SENATE BILL REPORT

SB 6180

BYSenators West, Kreidler, Sellar, von Reichbauer, Johnson and Newhouse; by request of Washington Basic Health Plan

Providing confidentiality for certain basic health plan records and data.

Senate Committee on Health & Long-Term Care

Senate Hearing Date(s):January 17, 1990; January 23, 1990

Majority Report:  Do pass.

      Signed by Senators West, Chairman; Smith, Vice Chairman; Amondson, Johnson, Niemi, Wojahn.

Senate Staff:Don Sloma (786-7414)

                  February 7, 1990

AS PASSED SENATE, FEBRUARY 6, 1990

BACKGROUND:

The Basic Health Plan (BHP) is a pilot project providing a package of basic health care services to persons with incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty guideline.  Premiums are charged on a sliding scale with those below 100 percent of the federal poverty level paying only nominal premiums and those at 200 percent paying virtually the entire cost of coverage.

The plan operates by enrolling eligible persons in managed health care systems with which the plan contracts.  Negotiation of the contracts with these managed health care systems and review of their costs often requires BHP staff to obtain records of individual medical treatment plans or actuarial formulas, statistics or other proprietary information.  Several managed health care systems have expressed reluctance to supply such information for fear that state public disclosure laws might be invoked by competing health care systems to obtain this information from the state.

SUMMARY:

Records obtained, reviewed by or on file with the BHP containing information on medical treatments received by individuals are exempt from public inspection and copying.  In addition, actuarial formulas, statistics, and assumptions submitted in support of a rate filing by a managed health care system or submitted to the administrator upon his or her request are exempt from public inspection and copying in order to preserve trade secrets or prevent unfair competition.

Appropriation:    none

Revenue:    none

Fiscal Note:      requested

Senate Committee - Testified: Tom Kobler, Basic Health Plan (pro)