Senate Bill No. 83
(By Senators Holliday and Boley)
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[Introduced January 21, 1994; referred to the Committee
on Government Organization.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article sixteen,
chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to continuation of
the public employees insurance agency.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article sixteen, chapter five of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 16. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES INSURANCE ACT.
§5-16-3. Public employees insurance agency continued;
appointment, qualification, compensation and duties of
director of agency; employees; civil service coverage;
director vested after specified date with powers of public
employees insurance board; expiration of agency.
(a) The public employees insurance agency, heretofore
created, is continued, and shall consist of the director, the
finance board, the advisory board and such employees as may beauthorized by law. The director shall be appointed by the
governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. He or she
shall serve at the will and pleasure of the governor, unless
earlier removed from office for cause as provided by law. The
director shall have at least three years experience in health
insurance administration prior to appointment as director. The
director shall receive an annual salary established by the
governor not to exceed fifty-five thousand dollars and actual
expenses incurred in the performance of official business. The
director shall employ such administrative, technical and clerical
employees as shall be required for the proper administration of
the insurance programs herein provided. The director shall
perform such duties as are required of him or her under the
provisions of this article and shall be the chief administrative
officer of the public employees insurance agency.
(b) All positions in the agency, except for the director and
his or her personal secretary, shall be included in the
classified service of the civil service system pursuant to
article six, chapter twenty-nine of this code. Any person
required to be included in the classified service by the
provisions of this subsection who was employed in any of the
positions included herein on or after the effective date of this
article shall not be required to take and pass qualifying or
competitive examinations upon or as a condition to being added to
the classified service:
Provided,
That no person required to be
included in the classified service by the provisions of thissubsection who was employed in any of the positions included
herein as of the effective date of this section shall be
thereafter severed, removed or terminated in his or her
employment prior to his or her entry into the classified service
except for cause as if such person had been in the classified
service when severed, removed or terminated.
(c) The director shall be responsible for the administration
and management of the public employees insurance agency as
provided for in this article and in connection therewith shall
have the power and authority to make all rules and regulations
necessary to effectuate the provisions of this article. Nothing
in section four or five of this article shall limit the
director's ability to manage on a day-to-day basis the group
insurance plans required or authorized by this article,
including, but not limited to, administrative contracting,
studies, analyses and audits, eligibility determinations,
utilization management provisions and incentives, provider
negotiations, provider contracting and payment, designation of
covered and noncovered services, offering of additional coverage
options or cost containment incentives, pursuit of coordination
of benefits and subrogation, or any other actions which would
serve to implement the plan or plans designed by the finance
board.
(d) The public employees insurance agency shall terminate in
the manner provided in article ten, chapter four of this code, on
the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five,unless extended by legislation enacted before the termination
date.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to continue PEIA until
July 1, 1995, to allow for the completion of a preliminary
performance review by the Joint Committee on Government
Operations.)