This section modifies existing section 41.05.011. Here is the modified chapter for context.
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
"Authority" means the Washington state health care authority.
"Board" means the public employees' benefits board established under RCW 41.05.055 and the school employees' benefits board established under RCW 41.05.740.
"Dependent care assistance program" means a benefit plan whereby employees and school employees may pay for certain employment related dependent care with pretax dollars as provided in the salary reduction plan under this chapter pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Sec. 129 or other sections of the internal revenue code.
"Director" means the director of the authority.
"Emergency service personnel killed in the line of duty" means law enforcement officers and firefighters as defined in RCW 41.26.030, members of the Washington state patrol retirement fund as defined in RCW 43.43.120, and reserve officers and firefighters as defined in RCW 41.24.010 who die as a result of injuries sustained in the course of employment as determined consistent with Title 51 RCW by the department of labor and industries.
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"Employee" for the public employees' benefits board program includes all employees of the state, whether or not covered by civil service; elected and appointed officials of the executive branch of government, including full-time members of boards, commissions, or committees; justices of the supreme court and judges of the court of appeals and the superior courts; members of the state legislature**; and starting January 1, 2024, nonrepresented employees of educational service districts**. Pursuant to contractual agreement with the authority, "employee" may also include: (i) Employees of a county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state and members of the legislative authority of any county, city, or town who are elected to office after February 20, 1970, if the legislative authority of the county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state submits application materials to the authority to provide any of its insurance programs by contract with the authority, as provided in RCW 41.04.205 and 41.05.021(1)(g); (ii) employees of employee organizations representing state civil service employees, at the option of each such employee organization; (iii) employees of a tribal government, if the governing body of the tribal government seeks and receives the approval of the authority to provide any of its insurance programs by contract with the authority, as provided in RCW 41.05.021(1) (f) and (g); (iv) employees of the Washington health benefit exchange if the governing board of the exchange established in RCW 43.71.020 seeks and receives approval of the authority to provide any of its insurance programs by contract with the authority, as provided in RCW 41.05.021(1) (g) and (n); and (v) through December 31, 2023, nonrepresented employees of educational service districts. "Employee" does not include: Adult family home providers; unpaid volunteers; patients of state hospitals; inmates; employees of the Washington state convention and trade center as provided in RCW 41.05.110; students of institutions of higher education as determined by their institution; and any others not expressly defined as employees under this chapter or by the authority under this chapter.
Effective January 1, 2020, "school employee" for the school employees' benefits board program includes:
All employees of school districts and charter schools established under chapter 28A.710 RCW;
Represented employees of educational service districts; and
Effective January 1, 2024, all employees of educational service districts.
7.
a. "Employer" for the public employees' benefits board program means the state of Washington.
b. "Employer" for the school employees' benefits board program means school districts and educational service districts and charter schools established under chapter 28A.710 RCW.
"Employer group" means employers as defined by subsection (7)(a) of this section that obtain employee benefits through a contractual agreement with the authority to participate in benefit plans developed by the public employees' benefits board, including counties, municipalities, political subdivisions, the Washington health benefit exchange, tribal governments, employee organizations representing state civil service employees, and through December 31, 2023, educational service districts .
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"Employing agency" for the public employees' benefits board program means a division, department, or separate agency of state government, including an institution of higher education; educational service districts; a county, municipality, or other political subdivision; and a tribal government covered by this chapter.
"Employing agency" for the school employees' benefits board program means school districts, educational service districts, and charter schools.
"Faculty" means an academic employee of an institution of higher education whose workload is not defined by work hours but whose appointment, workload, and duties directly serve the institution's academic mission, as determined under the authority of its enabling statutes, its governing body, and any applicable collective bargaining agreement.
"Flexible benefit plan" means a benefit plan that allows employees and school employees to choose the level of health care coverage provided and the amount of employee or school employee contributions from among a range of choices offered by the authority.
"Insuring entity" means an insurer as defined in chapter 48.01 RCW, a health care service contractor as defined in chapter 48.44 RCW, or a health maintenance organization as defined in chapter 48.46 RCW.
"Medical flexible spending arrangement" means a benefit plan whereby state and school employees may reduce their salary before taxes to pay for medical expenses not reimbursed by insurance as provided in the salary reduction plan under this chapter pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Sec. 125 or other sections of the internal revenue code.
