Health Care for the Unemployed Act

Health Care for the Unemployed Act - Amends the Social Security Act to add a new title, Title XXI - Health Care for the Unemployed: Part A - Grants to States - Authorizes appropriations for a sum sufficient to enable each State to furnish medical assistance to unemployed individuals and their immediate family.

Requires a State, in order to receive funding, to have an approved State plan for medical assistance for the unemployed. Requires a State plan to: (1) meet specified administrative requirements of the State's Medicaid plan; (2) make medical assistance available to eligible individuals voluntarily enrolled during the individual's coverage period; (3) require the State unemployment compensation agency to inform unemployment compensation recipients of the plan and of group health plans, and to notify the State Medicaid agency of eligible unemployment compensation recipients; (4) provide the following services: (a) inpatient hospital services up to nine days annually; (b) outpatient hospital, emergency, rural health clinic, and physician services for up to ten visits annually; (c) laboratory and x-ray services, subject to such limits as the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish; and (d) family planning and nurse mid-wife services; (5) provide for the imposition of premiums, enrollment fees, and similar charges; (6) provide that the plan will be secondary in payment to any other insurance or benefit plan providing medical assistance; and (7) provide that a State make reasonable efforts to determine the Medicaid eligibility of individuals enrolled in the plan who are not receiving unemployment compensation. Requires the Secretary to approve any plan meeting the above requirements, but precludes approval of any plan: (1) which excludes any U.S. citizen or any individual residing in the State; (2) which, if approved, would result in a deduction of Medicaid services; or (3) which does not meet requirements relating to the continuation and coversion rights of employees who lose health benefits under group health plans due to unemployment.

Provides that an individual is eligible for a week if the individual: (1) is receiving unemployment compensation and three weeks have elapsed since the first week the individual received unemployment compensation; or (2) is not receiving unemployment compensation for the week, was receiving unemployment compensation for a week during the 104 week period ending with the week before the first week in which the plan is in effect and has not received unemployment compensation for any week in which the plan is in effect, and certain requirements relating to work availability. Makes an individual's family eligible if the individual is eligible.

Requires a State plan to establish standards concerning whether or not an individual is employed. Requires an individual to be considered employed for a week if the individual's earnings equal or exceed an amount equal to 30 times the minimum hourly wage.

Makes an individual ineligible for a week if: (1) the individual is covered under a group health plan for which a contribution is being made by someone other than the individual; (2) the individual is covered under his or her spouse's group health plan; (3) the individual is eligible for Medicaid; (4) the individual is employed for four consecutive weeks; or (5) the individual was disqualified because of fraud for unemployment compensation or convicted of a Medicaid offense in the previous year.

Authorizes a State to impose a premium of between two and five percent of an individual's unemployment compensation. Requires a State to provide for the same deduction, cost-sharing, and similar charges as imposed under Medicaid.

Sets forth the methods for determining payments to States.

Makes provisions of title XIX relating to the operation of State plans applicable to title XXI.

Sets forth definitions used in this part.

Directs the Secretary, provided certain conditions are met, to grant a waiver to a State plan with respect to some or all of the Medicaid administrative requirements in the case of a State plan which enters into an arrangement with one or more private health benefits plans under which health insurance or health benefits are made available to all eligible individuals which provide required benefits at a cost no greater than the premiums and other charges of the State plan.

Makes specified provisions of title XIX and part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Act relating to rural health clinics, fraud and abuse, Indian health service facilities, cost sharing, judicial and administrative review, capital expenditures, and administration applicable to this title.

Requires a State to provide an employee covered under an insured group health plan who would otherwise lose coverage because of an involuntary separation (other than for cause) from employment be provided with the option of coverage under a group health plan.

Part B: Assistance to Hospitals Serving the Unemployed - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to hospitals to assist the hospitals in providing services to individuals unable to pay. Requires a hospital, in order to receive a grant, to: (1) be located in an area of high unemployment or serve primarily medically underserved populations; (2) serve a significantly disproportionate number of patients having low income; (3) provide services to individuals without regard to their inability to pay; and (4) offer assurances that it will use the grants in addition to, rather than in lieu of, existing Federal, State, and local funds.

Directs the Secretary to report to Congress concerning the grants. Authorizes appropriations for such grants for FY 1984-1987.

Establishes the effective date for part B of title XXI as the beginning of FY 1984.

Amends provisions of the Internal Revenue Code relating to group health plans to require a group health plan to have an open enrollment period of at least 30 days for each eligible married employee whose spouse loses coverage under a group health plan due to involuntary termination (other than for cause) of the spouse's employment.

Provides for the participation of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa in the program established this Act.