5076.E

AN ACT Relating to health care reform; amending sections 402, 406, 464, and 466 of chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993; adding a new section to chapter 43.--.--- RCW; adding a new section to chapter 70.47 RCW; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

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

Sec. 1. Section 402, chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993 is amended to read as follows:

In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) "Certified health plan" or "plan" means a disability insurer regulated under chapter 48.20 or 48.21 RCW, a health care service contractor as defined in RCW 48.44.010, a health maintenance organization as defined in RCW 48.46.020, or an entity certified in accordance with sections 433 through 443 of chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993.

(2) "Chair" means the presiding officer of the Washington health services commission.

(3) "Commission" or "health services commission" means the Washington health services commission.

(4) "Community rate" means the rating method used to establish the premium for the uniform benefits package adjusted to reflect actuarially demonstrated differences in utilization or cost attributable to geographic region and family size as determined by the commission.

(5) "Continuous quality improvement and total quality management" means a continuous process to improve health services while reducing costs.

(6) "Employee" means a resident who is in the employment of an employer, as defined by chapter 50.04 RCW.

(7) "Enrollee" means any person who is a Washington resident enrolled in a certified health plan.

(8) "Enrollee point of service cost-sharing" means amounts paid to certified health plans directly providing services, health care providers, or health care facilities by enrollees for receipt of specific uniform benefits package services, and may include copayments, coinsurance, or deductibles, that together must be actuarially equivalent across plans and within overall limits established by the commission.

(9) "Enrollee premium sharing" means that portion of the premium that is paid by enrollees or their family members.

(10) "Federal poverty level" means the federal poverty guidelines determined annually by the United States department of health and human services or successor agency.

(11) "Health care facility" or "facility" means hospices licensed under chapter 70.127 RCW, hospitals licensed under chapter 70.41 RCW, rural health facilities as defined in RCW 70.175.020, psychiatric hospitals licensed under chapter 71.12 RCW, nursing homes licensed under chapter 18.51 RCW, community mental health centers licensed under chapter 71.05 or 71.24 RCW, kidney disease treatment centers licensed under chapter 70.41 RCW, ambulatory diagnostic, treatment or surgical facilities licensed under chapter 70.41 RCW, drug and alcohol treatment facilities licensed under chapter 70.96A RCW, and home health agencies licensed under chapter 70.127 RCW, and includes such facilities if owned and operated by a political subdivision or instrumentality of the state and such other facilities as required by federal law and implementing regulations, but does not include Christian Science sanatoriums operated, listed, or certified by the First Church of Christ Scientist, Boston, Massachusetts.

(12) "Health care provider" or "provider" means:

(a) A person regulated under Title 18 RCW and chapter 70.127 RCW, to practice health or health-related services or otherwise practicing health care services in this state consistent with state law; or

(b) An employee or agent of a person described in (a) of this subsection, acting in the course and scope of his or her employment.

(13) "Health insurance purchasing cooperative" or "cooperative" means a member-owned and governed nonprofit organization certified in accordance with sections 425 and 426 of chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993.

(14) "Long-term care" means institutional, residential, outpatient, or community-based services that meet the individual needs of persons of all ages who are limited in their functional capacities or have disabilities and require assistance with performing two or more activities of daily living for an extended or indefinite period of time. These services include case management, protective supervision, in-home care, nursing services, convalescent, custodial, chronic, and terminally ill care.

(15) "Major capital expenditure" means any project or expenditure for capital construction, renovations, or acquisition, including medical technological equipment, as defined by the commission, costing more than one million dollars.

(16) "Managed care" means an integrated system of insurance, financing, and health services delivery functions that: (a) Assumes financial risk for delivery of health services and uses a defined network of providers; or (b) assumes financial risk for delivery of health services and promotes the efficient delivery of health services through provider assumption of some financial risk including capitation, prospective payment, resource-based relative value scales, fee schedules, or similar method of limiting payments to health care providers.

