71st OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2001 Regular Session
NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .
LC 2633
B-Engrossed
House Bill 3015
Ordered by the Senate July 5
Including House Amendments dated May 7 and Senate Amendments
dated
July 5
Sponsored by Representative KRUSE
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure.
{ - Directs Mental Health and Developmental Disability
Services Division to develop plan for delivering mental health
services to people incarcerated in state and local correctional
facilities. - }
{ - Declares emergency, effective on passage. - }
{ + Creates joint interim task force to study and make
recommendations on achieving parity between mental health
benefits and physical health benefits in health insurance plans.
Specifies duties of task force. Requires task force to report to
Seventy-second Legislative Assembly. + }
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to mental health services.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. { + (1) There is created a joint interim task force
to study and make recommendations on achieving parity between
mental health benefits and physical health benefits in health
insurance plans.
(2) The task force shall consist of four members of the House
of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives and four members of the Senate appointed by the
President of the Senate. At least one member appointed by the
Speaker and at least one member appointed by the President shall
have served on the Joint Legislative Committee on Ways and Means
during the Seventy-first Legislative Assembly. The Speaker and
the President shall ensure that the membership of the task force
includes a balance of members with service on legislative
committees on health and human services and members with service
on legislative committees on business or commerce.
(3) The task force shall:
(a) Review the statutes of other states that have adopted laws
concerning parity of mental health benefits;
(b) Compare different statutory approaches to the concept of
parity of mental health benefits;
(c) Study the effects of legislation concerning parity of
mental health benefits on the costs of health insurance for:
(A) Public employees;
(B) Businesses with fewer than 50 employees; and
(C) Individuals with individual coverage;
(d) Compare Oregon's mental health mandate for the 2001-2003
biennium with the mental health benefits parity standards of
other states and identify major differences in health insurance
coverage;
(e) Determine the number of Oregonians covered by health
insurance policies that achieve parity between mental health
benefits and physical health benefits;
(f) Estimate the number of Oregonians that would not be
affected by legislation requiring parity between mental health
benefits and physical health benefits in health insurance plans
because of the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.);
(g) Review costs in Oregon for:
(A) Inpatient mental health services;
(B) Outpatient mental health services;
(C) Residential mental health services; and
(D) Prescription drugs related to mental health diagnoses;
(h) Determine trends in the costs described in paragraph (g) of
this subsection;
(i) Determine trends in use of inpatient, outpatient and
residential health services;
(j) Review recent federal studies of mental health coverage in
Medicare, Medicaid and other federal programs;
(k) Compare techniques used to limit physical health insurance
coverage with techniques used to limit mental health coverage,
such as deductibles, coinsurance, copayments and annual service
limits;
(L) Determine which coverage limitations or managed or
coordinated care techniques would create a balance between the
issues of appropriate access and reasonable cost;
(m) With the assistance of a consulting actuary, develop a
model benefit package that is cost-neutral and achieves parity
between mental health benefits and physical health benefits for a
business with fewer than 50 employees; and
(n) Obtain public opinion on the model benefit package
described in paragraph (m) of this subsection.
(4) Except as provided in this section, the task force is
subject to the provisions of ORS 171.605 to 171.635 and has the
authority contained in ORS 171.505 and 171.510.
(5) A member of the Legislative Assembly appointed to the task
force shall be entitled to an allowance as authorized by ORS
171.072 from funds appropriated to the Legislative Assembly.
(6) Subject to the approval of the Emergency Board, the task
force may accept contributions of funds and assistance from the
United States Government or its agencies or from any other
source, public or private, and agree to conditions thereon not
inconsistent with the purposes of the task force. All such funds
are to aid in financing the functions of the task force and shall
be deposited in the General Fund of the State Treasury to the
credit of separate accounts for the task force and shall be
disbursed for the purpose for which contributed in the same
manner as funds appropriated for the task force.
(7) Official action by the task force requires the approval of
a majority of the members of the task force. All legislation
recommended by official action of the task force shall be
consensus-based and indicate that it is introduced at the request
of the task force. Such legislation shall be prepared in time for
presession filing pursuant to ORS 171.130 for presentation to the
regular session of the Seventy-second Legislative Assembly.
(8) The task force shall report its findings and
recommendations to the Seventy-second Legislative Assembly. + }
----------