Senate Bill No. 127
(By Senators Tomblin (Mr. President) and Sprouse
By Request of the Executive)
____________
[Introduced February 15, 2001; referred to the Committee
on Health and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on Finance
.]
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A BILL to amend chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article sixteen-c, relating
to the ability of the director of the public employees
insurance agency to enter into cooperative arrangements with
private and public entities for the purchase of health care
services, including pharmacy benefit management services and
pharmaceutical products.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto
a new article, designated article sixteen-c, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 16C. HEALTH CARE AND PHARMACY BENEFITS ARRANGEMENTS.
§5-16C-1. Declaration of purpose.
The Legislature recognizes that the cost of providing health
care services, including pharmacy benefits to recipients of both government and private benefit programs, is substantially
escalating and that it is desirable to authorize permissible
creative arrangements to help alleviate this problem.
§5-16C-2. Authorization to enter into arrangements.
The director of the public employees insurance agency, created
by article sixteen of this chapter, is authorized to enter into
such cooperative contractual arrangements as are in the interest of
the state for the purchase of health care services or health care
management services including pharmacy benefits management services
or pharmaceutical products. The provisions of article three,
chapter five-a of this code shall not apply to these arrangements.
The arrangements authorized by this article include, but are not
limited to:
(a)
Arrangements with other state or local governmental
entities or programs toward combined purchasing of health care
services, health care management services, pharmacy benefits
management services or pharmaceutical products;
(b)
Arrangements with entities in the private sector,
including self-funded benefit plans, toward combined purchasing of
health care services, health care management services, pharmacy
benefits management services or pharmaceutical products;
(c)
The renegotiation and amendment of existing contracts to
which the public employees insurance agency is a party in order to
facilitate the purposes of this article; or
(d)
Any combination of the arrangements addressed in
subparagraph (a), (b) or (c) of this section.
§5-16C-3. Reports.
The director of the public employees insurance agency shall on
or before the first day of July, two thousand four and each year
thereafter, submit a report to the Legislature's joint committee on
government and finance which provides information relating to
arrangements entered pursuant to this article.
NOTE: The Legislature recognizes that the cost of providing
health care services, including pharmacy benefits to recipients of
both government and private benefit programs, is substantially
escalating and that it is desirable to authorize permissible
creative arrangements to help alleviate this problem. This bill
authorizes the director of the public employees insurance agency to
enter into such cooperative contractual arrangements as are in the
interest of the state for the purchase of health care services or
health care management services including pharmacy benefits,
management services or pharmaceutical products.
No underscoring of language has been performed because the
article and sections provided for within this bill represent new
provisions.
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