(1) The exchange may, consistent with the purposes of this chapter: (a) Sue and be sued in its own name; (b) make and execute agreements, contracts, and other instruments, with any public or private person or entity; (c) employ, contract with, or engage personnel; (d) pay administrative costs; (e) accept grants, donations, loans of funds, and contributions in money, services, materials or otherwise, from the United States or any of its agencies, from the state of Washington and its agencies or from any other source, and use or expend those moneys, services, materials, or other contributions; (f) aggregate or delegate the aggregation of funds that comprise the premium for a health plan; and (g) complete other duties necessary to begin open enrollment in qualified health plans through the exchange beginning October 1, 2013.

(2) The board shall develop a methodology to ensure the exchange is self-sustaining after December 31, 2014. The board shall seek input from health carriers to develop funding mechanisms that fairly and equitably apportion among carriers the reasonable administrative costs and expenses incurred to implement the provisions of this chapter. The board shall submit its recommendations to the legislature by December 1, 2012. If the legislature does not enact legislation during the 2013 regular session to modify or reject the board's recommendations, the board may proceed with implementation of the recommendations.

(3) The board shall establish policies that permit city and county governments, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, urban Indian organizations, private foundations, and other entities to pay premiums on behalf of qualified individuals.

(4) The employees of the exchange may participate in the public employees' retirement system under chapter 41.40 RCW and the public employees' benefits board under chapter 41.05 RCW.

(5) Qualified employers may access coverage for their employees through the exchange for small groups under section 1311 of P.L. 111-148 of 2010, as amended. The exchange shall enable any qualified employer to specify a level of coverage so that any of its employees may enroll in any qualified health plan offered through the small group exchange at the specified level of coverage.

(6) The exchange shall report its activities and status to the governor and the legislature as requested, and no less often than annually.

(7) By January 1, 2016, the exchange must submit to the legislature, the governor's office, and the board a five-year spending plan that identifies potential reductions in exchange per member per month spending below the per member per month levels based on a calculation from the 2015-2017 biennium appropriation. The report must identify specific reductions in spending in the following areas: Call center, information technology, and staffing. The exchange must provide annual updates on the reduction identified in the spending plan.

(8) By January 1, 2016, the exchange must develop metrics, with actuarial support and input from the health care authority, office of insurance commissioner, office of financial management, and other relevant agencies, that capture current spending levels that include a per member per month metric; establish five-year benchmarks for spending reductions; monitor ongoing progress toward achieving those benchmarks; and post progress to date toward achieving the established benchmark on the exchange public corporate web site. Quarterly updates must be provided to relevant legislative committees and the board.

(9) For biennia following 2015-2017, the exchange must include additional detail capturing the annual cost of operating the exchange, per qualified health plan enrollee and apple health enrollee per month, as calculated by dividing funds allocated for the exchange over the 2015-2017 biennium by the number of enrollees in both qualified health plans and apple health during the year. The data must be tracked and reported to the legislature and the board on an annual basis.

(10)(a) The exchange shall prepare and annually update a strategic plan for the development, maintenance, and improvement of exchange operations for the purpose of assisting the exchange in establishing priorities to better serve the needs of its specific constituency and the public in general. The strategic plan is the exchange's process for defining its methodology for achieving optimal outcomes, for complying with applicable state and federal statutes, rules, regulations, and mandatory policies, and for guaranteeing an appropriate level of transparency in its dealings. The strategic plan must include, but is not limited to:

(i) Comprehensive five-year and ten-year plans for the exchange's direction with clearly defined outcomes and goals;

(ii) Concrete plans for achieving or surpassing desired outcomes and goals;

(iii) Strategy for achieving enrollment and reenrollment targets;

(iv) Detailed stakeholder and external communication plans;

(v) Identification of funding sources, and a plan for how it will fund and allocate resources to pursue desired goals and outcomes; and

(vi) A detailed report including:

(A) Salaries of all current employees of the exchange, including starting salary, any increases received, and the basis for any increases;

(B) Salary, overtime, and compensation policies for staff of the exchange;

(C) A report of all expenses;

(D) Beginning and ending fund balances, by fund source;

(E) Any contracts or contract amendments signed by the exchange; and

(F) An accounting of staff required to operate the exchange broken out by full-time equivalent positions, contracted employees, temporary staff, and any other relevant designation that indicates the staffing level of the exchange.

(b) The strategic plan and its updates must be submitted to the authority, the appropriate committees of the legislature, and the board by September 30th of each year beginning September 30, 2015; the report of expenses for items identified in (a)(vi)(C) through (F) of this subsection must be submitted to the appropriate committees of the legislature and the board on a quarterly basis.

[2015 3rd sp.s. c 33 § 1; 2012 c 87 § 4; 2011 c 317 § 4.]

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