"Participant" means an individual who fulfills the eligibility and enrollment requirements under the salary reduction plan.
"Plan year" means the time period established by the authority.
"Premium payment plan" means a benefit plan whereby public employees may pay their share of group health plan premiums with pretax dollars as provided in the salary reduction plan under this chapter pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Sec. 125 or other sections of the internal revenue code.
"Public employee" has the same meaning as employee and school employee.
"Retired or disabled school employee" means:
Persons who separated from employment with a school district or educational service district and are receiving a retirement allowance under chapter 41.32 or 41.40 RCW as of September 30, 1993;
Persons who separate from employment with a school district, educational service district, or charter school on or after October 1, 1993, and immediately upon separation receive a retirement allowance under chapter 41.32, 41.35, or 41.40 RCW;
Persons who separate from employment with a school district, educational service district, or charter school due to a total and permanent disability, and are eligible to receive a deferred retirement allowance under chapter 41.32, 41.35, or 41.40 RCW.
"Salary" means a state or school employee's monthly salary or wages.
"Salary reduction plan" means a benefit plan whereby public employees may agree to a reduction of salary on a pretax basis to participate in the dependent care assistance program, medical flexible spending arrangement, or premium payment plan offered pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Sec. 125 or other sections of the internal revenue code.
"School employees' benefits board organization" means a public school district or educational service district or charter school established under chapter 28A.710 RCW that is required to participate in benefit plans provided by the school employees' benefits board.
"School year" means school year as defined in RCW 28A.150.203(11).
"Seasonal employee" means a state employee hired to work during a recurring, annual season with a duration of three months or more, and anticipated to return each season to perform similar work.
"Separated employees" means persons who separate from employment with an employer as defined in:
RCW 41.32.010(17) on or after July 1, 1996; or
RCW 41.35.010 on or after September 1, 2000; or
RCW 41.40.010 on or after March 1, 2002;
and who are at least age fifty-five and have at least ten years of service under the teachers' retirement system plan 3 as defined in RCW 41.32.010(33), the Washington school employees' retirement system plan 3 as defined in RCW 41.35.010, or the public employees' retirement system plan 3 as defined in RCW 41.40.010.
"State purchased health care" or "health care" means medical and health care, pharmaceuticals, and medical equipment purchased with state and federal funds by the department of social and health services, the department of health, the basic health plan, the state health care authority, the department of labor and industries, the department of corrections, the department of veterans affairs, and local school districts.
"Tribal government" means an Indian tribal government as defined in section 3(32) of the employee retirement income security act of 1974, as amended, or an agency or instrumentality of the tribal government, that has government offices principally located in this state.
This section modifies existing section 41.05.050. Here is the modified chapter for context.
Every: (a) Department, division, or separate agency of state government; (b) county, municipal, school district, educational service district, or other political subdivisions; and (c) tribal governments as are covered by this chapter, shall provide contributions to insurance and health care plans for its employees and their dependents, the content of such plans to be determined by the authority. Contributions, paid by the county, the municipality, other political subdivision, or a tribal government for their employees, shall include an amount determined by the authority to pay such administrative expenses of the authority as are necessary to administer the plans for employees of those groups, except as provided in subsection (4) of this section.
To account for increased cost of benefits for the state and for state employees, the authority may develop a rate surcharge applicable to participating counties, municipalities, other political subdivisions, and tribal governments.
The contributions of any: (a) Department, division, or separate agency of the state government; (b) county, municipal, or other political subdivisions; (c) any tribal government as are covered by this chapter; and (d) school districts, educational service districts, and charter schools, shall be set by the authority, subject to the approval of the governor for availability of funds as specifically appropriated by the legislature for that purpose. Insurance and health care contributions for ferry employees shall be governed by RCW 47.64.270.
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b.Until January 1, 2024, for all groups of educational service district employees enrolling in authority plans for the first time after September 1, 2003, the authority shall collect from each participating educational service district an amount equal to the composite rate charged to state agencies, plus an amount equal to the employee premiums by plan and by family size as would be charged to employees, only if the authority determines that this method of billing the educational service districts will not result in a material difference between revenues from educational service districts and expenditures made by the authority on behalf of educational service districts and their employees. The authority may collect these amounts in accordance with the educational service district fiscal year, as described in RCW 28A.505.030.
