1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to insurance; creating a statewide health 
  1.3             insurance pool for school district employees; 
  1.4             appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.5             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 62A. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [62A.662] [SCHOOL EMPLOYEE INSURANCE PLAN.] 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For purposes of this section:
  1.9      (1) "eligible employee" means a person who is insurance 
  1.10  eligible under a collective bargaining agreement or under the 
  1.11  personnel policy of an eligible employer; and 
  1.12     (2) "eligible employer" means a school district as defined 
  1.13  in section 120A.05; a service cooperative as defined in section 
  1.14  123A.21; an intermediate district as defined in section 136D.01; 
  1.15  a cooperative center for vocational education as defined in 
  1.16  section 123A.22; a regional management information center as 
  1.17  defined in section 123A.23; an education unit organized under 
  1.18  section 471.59; or a charter school organized under section 
  1.19  124D.10. 
  1.20     Subd. 2.  [CREATION OF BOARD.] (a) The Minnesota School 
  1.21  Employee Insurance Board is created as a public corporation 
  1.22  subject to the provisions of chapter 317A, except as otherwise 
  1.23  provided in this section.  As provided in section 15.082, the 
  1.24  state is not liable for obligations of this public corporation.  
  1.25     (b) The board shall create and administer the Minnesota 
  2.1   School Employee Insurance Pool as described in this section.  
  2.2      (c) If the board does not offer coverage by December 15, 
  2.3   2008, the board expires and this section expires on that date. 
  2.4      Subd. 3.  [BOARD OF DIRECTORS.] (a) The School Employee 
  2.5   Insurance Board consists of: 
  2.6      (1) seven members representing exclusive representatives of 
  2.7   eligible employees, appointed by exclusive representatives, as 
  2.8   provided in paragraph (b); and 
  2.9      (2) seven members representing eligible employers, 
  2.10  appointed by the Minnesota School Boards Association. 
  2.11     (b) The seven members of the board who represent statewide 
  2.12  affiliates of exclusive representatives of eligible employees 
  2.13  are appointed as follows:  four members appointed by Education 
  2.14  Minnesota and one member each appointed by the Service Employees 
  2.15  International Union, the Minnesota School Employees Association, 
  2.16  and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal 
  2.17  Employees. 
  2.18     (c) Appointing authorities must make their initial 
  2.19  appointments no later than August 1, 2005, by filing a notice of 
  2.20  the appointment with the commissioner of commerce.  Notices of 
  2.21  subsequent appointments must be filed with the board.  An entity 
  2.22  entitled to appoint a board member may replace the board member 
  2.23  at any time. 
  2.24     (d) Board members are eligible for compensation and expense 
  2.25  reimbursement under section 15.0575, subdivision 3. 
  2.26     (e) The board must arrange for one or more methods of 
  2.27  dispute resolution so as to minimize the possibility of 
  2.28  deadlocks. 
  2.29     (f) The board shall establish governance requirements, 
  2.30  including staggered terms, term limits, quorum, a plan of 
  2.31  operation, and audit provisions. 
  2.32     Subd. 4.  [DESIGN AND NATURE OF PLAN.] (a) Health coverage 
  2.33  offered through the Minnesota School Employee Insurance Pool 
  2.34  shall be made available by the board to all eligible employees 
  2.35  of eligible employers, as defined in subdivision 1. 
  2.36     (b) If an eligible employer provides health coverage or 
  3.1   money to purchase health coverage to eligible employees, the 
  3.2   coverage must be provided or purchased only through the health 
  3.3   plans offered by the board. 
  3.4      (c) The board must offer more than one health plan and may 
  3.5   establish more than one tier of premium rates for any specific 
  3.6   plan.  Plans and premium rates may vary across geographic 
  3.7   regions established by the board.  The health plans must comply 
  3.8   with chapters 62A, 62J, 62M, and 62Q, and must provide the 
  3.9   optimal combination of coverage, cost, choice, and stability in 
  3.10  the judgment of the board.  All health plans offered must be 
  3.11  approved by the commissioner of commerce.  
  3.12     (d) The board must include claims reserves, stabilization 
  3.13  reserves, reinsurance, and other features that, in the judgment 
  3.14  of the board, will result in long-term stability and solvency of 
  3.15  the health plans offered. 
  3.16     (e) The board may determine whether the health plans should 
  3.17  be fully insured through a health carrier licensed in this 
  3.18  state, self-insured, or a combination of those two alternatives. 
  3.19     (f) The health plans must include disease management and 
  3.20  consumer education, including wellness programs and measures 
  3.21  encouraging the wise use of health coverage, to the extent 
  3.22  determined to be appropriate by the board. 
  3.23     (h) Upon request of the board, health plans that are 
  3.24  providing or have provided coverage to employees of eligible 
  3.25  employers within two years prior to the effective date of this 
  3.26  section, shall provide to the board at no charge nonidentifiable 
  3.27  aggregate claims data for that coverage.  The information must 
  3.28  include data relating to employee group benefit sets, 
  3.29  demographics, and claims experience.  Notwithstanding section 
  3.30  13.203, Minnesota service cooperatives must also comply with 
  3.31  this paragraph. 
  3.32     Subd. 5.  [REPORT.] The board shall report to the 
  3.33  legislature by January 15, 2007, on a final design for the pool 
  3.34  that complies with subdivision 4 and on governance requirements 
  3.35  for the board, including staggered terms, term limits, quorum, 
  3.36  and a plan of operation and audit provisions.  The report must 
  4.1   include any legislative changes necessary to ensure conformance 
  4.2   with chapters 62A, 62J, 62M, and 62Q.  
  4.3      Subd. 6.  [PERIODIC EVALUATION.] (a) Beginning January 15, 
  4.4   2008, and for the next two years, the board must submit an 
  4.5   annual report to the commissioner of commerce and the 
  4.6   legislature, in compliance with sections 3.195 and 3.197, 
  4.7   summarizing and evaluating the performance of the pool during 
  4.8   the previous year of operation.  
  4.9      (b) Beginning in 2011 and in each odd-numbered year 
  4.10  thereafter, the board must submit to the legislature a biennial 
  4.11  report summarizing and evaluating the performance of the pool 
  4.12  during the preceding two fiscal years.  
  4.13     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION; LOAN.] 
  4.14     $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  4.15  commissioner of commerce as a loan for start-up costs to the 
  4.16  Minnesota School Employee Insurance Board.  The Minnesota School 
  4.17  Employee Insurance Board must repay the loan to the general fund 
  4.18  in ten equal installments paid at the end of each fiscal year, 
  4.19  beginning with the 2008 fiscal year.