APPROVED CHAPTER
MAY 3, 2022 715
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-TWO
_____
H.P. 1024 - L.D. 1390
An Act To Maximize Health Care Coverage for the Uninsured through Easy
Enrollment in the MaineCare Program or in a Qualified Health Plan in the
Marketplace
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §5412 is enacted to read:
§5412. Easy enrollment program
The easy enrollment program is established under this chapter to identify residents of
this State who are uninsured but qualify for benefits under the MaineCare program or a
qualified health plan in the marketplace.
1. Tax checkoff. A person filing a tax return in this State pursuant to Title 36, chapter
803 who has marked the relevant check-off boxes on the state income tax form as described
in Title 36, section 5294 is identified as a person who may be provisionally assessed as
eligible for benefits under the MaineCare program or to enroll in a qualified health plan in
the marketplace. The department, in conjunction with the superintendent and the
Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of Revenue Services, shall
determine by rule the information necessary to be shared with the marketplace to
provisionally assess eligibility and the schedule regarding the frequency of transferring the
information.
2. Eligibility determination. The marketplace shall determine whether the person
filing the tax return under subsection 1 has an address in the State and whether the persons
in the household indicated as uninsured are already enrolled in the MaineCare program or
a qualified health plan in the marketplace. The marketplace shall mail a notice to
households with an address in the State and with persons in the household who are
uninsured. The notice must notify the person filing the tax return that the person or other
uninsured members of the household may be eligible for health care coverage and provide
information about the special enrollment period available on the marketplace pursuant to
subsection 3 and that MaineCare enrollment is available at any time. If the person filing
the tax return has included an e-mail address or other contact information, the marketplace
shall contact the person using the preferred method of communication indicated on the tax
return.
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 3. Special enrollment period; assistance; coverage begins. A person filing a tax
return under subsection 1 who is provisionally assessed as eligible to enroll in a qualified
health plan in the marketplace has a special enrollment period that begins on the date of the
tax filing and ends 35 days from the date of the notice mailed by the marketplace to the
person pursuant to subsection 2. Once a person begins the application to enroll in a
qualified health plan in the marketplace, the marketplace shall provide assistance through
follow-up e-mails or another preferred method of communication until the person is
successfully enrolled or the marketplace determines that the person does not wish to enroll.
Coverage in the marketplace is effective on the first day of the month after the date a plan
is selected by the person.
4. Medicaid coverage. If the marketplace determines that any member of the
household is eligible for benefits under the MaineCare program under this section, the
marketplace shall notify the department and the person who filed the tax return of the
potential eligibility. The department shall contact the person who filed the tax return using
the person's preferred method of communication and provide assistance with the
MaineCare application unless the marketplace determines that the person does not wish to
enroll.
5. Outreach efforts. The marketplace and department, after appropriate consultation
with the superintendent, shall jointly develop educational materials and programming to
communicate the purpose of the income tax checkoff under Title 36, section 5294 and the
benefits of enrolling in the MaineCare program or a qualified health plan in the marketplace
to the public. The materials and programming must include materials developed for
different target groups in the public, including, but not limited to, tax preparers, consumer
assistance organizations, community groups and underserved groups. The materials must
be made available in English and in languages appropriate for communities in the State
whose primary languages are not English.
Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §5413 is enacted to read:
§5413. Easy enrollment advisory group; data collection
1. Advisory group. An advisory group is established to advise the department on
state income tax changes including the format of check-off boxes on income tax forms
pursuant to Title 36, section 5294, effectiveness of the easy enrollment program under
section 5412, feasibility of automatic enrollment in health care plans, improvements to
outreach materials, issues related to necessary information required for establishing
eligibility while maintaining confidentiality and proposed changes to improve the program.
The commissioner and the superintendent or the commissioner's or superintendent's
designees are cochairs and shall convene the advisory group. The chairs shall jointly
appoint members to the advisory group, and members must include the stakeholders
described in section 5404, subsection 2, paragraph B and representatives of the Department
of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of Revenue Services and professional tax
preparers. The advisory group shall meet at least 3 times a year and as often as necessary
to carry out its advisory duties.
2. Data collection. The department shall provide an annual report on the easy
enrollment program under section 5412 to the joint standing committee of the Legislature
having jurisdiction over health insurance matters and the joint standing committee of the
Legislature having jurisdiction over MaineCare matters. The report must include the
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number of persons who marked the check-off boxes on tax returns as described in section
5412, subsection 1, the number provisionally assessed as eligible by the marketplace for
benefits under the MaineCare program or a qualified health plan in the marketplace, the
number who enrolled in the MaineCare program, the number who enrolled in qualified
health plans in the marketplace, how many enrolled in a qualified health plan in the
marketplace who were eligible for financial assistance and demographic data on
enrollment. The report must be submitted by November 15th of each year beginning in
2024 and contain data based on the previous calendar year's tax return data.
Sec. 3. 36 MRSA §191, sub-§2, ¶QQQ is enacted to read:
QQQ. The disclosure of information to the Maine Health Insurance Marketplace to
administer the easy enrollment health insurance program pursuant to Title 22, section
5412 and the health insurance check-off box pursuant to section 5294.
Sec. 4. 36 MRSA §5294 is enacted to read:
§5294. Easy enrollment health insurance program; voluntary checkoff
1. Health insurance check-off box. For tax years beginning on or after January 1,
2023, the assessor shall provide on the income tax form a space for an easy enrollment
health insurance check-off box that includes the following:
A. A check box indicating that the taxpayer filing the tax return does not have health
care coverage;
B. A check box indicating that the spouse of the taxpayer filing the tax return does not
have health care coverage;
C. A check box indicating whether any dependents of the taxpayer do not have health
care coverage;
D. A check box authorizing the bureau to share information from the income tax return
with the marketplace established in Title 22, chapter 1479; and
E. An e-mail address, telephone number or other preferred method of communication,
if available, for additional contact by the marketplace under Title 22, chapter 1479.
2. Information sharing. The assessor shall forward to the marketplace established in
Title 22, chapter 1479 the information of a taxpayer who marked any check box in
paragraph A, B or C and marked the check box in paragraph D. The information transferred
to the marketplace, and the frequency of that transfer, is established by rule according to
Title 22, section 5412, subsection 1.
3. Rulemaking. The assessor shall adopt rules to implement this section. Rules
adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter
375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 5. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and
allocations are made.
ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF
Revenue Services, Bureau of 0002
Initiative: Provides funding for costs to capture, collect and report the data related to the
health insurance individual income tax check-off box.
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GENERAL FUND 2021-22 2022-23
All Other $0 $3,855
__________ __________
GENERAL FUND TOTAL $0 $3,855
Revenue Services, Bureau of 0002
Initiative: Provides funding for one-time computer programming costs to add the health
insurance check-off boxes to the individual income tax return.
GENERAL FUND 2021-22 2022-23
All Other $0 $55,000
__________ __________
GENERAL FUND TOTAL $0 $55,000
ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL
SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF
DEPARTMENT TOTALS 2021-22 2022-23
GENERAL FUND $0 $58,855
__________ __________
DEPARTMENT TOTAL - ALL FUNDS $0 $58,855
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