A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO TRANSFER the NORTH CAROLINA STATE HEALTH PLAN FOR TEACHERS AND STATE EMPLOYEES TO THE Department of State Treasurer.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  The North Carolina State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees is transferred to the Department of State Treasurer. This transfer shall have all the elements of a Type II transfer, as defined by G.S. 143A‑6.
SECTION 2.  G.S. 135‑43(b) reads as rewritten:
"§ 135‑43.  Confidentiality of information and medical records; provider contracts.
(b)	Notwithstanding the provisions of this Article, the Executive Administrator and Board of Trustees of the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees may contract with providers of institutional and professional medical care and services to establish preferred provider networks.
The terms of a contract between the Plan and its third party administrator or between the Plan and its pharmacy benefit manager are a public record except that the terms in those contracts that contain trade secrets or proprietary or competitive information are not a public record under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes, and any such proprietary or competitive information and trade secrets contained in the contract shall be redacted by the Plan prior to making it available to the public. This subsection shall not be construed to prevent or restrict the release of any information made not a public record under this subsection to the State Treasurer, the State Auditor, the Attorney General, the Director of the State Budget, the Plan's Board of Trustees, and the Plan's Executive Administrator solely and exclusively for their use in the furtherance of their duties and responsibilities, and to the Department of Health and Human Services solely for the purpose of implementing the transition of NC Health Choice from the Plan to the Department of Health and Human Services. The design, adoption, and implementation of the preferred provider contracts, networks, and optional alternative comprehensive health benefit plans, and programs available under the optional alternative plans, as authorized under G.S. 135‑45 are not subject to the requirements of Article 3 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. The Executive Administrator and Board of Trustees shall make reports as requested to the President of the Senate, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the State Treasurer."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 135‑43.1 is repealed.
SECTION 4.  G.S. 135‑43.2 is repealed.
SECTION 5.  G.S. 135‑43.3 reads as rewritten:
"§ 135‑43.3.  Oversight.
(a)	The Director of the Budget may use employees of the Office of State Budget and Management to monitor the Executive Administrator and Board of Trustees, the Claims Processor, and the Comprehensive Major Medical Plan [State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees].
(b)	The Director of the Budget and the State Treasurer or their designees shall have access to all records of the Board of Trustees, the Executive Administrator, the Claims Processor, and the Plan. The Director of the Budget and the State Treasurer or their designees shall be entitled to attend all meetings of the Board of Trustees.
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SECTION 6.  G.S. 135‑43.6 reads as rewritten:
"§ 135‑43.6.  Reports to the General Assembly.
The Executive Administrator and Board of Trustees shall report to the General Assembly at such times and in such forms as shall be designated by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives."
SECTION 7.  G.S. 135‑44.2(b) reads as rewritten:
"§ 135‑44.2.  Executive Administrator.
(b)	The Executive Administrator shall be appointed by the State Treasurer. The term of employment and salary of the Executive Administrator shall be set by the State Treasurer.
The Executive Administrator may be removed from office by the State Treasurer, and any vacancy in the office of Executive Administrator may be filled by the State Treasurer."
SECTION 8.  G.S. 135‑44.7(a) reads as rewritten:
"§ 135‑44.7.  Administrative review.
(a)	If, after exhaustion of internal appeal handling as outlined in the contract with the Claims Processor any person is aggrieved, the Claims Processor shall bring the matter to the attention of the Executive Administrator and Board of Trustees, which shall promptly decide whether the subject matter of the appeal is a determination subject to external review under Part 4 of Article 50 of Chapter 58 of the General Statutes. The Executive Administrator and Board of Trustees shall inform the aggrieved person and the aggrieved person's provider of the decision and shall provide the aggrieved person notice of the aggrieved person's right to appeal that decision as provided in this subsection. If the Executive Administrator and Board of Trustees decide that the subject matter of the appeal is not a determination subject to external review, then the Executive Administrator and Board of Trustees may make a binding decision on the matter in accordance with procedures established by the Executive Administrator and Board of Trustees. The Executive Administrator and Board of Trustees shall provide a written summary of the decisions made pursuant to this section to all employing units, all health benefit representatives, the oversight agencies provided for in G.S. 135‑43.3, all relevant health care providers affected by a decision, and to any other parties requesting a written summary and approved by the Executive Administrator and Board of Trustees to receive a summary immediately following the issuance of a decision. A decision by the Executive Administrator and Board of Trustees that a matter raised on internal appeal is a determination subject to external review as provided in subsection (b) of this section may be contested by the aggrieved person under Chapter 150B of the General Statutes. The person contesting the decision may proceed with external review pending a decision in the contested case under Chapter 150B of the General Statutes."
SECTION 9.  G.S. 135‑44.8 reads as rewritten:
"§ 135‑44.8.  Rules.
The Executive Administrator and Board of Trustees may adopt rules to implement Parts 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article. The Executive Administrator and Board of Trustees shall provide to all employing units, all health benefit representatives, the oversight agencies provided for in G.S. 135‑43.3, all relevant health care providers affected by a rule, and to any other persons requesting a written description and approved by the Executive Administrator and Board of Trustees written notice and an opportunity to comment not later than 30 days prior to adopting, amending, or rescinding a rule, unless immediate adoption of the rule without notice is necessary in order to fully effectuate the purpose of the rule. Rules of the Board of Trustees shall remain in effect until amended or repealed by the Executive Administrator and Board of Trustees. The Executive Administrator and Board of Trustees shall provide a written description of the rules adopted under this section to all employing units, all health benefit representatives, the oversight agencies provided for in G.S. 135‑43.3, all relevant health care providers affected by a rule, and to any other persons requesting a written description and approved by the Executive Administrator and Board of Trustees on a timely basis. Rules adopted by the Executive Administrator and Board of Trustees to implement this Article are not subject to Article 2A of Chapter 150B of the General Statutes."
SECTION 10.  This act becomes effective September 1, 2011.