(17) "Maximum enrollee financial participation" means the income-related total annual payments that may be required of an enrollee per family who chooses one of the three lowest priced uniform benefits packages offered by plans in a geographic region including both premium sharing and enrollee point of service cost-sharing.

(18) "Persons of color" means Asians/Pacific Islanders, African, Hispanic, and Native Americans.

(19) "Premium" means all sums charged, received, or deposited by a certified health plan as consideration for a uniform benefits package or the continuance of a uniform benefits package. Any assessment, or any "membership," "policy," "contract," "service," or similar fee or charge made by the certified health plan in consideration for the uniform benefits package is deemed part of the premium. "Premium" shall not include amounts paid as enrollee point of service cost-sharing.

(20) "Qualified employee" means an employee who is employed at least thirty hours during a week or one hundred twenty hours during a calendar month.

(21) "Registered employer health plan" means a health plan established by a private employer of more than seven thousand active employees in this state solely for the benefit of such employees and their dependents and that meets the requirements of section 430 of chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993. Nothing contained in this subsection shall be deemed to preclude the plan from providing benefits to retirees of the employer.

(22) "Seasonal employee" means any person who works:

(a) For one or more employers during the calendar year;

(b) For six months or less, per year; and

(c) For at least half-time per month, during a designated season, within the same industry sector, designated by the commission, including food processing, agricultural production, agricultural harvesting, plantation Christmas tree planting, and tree planting on timber land.

(23) "Supplemental benefits" means those appropriate and effective health services that are not included in the uniform benefits package or that expand the type or level of health services available under the uniform benefits package and that are offered to all residents in accordance with the provisions of sections 452 and 453 of chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993.

((~~(23)~~)) (24) "Technology" means the drugs, devices, equipment, and medical or surgical procedures used in the delivery of health services, and the organizational or supportive systems within which such services are provided. It also means sophisticated and complicated machinery developed as a result of ongoing research in the basic biological and physical sciences, clinical medicine, electronics, and computer sciences, as well as specialized professionals, medical equipment, procedures, and chemical formulations used for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

((~~(24)~~)) (25) "Uniform benefits package" or "package" means those appropriate and effective health services, defined by the commission under section 449 of chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993, that must be offered to all Washington residents through certified health plans.

((~~(25)~~)) (26) "Washington resident" or "resident" means a person who intends to reside in the state permanently or indefinitely and who did not move to Washington for the primary purpose of securing health services under sections 427 through 466 of chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993. "Washington resident" also includes people and their accompanying family members who are residing in the state for the purpose of engaging in employment for at least one month, who did not enter the state for the primary purpose of obtaining health services. The confinement of a person in a nursing home, hospital, or other medical institution in the state shall not by itself be sufficient to qualify such person as a resident.

Sec. 2. Section 406, chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993 is amended to read as follows:

POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION. The commission has the following powers and duties:

(1) Ensure that all residents of Washington state are enrolled in a certified health plan to receive the uniform benefits package, regardless of age, sex, family structure, ethnicity, race, health condition, geographic location, employment, or economic status.

(2) Endeavor to ensure that all residents of Washington state have access to appropriate, timely, confidential, and effective health services, and monitor the degree of access to such services. If the commission finds that individuals or populations lack access to certified health plan services, the commission shall:

(a) Authorize appropriate state agencies, local health departments, community or migrant health clinics, public hospital districts, or other nonprofit health service entities to take actions necessary to assure such access. This includes authority to contract for or directly deliver services described within the uniform benefits package to special populations; or

(b) Notify appropriate certified health plans and the insurance commissioner of such findings. The commission shall adopt by rule standards by which the insurance commissioner may, in such event, require certified health plans in closest proximity to such individuals and populations to extend their catchment areas to those individuals and populations and offer them enrollment.

(3) Adopt necessary rules in accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW to carry out the purposes of chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993. An initial set of draft rules establishing at least the commission's organization structure, the uniform benefits package, and standards for certified health plan certification, must be submitted in draft form to appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 1994.