Until January 1, 2024, if the authority determines at any time that the conditions in (b) of this subsection cannot be met, the authority shall offer enrollment to additional groups of educational service district employees on a tiered rate structure until such time as the authority determines there would be no material difference between revenues and expenditures under a composite rate structure for all educational service district employees enrolled in authority plans.
Beginning January 1, 2020, all school districts, represented employees of educational service districts, and charter schools shall commence participation in the school employees' benefits board program established under RCW 41.05.740. All school districts, educational service districts with represented employees , and charter schools shall provide contributions to the authority for insurance and health care plans for school employees and their dependents. These contributions must be provided to the authority for all eligible school employees eligible for benefits under RCW 41.05.740(6)(d), including school employees who have waived their coverage; contributions to the authority are not required for individuals eligible for benefits under RCW 41.05.740(6)(e) who waive their coverage.
For the purposes of this subsection, "tiered rates" means the amounts the authority must pay to insuring entities by plan and by family size.
Notwithstanding this subsection and RCW 41.05.065(4), the authority may allow educational service districts enrolled on a tiered rate structure prior to September 1, 2002, and until January 1, 2024, to continue participation based on the same rate structure and under the same conditions and eligibility criteria.
The authority shall transmit a recommendation for the amount of the employer contributions to the governor and the director of financial management for inclusion in the proposed budgets submitted to the legislature.
This section modifies existing section 28A.400.350. Here is the modified chapter for context.
The board of directors of any of the state's school districts or educational service districts may make available medical, dental, vision, liability, life, accident, disability, and salary protection or insurance, direct agreements as defined in chapter 48.150 RCW, or any one of, or a combination of the types of employee benefits enumerated in this subsection, or any other type of insurance or protection, for the members of the boards of directors, the students, and employees of the school district or educational service district, and their dependents. Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, such coverage may be provided by contracts or agreements with private carriers, with the state health care authority, or through self-insurance or self-funding pursuant to chapter 48.62 RCW, or in any other manner authorized by law. Any direct agreement must comply with RCW 48.150.050.
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Whenever funds are available for these purposes the board of directors of the school district or educational service district may contribute all or a part of the cost of such protection or insurance for the employees of their respective school districts or educational service districts and their dependents. The premiums on such liability insurance shall be borne by the school district or educational service 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.
After December 31, 2019, school district contributions to any employee insurance that is purchased through the health care authority must conform to the requirements established by chapter 41.05 RCW and the school employees' benefits board.
For school board members, educational service district board members, and students, the premiums due on such protection or insurance shall be borne by the assenting school board member, educational service district board member, or student. The school district or educational service 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, school district, or educational service district. The school district board of directors and the educational service district board 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 or the educational service district board, 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 or educational service 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.
All contracts or agreements 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.
5.
The authority to make available basic and optional benefits to school employees under this section expires December 31, 2019, except (a) for nonrepresented employees of educational service districts for which the authority expires December 31, 2023, and (b) as authorized under RCW 28A.400.280. Beginning January 1, 2020, school districts, for all school employees, and educational service districts, for represented employees, shall make available basic and optional benefits through plans offered by the health care authority and the school employees' benefits board. Beginning January 1, 2024, educational service districts, for nonrepresented employees, shall make available basic and optional benefits through plans offered by the health care authority and the public employees' benefits board.
This section modifies existing section 41.05.065. Here is the modified chapter for context.
The public employees' benefits board shall study all matters connected with the provision of health care coverage, life insurance, liability insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, and disability income insurance or any of, or a combination of, the enumerated types of insurance for employees and their dependents on the best basis possible with relation both to the welfare of the employees and to the state. However, liability insurance shall not be made available to dependents.
The public employees' benefits board shall develop employee benefit plans that include comprehensive health care benefits for employees. In developing these plans, the public employees' benefits board shall consider the following elements:
Methods of maximizing cost containment while ensuring access to quality health care;
Development of provider arrangements that encourage cost containment and ensure access to quality care, including but not limited to prepaid delivery systems and prospective payment methods;
Wellness incentives that focus on proven strategies, such as smoking cessation, injury and accident prevention, reduction of alcohol misuse, appropriate weight reduction, exercise, automobile and motorcycle safety, blood cholesterol reduction, and nutrition education;
Utilization review procedures including, but not limited to a cost-efficient method for prior authorization of services, hospital inpatient length of stay review, requirements for use of outpatient surgeries and second opinions for surgeries, review of invoices or claims submitted by service providers, and performance audit of providers;
Effective coordination of benefits; and
Minimum standards for insuring entities.
