AN ACT relating to employee benefits, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring an emergency.
     Create a new section of KRS Chapter 18A to establish a health reimbursement account and a health savings account for state employees and school board employees participating in the state health insurance plan and set the annual employer contribution for 2006 at $600 for the health reimbursement account; amend KRS 18A.225, relating to the state health insurance plan, to require a reduction in the employee coinsurance for retail prescription drugs; require a statewide policy of group health care coverage for preferred provider organization (PPO) coverage for all classes of employees in 2006 and thereafter; require the Personnel Cabinet and Kentucky Group Health Insurance Board to develop a proposal for legislation to be presented to the 2006 Regular Session to establish a statewide self-funded health insurance plan; require the Personnel Cabinet to permit married couples who are both employees to be covered under one health benefit plan and to apply the state's contribution to that plan; require the state to make available to and pay for an employee high-deductible health insurance plan with a $10,000 deductible for the family and parent-plus plan and a $5000 deductible for single coverage; require the state to deposit the difference between the premium cost of the high-deductible plan and the amount that the state would pay for one of the other offered plans into the health savings account of the employee with the high-deductible health insurance plan; raise the cost-of-living increase for retired teachers to 2.3% retroactive to July 1, 2004, and raise the cost-of-living increase effective July 1, 2005, to 2.2%; increase salaries for full-time state employees and local school board employees by $600 January 1, 2005; appropriate to the Department of Education $19,482,700 for FY 2005-2006 and to the Personnel Cabinet $3,921,200 in FY 2005-2006 to fund employer contributions; appropriate to the Department of Education $31,988,700 in FY 2004-2005 and $63,977,500 for FY 2005-2006, and appropriate to the Personnel Cabinet $5,197,500 in FY 2004-2005 and $10,395,000 in FY 2005-2006, to fund cost-of-living adjustments; EMERGENCY.

     Oct 6-introduced in House
     Oct 7-to Appropriations and Revenue (H)