(4) Establish and modify as necessary, in consultation with the state board of health and the department of health, and coordination with the planning process set forth in section 467 of chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993 a uniform set of health services based on the recommendations of the health care cost control and access commission established under House Concurrent Resolution No. 4443 adopted by the legislature in 1990.

(5) Establish and modify as necessary the uniform benefits package as provided in section 449 of chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993, which shall be offered to enrollees of a certified health plan. The benefit package shall be provided at no more than the maximum premium specified in subsection (6) of this section.

(6)(a) Establish for each year a community-rated maximum premium for the uniform benefits package that shall operate to control overall health care costs. The maximum premium cost of the uniform benefits package in the base year 1995 shall be established upon an actuarial determination of the costs of providing the uniform benefits package and such other cost impacts as may be deemed relevant by the commission. Beginning in 1996, the growth rate of the premium cost of the uniform benefits package for each certified health plan shall be allowed to increase by a rate no greater than the average growth rate in the cost of the package between 1990 and 1993 as actuarially determined, reduced by two percentage points per year until the growth rate is no greater than the five-year rolling average of growth in Washington per capita personal income, as determined by the office of financial management.

(b) In establishing the community-rated maximum premium under this subsection, ((the commission shall develop a composite rate for employees that provides nominal, if any, variance between the rate for individual employees and employees with dependents to minimize any economic incentive to an employer to discriminate between prospective employees based upon whether or not they have dependents for whom coverage would be required. Nothing in this subsection (6)(b) shall preclude the commission from evaluating other methodologies for establishing the community-rated maximum premium and recommending an alternative methodology to the legislature)) the commission shall review various methods for establishing the community-rated maximum premium and shall recommend such methods to the legislature by December 1, 1994.

The commission may develop and recommend a rate for employees that provides nominal, if any, variance between the rate for individual employees and employees with dependents to minimize any economic incentive to an employer to discriminate between prospective employees based upon whether or not they have dependents for whom coverage would be required.

(c) If the commission adds or deletes services or benefits to the uniform benefits package in subsequent years, it may increase or decrease the maximum premium to reflect the actual cost experience of a broad sample of providers of that service in the state, considering the factors enumerated in (a) of this subsection and adjusted actuarially. The addition of services or benefits shall not result in a redetermination of the entire cost of the uniform benefits package.

(d) The level of state expenditures for the uniform benefits package shall be limited to the appropriation of funds specifically for this purpose.

(7) Determine the need for medical risk adjustment mechanisms to minimize financial incentives for certified health plans to enroll individuals who present lower health risks and avoid enrolling individuals who present higher health risks, and to minimize financial incentives for employer hiring practices that discriminate against individuals who present higher health risks. In the design of medical risk distribution mechanisms under this subsection, the commission shall (a) balance the benefits of price competition with the need to protect certified health plans from any unsustainable negative effects of adverse selection; (b) consider the development of a system that creates a risk profile of each certified health plan's enrollee population that does not create disincentives for a plan to control benefit utilization, that requires contributions from plans that enjoy a low-risk enrollee population to plans that have a high-risk enrollee population, and that does not permit an adjustment of the premium charged for the uniform benefits package or supplemental coverage based upon either receipt or contribution of assessments; and (c) consider whether registered employer health plans should be included in any medical risk adjustment mechanism. Proposed medical risk adjustment mechanisms shall be submitted to the legislature as provided in section 454 of chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993.

(8) Design a mechanism to assure minors have access to confidential health care services as currently provided in RCW 70.24.110 and 71.34.030.

(9) Monitor the actual growth in total annual health services costs.

(10) Monitor the increased application of technology as required by chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993 and take necessary action to ensure that such application is made in a cost-effective and efficient manner and consistent with existing laws that protect individual privacy.

(11) Establish reporting requirements for certified health plans that own or manage health care facilities, health care facilities, and health care providers to periodically report to the commission regarding major capital expenditures of the plans. The commission shall review and monitor such reports and shall report to the legislature regarding major capital expenditures on at least an annual basis. The Washington health care facilities authority and the commission shall develop standards jointly for evaluating and approving major capital expenditure financing through the Washington health care facilities authority, as authorized pursuant to chapter 70.37 RCW. By December 1, 1994, the commission and the authority shall submit jointly to the legislature such proposed standards. The commission and the authority shall, after legislative review, but no later than June 1, 1995, publish such standards. Upon publication, the authority may not approve financing for major capital expenditures unless approved by the commission.

