North Carolina § 135-48 - 23. Executive Administrator.

§ 135-48. 23. Executive Administrator.

The Plan shall have an Executive Administrator. The Executive Administrator position is exempt from the provisions of Chapter 126 of the General Statutes as provided in G.S. 126-5(c1). 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. Repealed by Session Laws 2018-84, s. 8(a), effective June 25, 2018. The State Treasurer may employ such clerical and professional staff, and such other assistance as may be necessary to assist the Executive Administrator, the Board of Trustees, and the State Treasurer in carrying out their duties and responsibilities under this Article. The State Treasurer may designate any managerial, professional, or policy-making positions as exempt from the North Carolina Human Resources Act. All exempt employees shall serve at the pleasure of the State Treasurer, and any vacancies in these positions may be filled by the State Treasurer. Salaries of exempt employees shall be set by the State Treasurer. The Executive Administrator may also negotiate, renegotiate and execute contracts with third parties in the performance of the Executive Administrator's duties and responsibilities under this Article; provided any contract negotiations, renegotiations and execution with a Claims Processor, with an optional alternative comprehensive health benefit plan, or program thereunder, authorized under G.S. 135-48.2, with a preferred provider of institutional or professional hospital and medical care, or with a pharmacy benefit manager shall be done only with the consent of the State Treasurer. Repealed by Session Laws 2018-85, s. 6, effective June 25, 2018. 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. History (1985, c. 732, s. 10; 1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 1020, s. 20; 1987, c. 857, s. 5; 1991, c. 427, s. 2; 2000-141, s. 2; 2001-446, s. 6; 2004-124, s. 31.27(a); 2005-276, ss. 29.33(c), 29.34(a); 2007-323, s. 28.22A( l ); 2008-168, ss. 1(a), 2(a), (h), 2.2; 2011-85, ss. 2.1(a), 2.5(c), 2.10; 2013-382, s. 9.1(c); 2017-57, s. 35.22; 2018-84, s. 8(a); 2018-85, s. 6.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2011-85, s. 2.5(c), effective January 1, 2012, recodified former G.S. 135-44.2 as G.S. 135-48.23 . Former G.S. 135-44.2 itself was formerly codified as G.S. 135-39.4A. It was recodified as G.S. 135-38.5 under Part 2A of Article 3A of Chapter 135 by Session Laws 2008-168, s. 2(h), effective July 1, 2008, but was renumbered as G.S. 135-44.2 at the direction of the Revisor of Statutes. Session Laws 2001-446, s. 8, provides: "Nothing in this act obligates the General Assembly to appropriate funds to implement this act." Session Laws 2005-276, s. 29.33(d), provides: "The Executive Administrator of the Teachers' and State Employees' Comprehensive Major Medical Plan may, after consultation with the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations, negotiate an extension of the current claims processing contract. The extension shall not exceed three years beyond June 30, 2007, the expiration date of the current claims processing contract. In negotiating the extension, the Executive Administrator may include as part of the extension amendments to the terms of the current claims processing contract, as well as inclusion of optional plans or programs authorized under G.S. 135-39.5B, as amended by this section. Amendments to the terms of the current claims processing contract may also include changes in reimbursement levels, services, and other terms as deemed appropriate by the Executive Administrator. As used in this subsection, 'current claims processing contract' means the claims processing contract in effect on July 1, 2005, and expiring June 30, 2007. Consultation with the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations pursuant to this subsection meets the requirements of Article 3 of Chapter 135 of the General Statutes pertaining to consultation with the Committee on Employee Hospital and Medical Benefits." Session Laws 2005-276, s. 1.2, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2005'." Session Laws 2005-276, s. 46.5, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2009-16, s. 5(g), provides: "The Executive Administrator of the Plan shall include in the development of its Request for Proposal (RFP) for an independent audit of the Plan, an audit of claims paid by the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees. One purpose of the audit is to determine whether savings to the Plan and to Plan members could be achieved if claims payments and processing were more efficiently and effectively administered. The audit shall encompass Plan years beginning in 2005, or earlier, through 2008 and shall look at claims administration and payment under the former Indemnity Plan as compared to the present PPO Plan. In developing the RFP, the Executive Administrator shall consult with the Fiscal Research Division staff and the Director of the Program Evaluation Division of the General Assembly to ensure that all