(1) By December 31, 2015, the joint committee must review the reports on school district health benefits submitted to it by the office of the insurance commissioner and the health care authority and report to the legislature on the progress by school districts and their benefit providers in meeting the following legislative goals to:

(a) Improve the transparency of health benefit plan claims and financial data to assure prudent and efficient use of taxpayers’ funds at the state and local levels;

(b) Create greater affordability for full family coverage and greater equity between premium costs for full family coverage and employee only coverage for the same health benefit plan;

(c) Promote health care innovations and cost savings and significantly reduce administrative costs.

(2) The joint committee shall also make a recommendation regarding a specific target to realize the goal in subsection (1)(b) of this section.

(3) The joint committee shall report on the status of individual school districts’ progress in achieving the goals in subsection (1) of this section.

(4)(a) In the 2015-2016 school year, the joint committee shall determine which school districts have met the requirements of *RCW 28A.400.350 (5) and (6), and shall rank order these districts from highest to lowest in term of their performance in meeting the requirements.

(b) The joint committee shall then allocate performance grants to the highest performing districts from a performance fund of five million dollars appropriated by the legislature for this purpose. Performance grants shall be used by school districts only to reduce employee health insurance copayments and deductibles. In determining the number of school districts to receive awards, the joint committee must consider the impact of the award on district employee copayments and deductibles in such a manner that the award amounts have a meaningful impact.

(5) If the joint committee determines that districts and their benefit providers have not made adequate progress, in the judgment of the joint committee, in achieving one or more of the legislative goals in subsection (1) of this section, the joint committee report to the legislature must contain advantages, disadvantages, and recommendations on the following:

(a) Why adequate progress has not been made, to the extent the joint committee is able to determine the reason or reasons for the insufficient progress;

(b) What legislative or agency actions would help remove barriers to improvement;

(c) Whether school district health insurance purchasing should be accomplished through a single consolidated school employee health benefits purchasing plan;

(d) Whether school district health insurance purchasing should be accomplished through the public employees’ benefits board program, and whether consolidation into the public employees’ benefits board program would be preferable to the creation of a consolidated school employee health benefits purchasing plan; and

(e) Whether certificated or classified employees, as separate groups, would be better served by purchasing health insurance through a single consolidated school employee health benefits purchasing plan or through participation in the public employees’ benefits board program.

(6) The report shall contain any legislation necessary to implement the recommendations of the joint committee.

(7) The legislature shall take all steps necessary to implement the recommendations of the joint committee unless the legislature adopts alternative strategies to meet its goals during the 2016 session.

*Reviser’s note: RCW 28A.400.350 was amended by 2017 3rd sp.s. c 13 § 816, changing subsections (5) and (6) to subsection (5)(a) and (b).

Findings—Goals—Intent—2012 2nd sp.s. c 3: See note following RCW 28A.400.275.