(12) Establish maximum enrollee financial participation levels. The levels shall be related to enrollee household income.

(13) For health services provided under the uniform benefits package and supplemental benefits, adopt standards for enrollment, and standardized billing and claims processing forms. The standards shall ensure that these procedures minimize administrative burdens on health care providers, health care facilities, certified health plans, and consumers. Subject to federal approval or phase-in schedules whenever necessary or appropriate, the standards also shall apply to state-purchased health services, as defined in RCW 41.05.011.

(14) Propose that certified health plans adopt certain practice indicators or risk management protocols for quality assurance, utilization review, or provider payment. The commission may consider indicators or protocols recommended according to section 410 of chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993 for these purposes.

(15) Propose other guidelines to certified health plans for utilization management, use of technology and methods of payment, such as diagnosis‑related groups and a resource-based relative value scale. Such guidelines shall be voluntary and shall be designed to promote improved management of care, and provide incentives for improved efficiency and effectiveness within the delivery system.

(16) Adopt standards and oversee and develop policy for personal health data and information system as provided in chapter 70.170 RCW.

(17) Adopt standards that prevent conflict of interest by health care providers as provided in section 408 of chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993.

(18) At the appropriate juncture and in the fullness of time, consider the extent to which medical research and health professions training activities should be included within the health service system set forth in this chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993.

(19) Evaluate and monitor the extent to which racial and ethnic minorities have access and to receive health services within the state, and develop strategies to address barriers to access.

(20) Develop standards for the certification process to certify health plans and employer health plans to provide the uniform benefits package, according to the provisions for certified health plans and registered employer health plans under chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993.

(21) Develop rules for implementation of individual and employer participation under sections 463 and 464 of chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993 specifically applicable to persons who work in this state but do not live in the state or persons who live in this state but work outside of the state. The rules shall be designed so that these persons receive coverage and financial requirements that are comparable to that received by persons who both live and work in the state.

(22) After receiving advice from the health services effectiveness committee, adopt rules that must be used by certified health plans, disability insurers, health care service contractors, and health maintenance organizations to determine whether a procedure, treatment, drug, or other health service is no longer experimental or investigative.

(23) Establish a process for purchase of uniform benefits package services by enrollees when they are out-of-state.

(24) Develop recommendations to the legislature as to whether state and school district employees, on whose behalf health benefits are or will be purchased by the health care authority pursuant to chapter 41.05 RCW, should have the option to purchase health benefits through health insurance purchasing cooperatives on and after July 1, 1997. In developing its recommendations, the commission shall consider:

(a) The impact of state or school district employees purchasing through health insurance purchasing cooperatives on the ability of the state to control its health care costs; and

(b) Whether state or school district employees purchasing through health insurance purchasing cooperatives will result in inequities in health benefits between or within groups of state and school district employees.

(25) Establish guidelines for providers dealing with terminal or static conditions, taking into consideration the ethics of providers, patient and family wishes, costs, and survival possibilities.

(26) Evaluate the extent to which Taft-Hartley health care trusts provide benefits to certain individuals in the state; review the federal laws under which these trusts are organized; and make appropriate recommendations to the governor and the legislature on or before December 1, 1994, as to whether these trusts should be brought under the provisions of chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993 when it is fully implemented, and if the commission recommends inclusion of the trusts, how to implement such inclusion.

(27) Make appropriate recommendations to the governor and the legislature on or before December 1, 1994, as to how seasonal workers and their employers may be brought under the provisions of chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993 when it is fully implemented, and with particular attention to the financial impact on seasonal workers and their employers. Until such time this study has been completed and the legislature has taken affirmative action, RCW 43.--.--- (section 464, chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993, as amended by section 3 of this act) shall not apply to seasonal workers or their employers.

