Department of Health Care Access and Information.

Schiavo’s proposal would require health facilities, clinics, home health agencies, and hospices to provide an annual public report on whether all eligible employees can begin employer-sponsored health care coverage without a waiting period, and if not, the length of that waiting period by employee category. The Department of Health Care Access and Information would collect these reports, integrate them with existing workforce data, and publish the information on its website at least once per year, with the initial reporting obligation taking effect January 1, 2027.

Reporting would be structured around a simple yes/no question about eligibility at employment start, followed by the waiting period length. If the same waiting period applies to all eligible employees, the overall length must be reported; if different waiting periods apply to different classifications, the length must be reported for each classification. The data would be collected for twelve defined employee classifications, spanning physicians, physician interns/residents/fellows, registered nurses, licensed vocational nurses, aides and orderlies, medical assistants, home health aides, technicians and specialists, clerical and other administrative staff, environmental services and food staff, management and supervision, and all other classifications.

The department would provide the reporting forms and assign waiting-period buckets in which entities must categorize their data: 0 days; 1–14 days; 15–30 days; 31–60 days; 61–90 days; more than 90 days. To minimize administrative burden, the bill directs the department to the extent feasible integrate this reporting with existing submissions; the requirement would not apply to entities not currently required to file reports with the department. Public posting of the compiled information would occur annually pursuant to the bill’s provisions.

In its relation to current law, the measure adds a new reporting obligation to the state’s health care workforce data program, anchored to existing definitions for health facilities, clinics, home health agencies, and hospices. It establishes a new data element—waiting periods for employer-sponsored coverage—within the department’s reporting framework, while allowing exemptions for entities outside the department’s filing universe. The bill does not specify enforcement mechanisms or penalties, and it does not prescribe explicit privacy protections beyond public posting, leaving details such as data aggregation and de-identification to be determined in forms and potential regulations.