Amend the bill, as and if amended, Part IB, Section 91, LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT, page 489, after line 25, by adding an appropriately numbered proviso to read:
/ 91.___. (LEG: Alternative Health Care Study Committee) (A) From the funds appropriated to the Senate and the House of Representatives, there is established the Alternative Health Care Study Committee. The committee shall be composed of:
(1) three members of the Senate appointed by the President Pro Tempore, with one member upon the recommendation of the Senate Majority Leader, and one member upon the recommendation of the Senate Minority Leader;
(2) three members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House, with one member upon the recommendation of the House Majority Leader, and one member upon the recommendation of the House Minority Leader;
(3) the director of the Department of Health and Human Services; and
(4) the director of the Department of Insurance.
The committee must be staffed by the staff of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Upon request of the committee, the staffs of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Insurance must be made available to assist the committee. Members of the General Assembly serving on the committee shall receive mileage, subsistence, and per diem at the rate provided by law.
The committee may elect a chairperson and other appropriate officers from its membership. The committee shall meet as soon as possible to accomplish the goals set forth in this paragraph.
(B) The committee shall study the potential costs and benefits, including the development of an alternative plan, of providing alternative health care to individuals under sixty-five years of age with incomes at or below one hundred thirty-eight percent of the federal poverty level, based on modified adjusted gross income. The committee's study, on which the alternative plan is based, shall include, but is not limited to:
(1) potential use of federal dollars;
(2) the purchase of private health insurance for such individuals;
(3) utilizing insurance exchanges for such individuals, thus ensuring that limited resources are focused on those most in need;
(4) use of authorized co-payments, other quality of care incentives, or changes in benefits levels;
(5) other innovative approaches, including those used by other states, to tailor eligibility of the alternative plan;
(6) receiving a federal block grant for the alternative program;
(7) other related subjects that may serve to inform the General Assembly as determined by the committee;
(8) the availability of providers to care for South Carolina's covered population, including those newly eligible under the alternative plan; and
(9) the impact the alternative plan could have on costshifting.
(C) The committee may solicit information from any person or entity it deems relevant to its study. The committee must make a report of its findings and recommendations, including proposed legislation, to the General Assembly no later than January 1, 2015. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend sections, totals and title to conform.