1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to public employees; establishing a committee 
  1.3             to gather information and make recommendations for the 
  1.4             design of a school employee health insurance plan; 
  1.5             appropriating money. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [SCHOOL EMPLOYEE INSURANCE PLAN.] 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For purposes of this section:
  1.9      (1) "eligible employee" means a person who is a public 
  1.10  employee within the definition of Minnesota Statutes, section 
  1.11  179A.03, who is insurance eligible and is employed by an 
  1.12  eligible employer or by an exclusive representative of employees 
  1.13  of an eligible employer; and 
  1.14     (2) "eligible employer" means a school district as defined 
  1.15  in Minnesota Statutes, section 120A.05; a service cooperative as 
  1.16  defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 123A.21; an intermediate 
  1.17  district as defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 136D.01; a 
  1.18  cooperative center for vocational education as defined in 
  1.19  Minnesota Statutes, section 123A.22; a regional management 
  1.20  information center as defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 
  1.21  123A.23; an education unit organized under Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.22  section 471.59; or an exclusive representative of employees of 
  1.23  an eligible employer or statewide affiliate. 
  1.24     Subd. 2.  [STUDY COMMITTEE.] (a) The school employee 
  1.25  insurance plan study committee consists of: 
  2.1      (1) seven members representing exclusive representatives of 
  2.2   eligible employees appointed by the exclusive representatives, 
  2.3   as provided in paragraph (b); 
  2.4      (2) seven members representing eligible employers appointed 
  2.5   by the Minnesota state school boards association; and 
  2.6      (3) the commissioner of employee relations or the 
  2.7   commissioner's designee. 
  2.8      (b) Each statewide affiliate of an exclusive representative 
  2.9   of eligible employees with a statewide membership of at least 
  2.10  1,500 is eligible to appoint members under paragraph (a), clause 
  2.11  (1).  The seven committee positions authorized by that clause 
  2.12  must be allocated among eligible statewide affiliates 
  2.13  proportionally, based on the relative numbers of eligible 
  2.14  employees each represents. 
  2.15     (c) Appointing authorities must make their appointments no 
  2.16  later than 30 days after the effective date of this section. 
  2.17     Subd. 3.  [COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.] The committee 
  2.18  established under subdivision 2 shall collect, analyze, and 
  2.19  disseminate information from current health plans offering 
  2.20  insurance to eligible employers.  The information must include 
  2.21  data relating to employee group demographics, claim experience, 
  2.22  and other characteristics determined by the committee to be 
  2.23  necessary to establish rate structures for a school employee 
  2.24  insurance plan.  The committee may use the services of actuaries 
  2.25  or insurance consultants, or both, to help it carry out its 
  2.26  duties under this subdivision.  During the collection process, 
  2.27  the committee must also analyze and compare the costs, coverage 
  2.28  provided, financial feasibility, solvency, and management of 
  2.29  existing plans to a proposed statewide plan.  If the committee 
  2.30  determines that a statewide plan would reduce insurance costs, 
  2.31  the committee shall proceed with the plan design under 
  2.32  subdivision 4.  Health insurance providers offering coverage to 
  2.33  employees of eligible employers on the effective date of this 
  2.34  section shall provide to the committee nonidentifiable aggregate 
  2.35  cost data on the employee groups' claims experiences that the 
  2.36  committee requires to establish rate structures for a school 
  3.1   employee insurance plan to the extent permitted under applicable 
  3.2   state and federal law.  Nothing in this section requires 
  3.3   disclosure of proprietary information on data classified as 
  3.4   nonpublic data or confidential data on individuals. 
  3.5      Subd. 4.  [PLAN DESIGN.] Using the information collected 
  3.6   and analyzed under subdivision 3, the committee shall recommend 
  3.7   specifications for a health insurance plan to serve eligible 
  3.8   employees, including the plan's structure, benefits, approximate 
  3.9   premiums, governance, operations, and oversight.  Any 
  3.10  recommended plan must be a large plan including all eligible 
  3.11  employees and must incorporate, as a key component, consumer 
  3.12  education, including wellness programs and measures encouraging 
  3.13  the wise use of health insurance coverage, with the goal of 
  3.14  premium reduction and cost containment.  The recommendation must 
  3.15  include the projected costs to implement a large plan. 
  3.16     Subd. 5.  [WORK SCHEDULE.] By June 1, 2003, the committee 
  3.17  shall complete the collection and analysis of information under 
  3.18  subdivision 3 and shall submit an interim report to the 
  3.19  legislature.  By June 1, 2004, the committee shall complete its 
  3.20  preparation of a plan design under subdivision 4. 
  3.21     Subd. 6.  [EXPIRATION.] The committee expires upon 
  3.22  submission of the report due by June 1, 2004. 
  3.23     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.24     $670,000 is appropriated in fiscal year 2003 from the 
  3.25  general fund to the commissioner of employee relations for 
  3.26  purposes of section 1.  The base for this program is $670,000 
  3.27  for fiscal year 2004 only.  If a school employee insurance plan 
  3.28  is implemented, the rate structure for the plan must include an 
  3.29  amount sufficient to enable the plan administrator to repay 
  3.30  $1,340,000 to the general fund within five years. 
  3.31     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.32     Sections 1 and 2 are effective the day following final 
  3.33  enactment.