To maintain the comprehensive nature of employee health care benefits, benefits provided to employees shall be substantially equivalent to the state employees' health benefit plan in effect on January 1, 1993. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit changes or increases in employee point-of-service payments or employee premium payments for benefits or the administration of a high deductible health plan in conjunction with a health savings account. The public employees' benefits board may establish employee eligibility criteria which are not substantially equivalent to employee eligibility criteria in effect on January 1, 1993.
Except if bargained for under chapter 41.80 RCW, the public employees' benefits board shall design benefits and determine the terms and conditions of employee and retired or disabled school employee participation and coverage, including establishment of eligibility criteria subject to the requirements of this chapter. Employer groups obtaining benefits through contractual agreement with the authority for employees defined in RCW 41.05.011(6)(a) (i) through (v) may contractually agree with the authority to benefits eligibility criteria which differs from that determined by the public employees' benefits board. The eligibility criteria established by the public employees' benefits board shall be no more restrictive than the following:
Except as provided in (b) through (e) of this subsection, an employee is eligible for benefits from the date of employment if the employing agency anticipates he or she will work an average of at least eighty hours per month and for at least eight hours in each month for more than six consecutive months. An employee determined ineligible for benefits at the beginning of his or her employment shall become eligible in the following circumstances:
An employee who works an average of at least eighty hours per month and for at least eight hours in each month and whose anticipated duration of employment is revised from less than or equal to six consecutive months to more than six consecutive months becomes eligible when the revision is made.
An employee who works an average of at least eighty hours per month over a period of six consecutive months and for at least eight hours in each of those six consecutive months becomes eligible at the first of the month following the six-month averaging period.
A seasonal employee is eligible for benefits from the date of employment if the employing agency anticipates that he or she will work an average of at least eighty hours per month and for at least eight hours in each month of the season. A seasonal employee determined ineligible at the beginning of his or her employment who works an average of at least eighty hours per month over a period of six consecutive months and at least eight hours in each of those six consecutive months becomes eligible at the first of the month following the six-month averaging period. A benefits-eligible seasonal employee who works a season of less than nine months shall not be eligible for the employer contribution during the off season, but may continue enrollment in benefits during the off season by self-paying for the benefits. A benefits-eligible seasonal employee who works a season of nine months or more is eligible for the employer contribution through the off season following each season worked.
Faculty are eligible as follows:
Faculty who the employing agency anticipates will work half–time or more for the entire instructional year or equivalent nine-month period are eligible for benefits from the date of employment. Eligibility shall continue until the beginning of the first full month of the next instructional year, unless the employment relationship is terminated, in which case eligibility shall cease the first month following the notice of termination or the effective date of the termination, whichever is later.
Faculty who the employing agency anticipates will not work for the entire instructional year or equivalent nine-month period are eligible for benefits at the beginning of the second consecutive quarter or semester of employment in which he or she is anticipated to work, or has actually worked, half-time or more. Such an employee shall continue to receive uninterrupted employer contributions for benefits if the employee works at least half-time in a quarter or semester. Faculty who the employing agency anticipates will not work for the entire instructional year or equivalent nine-month period, but who actually work half-time or more throughout the entire instructional year, are eligible for summer or off-quarter or off-semester coverage. Faculty who have met the criteria of this subsection (4)(c)(ii), who work at least two quarters or two semesters of the academic year with an average academic year workload of half-time or more for three quarters or two semesters of the academic year, and who have worked an average of half-time or more in each of the two preceding academic years shall continue to receive uninterrupted employer contributions for benefits if he or she works at least half-time in a quarter or semester or works two quarters or two semesters of the academic year with an average academic workload each academic year of half-time or more for three quarters or two semesters. Eligibility under this section ceases immediately if this criteria is not met.
Faculty may establish or maintain eligibility for benefits by working for more than one institution of higher education. When faculty work for more than one institution of higher education, those institutions shall prorate the employer contribution costs, or if eligibility is reached through one institution, that institution will pay the full employer contribution. Faculty working for more than one institution must alert his or her employers to his or her potential eligibility in order to establish eligibility.
