§5-16-3 Composition of Public Employees Insurance Agency; appointment, qualification, compensation and duties of Director of Agency; employees; civil service coverage.
§5-16-3. Composition of Public Employees Insurance Agency; appointment, qualification, compensation and duties of Director of Agency; employees; civil service coverage.
(a) The Public Employees Insurance Agency consists of the Director, the Finance Board, the Advisory Board and any employees who may be authorized by law. The Director shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and serves at the will and pleasure of the Governor. The Director shall have at least three years' experience in health or governmental health benefit administration as his or her primary employment duty prior to appointment as director. The Director shall receive actual expenses incurred in the performance of official business. The Director shall employ any administrative, technical and clerical employees required for the proper administration of the programs provided in this article. The Director shall perform the duties that are required of him or her under the provisions of this article and is the Chief Administrative Officer of the Public Employees Insurance Agency. The Director may employ a deputy director.
(b) Except for the Director, his or her personal secretary, the Deputy Director and the Chief Financial Officer, all positions in the Agency shall be included in the classified service of the civil service system pursuant to article six, chapter twenty-nine of this code.
(c) The Director is responsible for the administration and management of the Public Employees Insurance Agency as provided in this article and in connection with his or her responsibility may make all rules necessary to effectuate the provisions of this article. Nothing in section four or five of this article limits 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. The Director is to function as a benefits management professional and should avoid political involvement in managing the affairs of the Public Employees Insurance Agency.