(1) The director shall provide 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. The process of contracting for plans offered by the school employees' benefits board is subject to insight and direction by the school employees' benefits board.

(2) The director shall establish a contract bidding process that:

(a) Encourages competition among insuring entities;

(b) Maintains an equitable relationship between premiums charged for similar benefits and between risk pools including premiums charged for retired state and school district employees under the separate risk pools established by RCW 41.05.022 and 41.05.080 such that insuring entities may not avoid risk when establishing the premium rates for retirees eligible for medicare;

(c) Is timely to the state budgetary process; and

(d) Sets conditions for awarding contracts to any insuring entity.

(3) The entities described in RCW 28A.400.275(2) shall provide the school employees' benefits board and authority specified data by April 1, 2018, in a format to be determined by the authority, to support an initial benefits plans procurement. At a minimum, the data must cover the period January 1, 2014, through December 31, 2017, and include:

(a) A summary of the benefit packages offered to each group of school employees, including covered benefits, point-of-service cost-sharing, member count, and the group policy number;

(b) Aggregated subscriber and member demographic information, including age band and gender, by insurance tier by month and by benefit packages;

(c) Monthly total by benefit package, including premiums paid, inpatient facility claims paid, outpatient facility claims paid, physician claims paid, pharmacy claims paid, capitation amounts paid, and other claims paid;

(d) A listing for calendar years 2014 through 2017 of large claims defined as annual amounts paid in excess of one hundred thousand dollars including the amount paid, the member enrollment status, and the primary diagnosis;

(e) A listing of calendar year 2017 allowed claims by provider entity; and

(f) All data needed for design, procurement, rate setting, and administration of all school employees' benefits board benefits.

Any data that may be confidential and contain personal health information may be protected in accordance with a data-sharing agreement.

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

(5) The director shall centralize the enrollment files for all employee, school employee, and retired or disabled school employee health plans offered under chapter 41.05 RCW and develop enrollment demographics on a plan-specific basis.

(6) All claims data shall be the property of the state. The director may require of any insuring entity that submits a bid to contract for coverage all information deemed necessary including:

(a) Subscriber or member demographic and claims data necessary for risk assessment and adjustment calculations in order to fulfill the director's duties as set forth in this chapter; and

(b) Subscriber or member demographic and claims data necessary to implement performance measures or financial incentives related to performance under subsection (8) of this section.

(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 18.79 RCW, as it applies to registered nurses and *advanced registered nurse practitioners. However, nothing in this subsection may preclude the director from establishing appropriate utilization controls approved pursuant to RCW 41.05.065(2) (a), (b), and (d).

(8) The director shall, in collaboration with other state agencies that administer state purchased health care programs, private health care purchasers, health care facilities, providers, and carriers:

(a) Use evidence-based medicine principles to develop common performance measures and implement financial incentives in contracts with insuring entities, health care facilities, and providers that:

(i) Reward improvements in health outcomes for individuals with chronic diseases, increased utilization of appropriate preventive health services, and reductions in medical errors; and

(ii) Increase, through appropriate incentives to insuring entities, health care facilities, and providers, the adoption and use of information technology that contributes to improved health outcomes, better coordination of care, and decreased medical errors;

(b) Through state health purchasing, reimbursement, or pilot strategies, promote and increase the adoption of health information technology systems, including electronic medical records, by hospitals as defined in RCW 70.41.020, integrated delivery systems, and providers that:

(i) Facilitate diagnosis or treatment;

(ii) Reduce unnecessary duplication of medical tests;

(iii) Promote efficient electronic physician order entry;

(iv) Increase access to health information for consumers and their providers; and

(v) Improve health outcomes;

(c) Coordinate a strategy for the adoption of health information technology systems using the final health information technology report and recommendations developed under chapter 261, Laws of 2005.

(9) The director may permit the Washington state health insurance pool to contract to utilize any network maintained by the authority or any network under contract with the authority.

*Reviser's note: The term "advanced registered nurse practitioner" was changed to "advanced practice registered nurse" by 2024 c 239 s 1, effective June 30, 2027.

Effective date—2018 c 260 ss 14, 22, 23, 31, and 32: "Sections 14, 22, 23, 31, and 32 of this act are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and take effect immediately [March 23, 2018]." [ 2018 c 260 s 35.]

Intent—2017 3rd sp.s. c 13: See note following RCW 28A.150.410.

Subheadings not law—2007 c 259: See note following RCW 7.70.060.

Intent—2006 c 103: See note following RCW 41.05.021.

Severability—Headings and captions not law—Effective date—1994 sp.s. c 9: See RCW 18.79.900 through 18.79.902.

Intent—Effective dates—1994 c 153: See notes following RCW 41.05.011.

Intent—1993 c 386: See note following RCW 28A.400.391.

Effective date—1993 c 386 ss 1, 2, 4-6, 8-10, and 12-16: See note following RCW 28A.400.391.