HB 391 Summary

• Commissioner of administration shall establish health care provider networks in three regions (Anchorage/Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Fairbanks North Star Borough, and City and Borough of Juneau) for state employees and their families.

• Network membership requires providers to be properly licensed, capable of providing services, and demonstrate annually that at least 20 percent of patients are eligible for Medicaid or Medicare benefits.

• Commissioner shall identify health care services with above-market rates and solicit competitive bids from network members; the lowest bidder may charge 100 percent of their bid while other members may charge no more than 95 percent of the lowest bid.

• Defines "state employee" to include full-time or part-time employees of state government branches and their spouses or dependent children; dependent children include those under 19, under 23 if full-time students, or any age if totally and permanently disabled.

• Act takes effect immediately upon passage.