The employing agency must provide written notice to faculty who are potentially eligible for benefits under this subsection (4)(c) of their potential eligibility.
To be eligible for maintenance of benefits through averaging under (c)(ii) of this subsection, faculty must provide written notification to his or her employing agency or agencies of his or her potential eligibility.
(A) "Academic year" means summer, fall, winter, and spring quarters or summer, fall, and spring semesters;
(B) "Half-time" means one-half of the full-time academic workload as determined by each institution; except that for community and technical college faculty, half-time academic workload is calculated according to RCW 28B.50.489.
d. A legislator is eligible for benefits on the date his or her term begins. All other elected and full-time appointed officials of the legislative and executive branches of state government are eligible for benefits on the date his or her term begins or they take the oath of office, whichever occurs first.
e. A justice of the supreme court and judges of the court of appeals and the superior courts become eligible for benefits on the date he or she takes the oath of office.
f. Except as provided in (c)(i) and (ii) of this subsection, eligibility ceases for any employee the first of the month following termination of the employment relationship.
g. In determining eligibility under this section, the employing agency may disregard training hours, standby hours, or temporary changes in work hours as determined by the authority under this section.
h. Insurance coverage for all eligible employees begins on the first day of the month following the date when eligibility for benefits is established. If the date eligibility is established is the first working day of a month, insurance coverage begins on that date.
i. Eligibility for an employee whose work circumstances are described by more than one of the eligibility categories in (a) through (e) of this subsection shall be determined solely by the criteria of the category that most closely describes the employee's work circumstances.
j. Except for an employee eligible for benefits under (b) or (c)(ii) of this subsection, an employee who has established eligibility for benefits under this section shall remain eligible for benefits each month in which he or she is in pay status for eight or more hours, if (i) he or she remains in a benefits-eligible position and (ii) leave from the benefits-eligible position is approved by the employing agency. A benefits-eligible seasonal employee is eligible for the employer contribution in any month of his or her season in which he or she is in pay status eight or more hours during that month. Eligibility ends if these conditions are not met, the employment relationship is terminated, or the employee voluntarily transfers to a noneligible position.
k. For the purposes of this subsection, the public employees' benefits board shall define "benefits-eligible position."
The public employees' benefits board may authorize premium contributions for an employee and the employee's dependents in a manner that encourages the use of cost-efficient managed health care systems.
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For any open enrollment period following August 24, 2011, the public employees' benefits board shall offer a health savings account option for employees that conforms to section 223, Part VII of subchapter B of chapter 1 of the internal revenue code of 1986. The public employees' benefits board shall comply with all applicable federal standards related to the establishment of health savings accounts.
By November 30, 2015, and each year thereafter, the authority shall submit a report to the relevant legislative policy and fiscal committees that includes the following:
Public employees' benefits board health plan cost and service utilization trends for the previous three years, in total and for each health plan offered to employees;
For each health plan offered to employees, the number and percentage of employees and dependents enrolled in the plan, and the age and gender demographics of enrollees in each plan;
Any impact of enrollment in alternatives to the most comprehensive plan, including the high deductible health plan with a health savings account, upon the cost of health benefits for those employees who have chosen to remain enrolled in the most comprehensive plan.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, for any open enrollment period following August 24, 2011, the public employees' benefits board shall offer a high deductible health plan in conjunction with a health savings account developed under subsection (6) of this section.
Employees shall choose participation in one of the health care benefit plans developed by the public employees' benefits board and may be permitted to waive coverage under terms and conditions established by the public employees' benefits board.
The public employees' benefits board shall review plans proposed by insuring entities that desire to offer property insurance and/or accident and casualty insurance to state employees through payroll deduction. The public employees' benefits board may approve any such plan for payroll deduction by insuring entities holding a valid certificate of authority in the state of Washington and which the public employees' benefits board determines to be in the best interests of employees and the state. The public employees' benefits board shall adopt rules setting forth criteria by which it shall evaluate the plans.
Before January 1, 1998, the public employees' benefits board shall make available one or more fully insured long-term care insurance plans that comply with the requirements of chapter 48.84 RCW. Such programs shall be made available to eligible employees, retired employees, and retired school employees as well as eligible dependents which, for the purpose of this section, includes the parents of the employee or retiree and the parents of the spouse of the employee or retiree. Employees of local governments, political subdivisions, and tribal governments not otherwise enrolled in the public employees' benefits board sponsored medical programs may enroll under terms and conditions established by the director, if it does not jeopardize the financial viability of the public employees' benefits board's long-term care offering.