(28) Evaluate whether Washington is experiencing a higher percentage in in-migration of residents from other states and territories than would be expected by normal trends as a result of the availability of unsubsidized and subsidized health care benefits for all residents and report to the governor and the legislature their findings.

((~~(28)~~)) (29) In developing the uniform benefits package and other standards pursuant to this section, consider the likelihood of the establishment of a national health services plan adopted by the federal government and its implications.

((~~(29)~~)) (30) Evaluate the effect of reforms under chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993 on access to care and economic development in rural areas.

To the extent that the exercise of any of the powers and duties specified in this section may be inconsistent with the powers and duties of other state agencies, offices, or commissions, the authority of the commission shall supersede that of such other state agency, office, or commission, except in matters of personal health data, where the commission shall have primary data system policymaking authority and the department of health shall have primary responsibility for the maintenance and routine operation of personal health data systems.

Sec. 3. Section 464, chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993 is amended to read as follows:

(1) The legislature recognizes that small businesses play an essential and increasingly important role in the state's economy. The legislature further recognizes that many of the state's small business owners provide health insurance to their employees through small group policies at a cost that directly affects their profitability. Other small business owners are prevented from providing health benefits to their employees by the lack of access to affordable health insurance coverage. The legislature intends that the provisions of chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993 make health insurance more available and affordable to small businesses in Washington state through strong cost control mechanisms and the option to purchase health benefits through the basic health plan, the Washington state group purchasing association, and health insurance purchasing cooperatives.

(2) On July 1, 1995, every employer employing more than five hundred qualified employees shall:

(a) Offer a choice of the uniform benefits package as provided by at least three available certified health plans, one of which shall be the lowest cost available package within their geographic region, and for employers who have established a registered employer health plan, one of which may be its own registered employer health plan, to all qualified employees. The employer shall be required to pay no less than fifty percent of the premium cost of the lowest cost available package within their geographic region. On July 1, 1996, all dependents of qualified employees of these firms shall be offered a choice of packages as provided in this section with the employer paying no less than fifty percent of the premium of the lowest cost package within their geographic region.

(b) For employees who work fewer than thirty hours during a week or one hundred twenty hours during a calendar month, three hundred sixty hours during a calendar quarter or one thousand four hundred forty hours during a calendar year, and their dependents, pay, for the period of time adopted by the employer under this subsection, the amount resulting from application of the following formula: The number of hours worked by the employee in a month is multiplied by the amount of a qualified employee's premium, and that amount is then divided by one hundred twenty.

(c) If an employee under (b) of this subsection is the dependent of a qualified employee, and is therefore covered as a dependent by the qualified employee's employer, then the employer of the employee under (b) of this subsection shall not be required to participate in the cost of the uniform benefits package for that employee.

(d) If an employee working on a seasonal basis is a qualified employee of another employer, and therefore has uniform benefits package coverage through that primary employer, then the seasonal employer of the employee shall not be required to participate in the cost of the uniform benefits package for that employee.

(3) By July 1, 1996, every employer employing more than one hundred qualified employees shall:

(a) Offer a choice of the uniform benefits package as provided by at least three available certified health plans, one of which shall be the lowest cost available package within their geographic region, to all qualified employees. The employer shall be required to pay no less than fifty percent of the premium cost of the lowest cost available package within their geographic region. On July 1, 1997, all dependents of qualified employees in these firms shall be offered a choice of packages as provided in this section with the employer paying no less than fifty percent of the premium of the lowest cost package within their geographic region.

(4) By July 1, 1997, every employer shall:

(a) Offer a choice of the uniform benefits package as provided by at least three available certified health plans, one of which shall be the lowest cost available package within their geographic region, to all qualified employees. The employer shall be required to pay no less than fifty percent of the premium cost of the lowest cost available package within their geographic region. On July 1, 1999, all dependents of qualified employees in all firms shall be offered a choice of packages as provided in this section with the employer paying no less than fifty percent of the premium of the lowest cost package within their geographic region.

