discovered
that a contractor has been participating in such a health insurance plan
after the contract was executed. The comptroller will also be given the
power to issue rules and regulations pursuant to this section.

Section 2 provides the effective date

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The bill is designed to address one of the problems that arise when a
person is covered by a self-funded or self-insured health plan. Under
these plans, the employer assumes the financial risk for providing
health care benefits to its employees. These plans are largely governed
at the federal level under ERISA (the Employee Retirement Income Securi-
ty Act), therefore superseding the applicability of any state law,
including a law enacted in 2016 which requires health insurance compa-
nies to cover the costs of supplemental imaging for all women (Chapter
74 of 2016). Self-funded plans are exempt from certain provisions of the
Affordable Care Act. Additionally, self-funded plans which enjoy grand-
fathered status are afforded further exemptions under the ACA. Unfortu-
nately, these plans often fail to cover many health services, including
supplemental breast cancer screenings.

Mammograms are an effective breast cancer screening method that can
detect the disease at an early stage when treatment is most effective.

However, for women with dense breast tissue, supplemental screening, in
the form of an ultrasound or MRI, is necessary to properly determine the
presence or absence of breast cancer. For women enrolled in self-funded
plans, uncertainty over insurance coverage and high copay/deductibles
deter supplemental screenings, which in some cases can have dire health
consequences.

For the state to properly address the problems presented by self-funded
plans, creative solutions are required. This bill leverages the
contracting power of our government to support women and their families
by requiring any contractor wishing to do business with the state to
provide their employees with health coverage that includes supplemental
breast cancer screenings.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023: S.4306/Chu - passed the Senate

2022: S.8037/Reichlin-Melnick - passed the Senate

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect 90 days after it becomes law and will apply
to contracts entered into, renewed, or modified on or after the effec-
tive date.