Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §286-B is enacted to read:

§286-B.__Joint venture for self-funded group health plan

1.__Joint venture. The State, through the State Employee Health Commission, and counties and municipalities that choose to participate, through the Maine Municipal Association or its successor organization, may establish a self-funded group health plan through a joint venture.

2.__Competitive bidding.__The State Employee Health Commission and the Maine Municipal Association or its successor organization shall contract by competitive bidding with a 3rd-party administrator or any organization to administer and manage the self-funded group health plan under subsection 1.__A written contract must be fully executed within 90 days of notification of bid acceptance to the administrator.__Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the term of the contract may not exceed 3 years.

3.__Eligibility.__The following persons are eligible for participation in a self-funded group health plan established pursuant to this section:

A.__Those persons eligible for a group health plan pursuant to section 285, subsections 1 and 1-A; and

B. Employees of counties and municipalities and instrumentalities of those counties and municipalities, including quasi-municipal corporations, as determined by those counties and municipalities and employees of members of the Maine Municipal Association or its successor organization, as determined by the association, notwithstanding section 285, subsection 1-B.

4.__Restrictions on self-funded group health plan.__A self- funded group health plan established through a joint venture pursuant to this section must meet the requirements of section 285, subsection 9.

5.__Not insurance.__The operation of a joint venture for a self-funded group health plan pursuant to this section does not constitute the business of insurance.