(5) This employer participation requirement shall be waived if imposition of the requirement would constitute a violation of the freedom of religion provisions of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution or Article I, section 11, of the state Constitution. In such case the employer shall, pursuant to commission rules, set aside an amount equal to the applicable employer contribution level in a manner that would permit his or her employee to fully comply with the requirements of this chapter.

(6) In lieu of offering the uniform benefits package to employees and their dependents through direct contracts with certified health plans, an employer may combine the employer contribution with that of the employee's contribution and enroll in the basic health plan as provided in chapter 70.47 RCW or a health insurance purchasing cooperative established under sections 425 and 426 of chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993. Any subsidy that may be provided according to the provisions of chapter 70.47 RCW shall not lessen the employer's obligation to pay a minimum of fifty percent of the premium and the full amount of the direct subsidy shall be for the benefit of the employee or the dependent.

(7) For purposes of determining the financial obligation of an employer who enrolls employees or employees and their adult dependents in the basic health plan, the premium shall be the per adult, per month, cost of coverage in the plan, including administration.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Section 466, chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993 is amended to read as follows:

SMALL FIRM FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. (1) Beginning July 1, 1997, firms with fewer than twenty-five workers that face barriers to providing health insurance for their employees may, upon application, be eligible to receive financial assistance with funds set aside from the health services account. Firms with the following characteristics shall be given preference in the distribution of funds: (a) New firms, (b) employers with low average wages, (c) employers with low profits, and (d) firms in economically distressed areas.

(2) All employers in existence on or before July 1, 1997, who meet the criteria set forth in this section, and rules adopted under this section, may apply to the health services commission for assistance. Such employers may not receive premium assistance beyond July 1, 2001. New employers, who come into existence after July 1, 1997, may apply for and receive premium assistance for a limited period of time, as determined by the commission.

(3) The total funds available for small business assistance shall ((~~not exceed~~)) be the lesser of (a) one hundred fifty million dollars or (b) twenty-five percent of the cost of the uniform benefits package per the eligible applicants' insured employee or dependents as the case may be, for the biennium beginning July 1, 1997. Thereafter, the amount of total funds available for premium assistance shall be determined by the office of financial management, based on a forecast of inflation, employment, and the number of eligible firms.

(4) By July 1, 1997, the health services commission, with assistance from the small business advisory committee established in section 404 of chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993, shall develop specific definitions, rules, and procedures governing all aspects of the small business assistance program, including application procedures, thresholds regarding firm size, wages, profits, and age of firm, and rules governing duration of assistance. The health services commission will endeavor to design a system for the distribution of assistance that will create minimal burdens on businesses seeking financial assistance.

(5) Final determination of the amount of the premium assistance to be dispensed to an employer shall be made by the commission based on rules, definitions, and procedures developed under this section. If total claims for assistance are above the amount of total funds available for such purposes, the commission shall have the authority to prorate employer claims so that the amount of available funds is not exceeded.

(6) The office of financial management, in consultation with the commission, shall establish appropriate criteria for monitoring and evaluating the economic and labor market impacts of the premium assistance program and report its findings to the commission annually through July 1, 2001.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. No later than January 1, 1997, the commission shall recommend legislation establishing a program for tax credits under chapter 82.04 RCW for employers with fewer than five hundred full-time equivalent employees, that provides a credit against the amount of employer tax. The credit shall be in an amount equal to a proportion of the cost of premium contributions made by such employer on behalf of dependents of employees under chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993. The proposed legislation shall limit the tax credit based on the criteria set forth in RCW 43.--.--- (section 466, chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993, as amended by section 4 of this act). The tax credit shall not exceed forty percent of the employer's actual premium paid on behalf of dependents of employees.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 70.47 RCW to read as follows:

The administrator shall continue to use a premium pricing structure substantially equivalent to that used by the plan on January 1, 1993.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Section 5 of this act is added to chapter 43.-- RCW (sections 401 through 407, 409, 425, 427 through 430, and 447 through 466 of chapter . . . (Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5304), Laws of 1993.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect July 1, 1993.