of the following are addressed by the independent audit. "(1) Estimated or actual savings that could be achieved if changes recommended by the independent auditor were enacted by the General Assembly, and how those savings should be allocated to the benefit of Plan members. "(2) The governance structure of the Plan and whether it should be under the supervision and oversight of the Governor or a State agency. "(3) The extent to which the failure or inability to share confidential or otherwise protected information with the Board of Directors and the General Assembly contributes to financial weaknesses in the Plan, and how such data sharing should be strengthened. "(4) The role of the Board of Directors of the Plan and whether the role should be strengthened or otherwise changed. "(5) Past, present, and potential areas of overpayments, overutilization, underutilization, or abuse that contributes to increasing costs of Plan benefits, including deductibles, co-payments, dependent premiums, and co-insurance maximums. "(6) Safeguards to ensure the prompt reporting of claims data and trends to the actuaries under contract with the Plan and the General Assembly. "(7) Any other matters the Executive Administrator, Fiscal Research Division Staff, the Director of the Program Evaluation Division, or the contracting entity believe would be useful in helping to strengthen the financial integrity of the Plan and Plan benefits. "It is the intent of the General Assembly that savings identified by the independent audit and realized through enactment by the General Assembly, and overpayments identified by the audit or by the Plan, will be allocated by the General Assembly to minimize benefit reductions and maintain affordable contributions, deductibles, and co-payments by Plan members and to maintain the fiscal integrity of the Plan itself. "The Executive Administrator shall provide the RFP developed in accordance with this section to the Division of Purchase and Contract not later than July 1, 2009. A copy of the audit report submitted to the Plan by the contracting entity shall be provided to the Committee on Employee Hospital and Medical Benefits." Session Laws 2011-85, s. 2.1(b), provides: "The State Treasurer shall have the power to designate an interim Executive Administrator prior to appointing an Executive Administrator under this section." Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2011-85, s. 2.1(a), effective July 1, 2011, rewrote subsection (b). Session Laws 2011-85, s. 2.10, effective January 1, 2012, in subsection (c), in the first sentence, substituted "Executive Administrator, the Board of Trustees, and the State Treasurer" for "Executive Administrator and the Board of Trustees," and in the last sentence, corrected the section reference and substituted "State Treasurer" for "Committee on Employee Hospital and Medical Benefits"; deleted subsection (d), which dealt with responsibilities of the Executive Administrator; and redesignated former subsection (e) as present subsection (d), and therein inserted "quarterly" and substituted "President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives" for "President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Employee Hospital and Medical Benefits." Session Laws 2013-382, s. 9.1(c), effective August 21, 2013, substituted "North Carolina Human Resources Act" for "State Personnel Act" at the end of the second sentence in subsection (c). Session Laws 2017-57, s. 35.22, effective July 1, 2017, in subsection (b), deleted "after consultation with the Board of Trustees" following "State Treasurer" at the end of the sentence and substituted "State Treasurer" for "State Treasurer after consultation with the Board of Trustees" in the second sentence; rewrote subsection (c); added the subsection designations (c1) and (c2); in subsection (c1) added "The State Treasurer" at the beginning of the first sentence, substituted "State Treasurer" for "Executive Administrator", and made a stylistic change in the second sentence, and added the third sentence; and substituted "with the consent of" for "after consultation with" in subsection (c2). Session Laws 2018-84, s. 8(a), effective June 25, 2018, in subsection (a), deleted "and a Deputy Executive Administrator" at the end of the first sentence, substituted "position is" for "and the Deputy Executive Administrator positions are" in the second sentence; and deleted subsection (c), which read "The State Treasurer shall appoint the Deputy Executive Administrator. The term of employment and salary of the Deputy Executive Administrator shall be set by the State Treasurer. The Deputy Executive Administrator may be removed from office by the State Treasurer. Any vacancy in the office of the Deputy Executive Administrator may be filled by the State Treasurer." Session Laws 2018-85, s. 6, effective June 25, 2018, deleted subsection (d) which formerly read "The Executive Administrator shall quarterly make reports and recommendations on the Plan to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives."