Signed by Governor Dave Freudenthal

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that creates a "health care reform demonstration project."

Highlights:

-Creates a Benefit Design Committee consisting of between 3 and 7 people appointed by the Governor, and specifies that the members of this committee shall create and modify as necessary the schedule of health care benefits and other related services available to participants of the demonstration project (Sec. 1). -Specifies that the benefit design for the demonstration project shall include the following elements:

-Preventive services provided with no or "nominal" cost to the participant; -Clinical prevention services to assist certain participants with chronic disease or complicated health conditions and provided at "little or no" cost to the participant; -A personal health account funded by contributions from the participant (the amount of which will be determined on a sliding scale based on income) and a state contribution; -An insurance plan meeting creditable coverage qualifications under the federal "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act" (42 U.S.C. 1320d et seq.) that provides for premium cost sharing between the participant and the state based on income as determined by the Benefit Design Committee; and -To the extent deemed appropriate by the Benefit Design Committee, financial or other incentives to participants or providers to encourage them to participate in "appropriate" features of the program, including preventive services.

-Requires that participants in the demonstration project at the time of enrollment shall have family income not exceeding 200 percent of the federal poverty level and shall be working at least 20 hours per week (or the equivalent) (Sec. 1). -Specifies that participants may lose eligibility for failure to continue to work the required number of weekly hours (Sec. 1) -Specifies that the following individuals shall have priority for enrollment into the demonstration project (Sec. 1):

-Individuals who have completed a vocational readiness or work preparation program through the Department of Workforce Services, any other Wyoming state agency, or a Wyoming community college; -Individuals who have been a participant in the Medicaid program or other state assistance program and have become ineligible due to increased earnings or whose income is less than or equal to 150% of the federal poverty level; and -Individuals whose children are enrolled in Medicaid or the state children's health insurance program.

-Limits initial enrollment in the demonstration project, which may begin after July 1, 2010, to no more than 500 persons counting both the participants and their enrolled family members, and specifies that enrollment may be increased to 3,000 after October 1, 2011 if the governor and the board of directors of the Wyoming Health Insurance Pool approve a revised benefit plan and plan of operations based on experience with the initial enrollment (Sec. 1). -Appropriates $750,000 from the tobacco settlement trust income account to be used to contract with the board of directors of the Wyoming health insurance pool to implement the demonstration project, and appropriates $25,000 from the tobacco settlement trust income account to be used for the collecting and evaluating of data related to the demonstration project (Sec. 3).

Full Bill Text