(a) The board shall report to the Legislature and the Director of Finance on or before November 1, 2016, and annually thereafter, regarding the health benefits program. The report shall include, but not be limited to the following:
(1) General overview of the health benefits program, including, but not limited to, the following:
(A) Description of health plans and benefits provided, including essential and nonessential benefits as required by state and federal law, member expected out-of-pocket expenses, and actuarial value by metal tier as defined by the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148), as amended by the federal Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-152).
(B) Geographic coverage.
(C) Historic enrollment information by basic and Medicare plans, by state and contract agencies, by active and retired membership, and by subscriber and dependent tier.
(D) Historic expenditures by basic and Medicare plans, by state and contract agencies, by active and retired membership, and by subscriber and dependent tier.
(2) Reconciliation of premium increases or decreases from the prior plan year, and the reasons for those changes.
(A) Description of benefit design and benefit changes, including prescription drug coverage, by plan. The description shall detail whether benefit changes were required by statutory mandate, federal law, or an exercise of the board’s discretion, the costs or savings of the benefit change, and the impact of how the changes fit into a broader strategy.
(B) Discussion of risk.
(C) Description of medical trend changes in aggregate service categories for each plan. The aggregate service categories used shall include the standard categories of information collected by the board, consisting of the following: inpatient, emergency room, ambulatory surgery, office, ambulatory radiology, ambulatory lab, mental health and substance abuse, other professional, prescriptions, and all other service categories.
(D) Reconciliation of past year premiums against actual enrollments, revenues, and accounts receivables.
(3) Overall member health as reflected by data on chronic conditions.
(4) The impact of federal subsidies or contributions to the health care of members, including Medicare Part A, Part B, Part C, or Part D, low-income subsidies, or other federal program.
(5) The cost of benefits beyond Medicare contained in the board’s Medicare supplemental plans.
(6) A description of plan quality performance and member satisfaction, including, but not limited to, the following:
(A) The Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set, referred to as HEDIS.
(B) The Medicare star rating for Medicare supplemental plans.
(C) The degree of satisfaction of members and annuitants with the health benefit plans and with the quality of the care provided, to the extent the board surveys participants.
(D) The level of accessibility to preferred providers for rural members who do not have access to health maintenance organizations.
(E) Other applicable quality measurements collected by the board as part of the board’s health plan contracts.
(7) A description of risk assessment and risk mitigation policy related to the board’s self-funded and flex-funded plan offerings, including, but not limited to the following:
(A) Reserve levels and their adequacy to mitigate plan risk.
(B) The expected change in reserve levels and the factors leading to this change.
(C) Policies to reduce excess reserves or rebuild inadequate reserves.
(D) Decisions to lower premiums with excess reserves.
(E) The use of reinsurance and other alternatives to maintaining reserves.
(8) Description and reconciliation of administrative expenditures, including, but not limited to, the following:
(A) Organization and staffing levels, including salaries, wages, and benefits.
(B) Operating expenses and equipment expenditure items, including, but not limited to, internal and external consulting and intradepartmental transfers.
(C) Funding sources.
(D) Investment strategies, historic investment performance, and expected investment returns of the Public Employees’ Contingency Reserve Fund and the Public Employees’ Health Care Fund.
(9) Changes in strategic direction and major policy initiatives.
(b) A report submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be provided in compliance with Section 9795.
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 323, Sec. 5. (SB 102) Effective September 22, 2015.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018