Participation of eligible employees or retired employees and retired school employees in any long-term care insurance plan made available by the public employees' benefits board is voluntary and shall not be subject to binding arbitration under chapter 41.56 RCW. Participation is subject to reasonable underwriting guidelines and eligibility rules established by the public employees' benefits board and the health care authority.
The employee, retired employee, and retired school employee are solely responsible for the payment of the premium rates developed by the health care authority. The health care authority is authorized to charge a reasonable administrative fee in addition to the premium charged by the long-term care insurer, which shall include the health care authority's cost of administration, marketing, and consumer education materials prepared by the health care authority and the office of the insurance commissioner.
To the extent administratively possible, the state shall establish an automatic payroll or pension deduction system for the payment of the long-term care insurance premiums.
The public employees' benefits board and the health care authority shall establish a technical advisory committee to provide advice in the development of the benefit design and establishment of underwriting guidelines and eligibility rules. The committee shall also advise the public employees' benefits board and authority on effective and cost-effective ways to market and distribute the long-term care product. The technical advisory committee shall be comprised, at a minimum, of representatives of the office of the insurance commissioner, providers of long-term care services, licensed insurance agents with expertise in long-term care insurance, employees, retired employees, retired school employees, and other interested parties determined to be appropriate by the public employees' benefits board.
The health care authority shall offer employees, retired employees, and retired school employees the option of purchasing long-term care insurance through licensed agents or brokers appointed by the long-term care insurer. The authority, in consultation with the public employees' benefits board, shall establish marketing procedures and may consider all premium components as a part of the contract negotiations with the long-term care insurer.
In developing the long-term care insurance benefit designs, the public employees' benefits board shall include an alternative plan of care benefit, including adult day services, as approved by the office of the insurance commissioner.
The health care authority, with the cooperation of the office of the insurance commissioner, shall develop a consumer education program for the eligible employees, retired employees, and retired school employees designed to provide education on the potential need for long-term care, methods of financing long-term care, and the availability of long-term care insurance products including the products offered by the public employees' benefits board.
The public employees' benefits board may establish penalties to be imposed by the authority when the eligibility determinations of an employing agency fail to comply with the criteria under this chapter.
This section modifies existing section 44.28.157. Here is the modified chapter for context.
By December 31, 2015, the joint committee must review the reports on school district health benefits submitted to it by the office of the insurance commissioner and the health care authority and report to the legislature on the progress by school districts and their benefit providers in meeting the following legislative goals to:
Improve the transparency of health benefit plan claims and financial data to assure prudent and efficient use of taxpayers' funds at the state and local levels;
Create greater affordability for full family coverage and greater equity between premium costs for full family coverage and employee only coverage for the same health benefit plan;
Promote health care innovations and cost savings and significantly reduce administrative costs.
The joint committee shall also make a recommendation regarding a specific target to realize the goal in subsection (1)(b) of this section.
The joint committee shall report on the status of individual school districts' progress in achieving the goals in subsection (1) of this section.
4.
If the joint committee determines that districts and their benefit providers have not made adequate progress, in the judgment of the joint committee, in achieving one or more of the legislative goals in subsection (1) of this section, the joint committee report to the legislature must contain advantages, disadvantages, and recommendations on the following:
a. Why adequate progress has not been made, to the extent the joint committee is able to determine the reason or reasons for the insufficient progress;
b. What legislative or agency actions would help remove barriers to improvement;
c. Whether school district health insurance purchasing should be accomplished through a single consolidated school employee health benefits purchasing plan;
d. Whether school district health insurance purchasing should be accomplished through the public employees' benefits board program, and whether consolidation into the public employees' benefits board program would be preferable to the creation of a consolidated school employee health benefits purchasing plan; and
e. Whether certificated or classified employees, as separate groups, would be better served by purchasing health insurance through a single consolidated school employee health benefits purchasing plan or through participation in the public employees' benefits board program.
The report shall contain any legislation necessary to implement the recommendations of the joint committee.
The legislature shall take all steps necessary to implement the recommendations of the joint committee unless the legislature adopts alternative strategies to meet its goals during the 2016 session.