BP BHEAD INT H

AN ACT Relating to eliminating mandated health care provider requirements; amending RCW 41.05.075; reenacting and amending RCW 28A.400.350; creating a new section; and repealing RCW 48.20.390, 48.20.410, 48.20.411, 48.20.412, 48.20.414, 48.20.416, 48.21.130, 48.21.140, 48.21.141, 48.21.142, 48.21.144, 48.21.146, 48.44.225, 48.44.290, 48.44.300, 48.44.309, 48.44.310, and 49.64.040.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds and declares that health care cost containment depends, in part, upon the ability of insurers, health care service contractors, and health maintenance organizations to provide health care benefits in the most cost-effective manner possible and that requiring these companies to include the health care services of particular health care providers in policies, contracts, or agreements may limit the competitive environment that would permit these companies to negotiate for the most cost-effective delivery of promised health care benefits and limit the use of health care services that increase costs without producing qualitative improvements in the health of insureds, subscribers, or enrollees.

Sec. 2. RCW 28A.400.350 and 1990 1st ex.s. c 11 s 3 and 1990 c 74 s 1 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

(1) The board of directors of any of the state's school districts may make available liability, life, health, health care, accident, disability and salary protection or insurance or any one of, or a combination of the enumerated types of insurance, or any other type of insurance or protection, for the members of the boards of directors, the students, and employees of the school district, and their dependents. Such coverage may be provided by contracts with private carriers, with the state health care authority after July 1, 1990, pursuant to the approval of the authority administrator, or through self-insurance or self-funding pursuant to chapter 48.62 RCW, or in any other manner authorized by law.

(2) Whenever funds are available for these purposes the board of directors of the school district may contribute all or a part of the cost of such protection or insurance for the employees of their respective school districts and their dependents. The premiums on such liability insurance shall be borne by the school district.

After October 1, 1990, school districts may not contribute to any employee protection or insurance other than liability insurance unless the district's employee benefit plan conforms to RCW 28A.400.275 and 28A.400.280.

(3) For school board members and students, the premiums due on such protection or insurance shall be borne by the assenting school board member or student: PROVIDED, That the school district may contribute all or part of the costs, including the premiums, of life, health, health care, accident or disability insurance which shall be offered to all students participating in interschool activities on the behalf of or as representative of their school or school district. The school district board of directors may require any student participating in extracurricular interschool activities to, as a condition of participation, document evidence of insurance or purchase insurance that will provide adequate coverage, as determined by the school district board of directors, for medical expenses incurred as a result of injury sustained while participating in the extracurricular activity. In establishing such a requirement, the district shall adopt regulations for waiving or reducing the premiums of such coverage as may be offered through the school district to students participating in extracurricular activities, for those students whose families, by reason of their low income, would have difficulty paying the entire amount of such insurance premiums. The district board shall adopt regulations for waiving or reducing the insurance coverage requirements for low-income students in order to assure such students are not prohibited from participating in extracurricular interschool activities.

(((4) All contracts for insurance or protection written to take advantage of the provisions of this section shall provide that the beneficiaries of such contracts may utilize on an equal participation basis the services of those practitioners licensed pursuant to chapters 18.22, 18.25, 18.53, 18.57, and 18.71 RCW.))

Sec. 3. RCW 41.05.075 and 1988 c 107 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The administrator shall provide employee benefit plans designed by the board through a contract or contracts with insuring entities, through self-funding, self-insurance, or other methods of providing insurance coverage authorized by RCW 41.05.140.

(2) The administrator shall establish a contract bidding process that encourages competition among insuring entities, is timely to the state budgetary process, and sets conditions for awarding contracts to any insuring entity.

(3) The administrator shall establish a requirement for review of utilization and financial data from participating insuring entities on a quarterly basis.

(4) The administrator shall centralize the enrollment files for all employee health plans and develop enrollment demographics on a plan-specific basis.

(5) The administrator shall establish methods for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating to covered individuals information on the cost and quality of services rendered by individual health care providers.

(6) All claims data shall be the property of the state. The administrator may require of any insuring entity that submits a bid to contract for coverage all information deemed necessary to fulfill the administrator's duties as set forth in this chapter.

(7) ((All contracts with insuring entities for the provision of health care benefits shall provide that the beneficiaries of such benefit plans may use on an equal participation basis the services of practitioners licensed pursuant to chapters 18.22, 18.25, 18.32, 18.53, 18.57, 18.71, 18.74, 18.83, and 18.88 RCW. However, nothing in this subsection may preclude the administrator from establishing appropriate utilization controls approved pursuant to RCW 41.05.065(2) (a)(i), (b), and (d).

~~(8)~~)) Beginning in January 1990, and each January thereafter, the administrator shall publish and distribute to each school district a description of health care benefit plans available through the authority and the estimated cost if school district employees were enrolled.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:

(1) RCW 48.20.390 and 1963 c 87 s 1;

(2) RCW 48.20.410 and 1965 c 149 s 2;

(3) RCW 48.20.411 and 1973 1st ex.s. c 188 s 3;

(4) RCW 48.20.412 and 1971 ex.s. c 13 s 1;

(5) RCW 48.20.414 and 1971 ex.s. c 197 s 1;

(6) RCW 48.20.416 and 1974 ex.s. c 42 s 1;

(7) RCW 48.21.130 and 1963 c 87 s 2;

(8) RCW 48.21.140 and 1965 c 149 s 3;

(9) RCW 48.21.141 and 1973 1st ex.s. c 188 s 4;

(10) RCW 48.21.142 and 1971 ex.s. c 13 s 2;

(11) RCW 48.21.144 and 1971 ex.s. c 197 s 2;

(12) RCW 48.21.146 and 1974 ex.s. c 42 s 2;

(13) RCW 48.44.225 and 1983 c 154 s 5;

(14) RCW 48.44.290 and 1986 c 223 s 6 & 1981 c 175 s 1;

(15) RCW 48.44.300 and 1986 c 223 s 7 & 1983 c 154 s 2;

(16) RCW 48.44.309 and 1983 c 286 s 1;

(17) RCW 48.44.310 and 1986 c 223 s 8 & 1983 c 286 s 2; and

(18) RCW 49.64.040 and 1988 c 259 s 1.