Arizona "Copycat" Anti-Immigrant Bill Killed in Rhode Island Without a Hearing

Immigrant and workers' rights advocates celebrated a victory in Rhode Island this week with the announcement that State Rep. Peter Palumbo's anti-immigrant bill, closely based on Arizona's widely criticized SB 1070, would not get a hearing.  Palumbo, a conservative Democrat from Cranston, a community with many immigrant residents, was planning on holding a hearing on his bill this week.  Rhode Island was the fourth state to introduce legislation based upon Arizona's anti-immigrant SB 1070 , the nation's most sweeping anti-immigrant law to date, which Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed at the end of April.  Legislators in 18 states have announced they will introduce anti-immigrant legislation similar to the recently-passed law in Arizona, but introduction does not guarantee passage or committee consideration.  Few states are likely to pass such a bill this year as most legislatures have already adjourned, and will reconvene in early 2011.

Rhode Island House Speaker Gordon Fox came out in opposition to Palumbo's bill, and decided to table it -- the proposal was drafted roughly ten days ago, just before the end of the state's legislative session.  Fox noted enforcing immigration laws is a federal matter, and his announcement late Monday night came on the heels of large community mobilizations on the House of Representative floor against Palumbo and his bill. Though Fox denied his decision was informed by immigrant advocates mobilizing against the bill,  his decision does seem linked to widespread protests against the bill.

As we explained in greater detail in previous Dispatches, Arizona's recent and misguided  anti-immigrant  law actively encourages racial profiling by requiring  all state and local police officers to demand proof of immigration status from anyone they feel exhibits 'reasonable suspicion' of being undocumented.  SB 1070 also makes it state crime to not have proof of legal immigration status at hand at all times.

Federal Health Reform Benefits for Early Retirees Begins on June 1st

One of the immediate benefits of the Affordable Care Act is the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program.  Beginning June 1, 2010, this new reinsurance reimbursement program is available to group health plan sponsors who provide medical coverage to early retirees and their spouses, surviving spouses and dependents.

Program Goal:  Many Americans who retire without employer-sponsored insurance and before they become Medicare eligible are faced with the possibility of seeing their retirement savings disappear because of unaffordable, exorbitant rates in the individual insurance market.  The goal of this temporary program is to provide financial assistance to employers to help them maintain the coverage they offer for their early retirees.  Early retirees are individuals age 55 and older who are not yet eligible for Medicare and who are enrolled in health benefits under the employer-sponsored plan.

Employers will be reimbursed for the cost of providing certain health benefits, including medical, surgical, hospital, and prescription drug benefits.  This will encourage employers to continue to provide health coverage to early retirees until the state health exchanges and federal subsidies for health coverage are implemented in January 1, 2014.

State Governments Are Eligible:  Entities who are eligible to participate in the reinsurance program can be private employers, state or local governments, employee organizations, voluntary beneficiary associations or a multi-employer plan that already offers health benefits to their retirees.  Both self-funded and insured plans are permitted to apply.

To receive assistance, plans must have their applications approved and certified by HHS.  A number of requirements must be met in order to participate in the reinsurance program.  One such requirement is that the plan sponsor must have in place programs and procedures that have or have the potential to generate cost savings for participants with chronic and high-cost conditions. Chronic and high cost conditions are defined as a condition for which $15,000 or more in applicable claims are likely to be incurred during a plan year by one participant.

Reimbursement:  Plan sponsors must first submit an application to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in order to become certified to participate in the reimbursement program.  Once a sponsor is certified to participate in the program, the claims submitted for reimbursement must be between $15,000 and $90,000 per year (determined on a per-participant basis).  The partial reimbursements are limited to 80 percent of the costs attributable to claims that exceed $15,000.

Maintenance of Effort:  While employers can use the savings to either reduce their own health care costs, provide premium relief to their workers and families or a combination of both, one important caveat of the program is a maintenance of effort requirement.  This means participating sponsors must agree to maintain funding levels to support their applicable plan or plans.  The federal statute requires that funds dispersed under the reinsurance program cannot be used as general revenue.  The sponsors will need to indicate how the funds they receive will be applied to maintain their level of effort in supporting the plan.

With a total allocation of $5 billion, the program will end January 1, 2014, when early retirees become eligible to choose their insurance coverage through state health insurance exchanges.