MISS. CODE ANN. § 25-15-11 and § 25-15-255 require the PEER Committee to prepare a report to the Legislature by January 1 of each year regarding contractors used by the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) to administer the State and Public School Employees' Health Insurance Plans (hereinafter referred to as the "plan" or the "plans"). Sections 25-15-11 and 25-15-255 specifically require PEER's report to address:
State law requires that PEER's annual report include contracts for the most recently completed fiscal year and those for the current fiscal year (i.e., fiscal years 1997 and 1998 for this report). MISS. CODE ANN. § 25-15-11 and § 25-15-255 exclude from PEER's report the third-party administrator contract used by DFA to process health claims. Although PEER excluded from this review DFA's procurement of provider network contracts because they primarily provide financial discounts to the plan rather than specific work products, PEER reviewed DFA's analysis of such contracts to ensure correct application of contractual discounts.
Overview
In procuring its administrative contracts during FY 1997 for the State and Public School Employees' Health Plans, DFA adhered to state law and the components of fair and efficient public contracting. The department developed and advertised requests for proposals, rated the proposals based on a formal rating system, and selected contractors which submitted the highest-rated proposals.
DFA's contractors delivered work products according to financial and other contractual requirements. The department expended $3,475,150 in FY 1997 and $827,757 in FY 1998 (to date) on these contracts.
DFA, through its health consultant, annually analyzes discount pricing arrangements offered by its network providers to ensure that such prices comply with contractual agreements.
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