Whereas, certain obligations and expenses incident to the operation of state departments and institutions will become due and payable immediately; and

Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

PART A

Sec. A-1. PL 2003, c. 20, Pt. FFF, §1, sub-§§1 and 2 are amended to read:

1. The Commissioner of Administrative and Financial Services, referred to in this section as "the commissioner," and any insurance company or 3rd-party administrator, referred to in this section as "the carrier," insuring or administering the state employee health plan, referred to in this section as "the plan," shall jointly negotiate agreements with hospitals participating in the carrier's provider network to reduce the expense incurred by the plan in state fiscal year 2003-04 by the amount of at least $18,020,851 and in state fiscal year 2004-05 by the amount of at least $19,728,208. In undertaking such negotiations the carrier must be deemed at all times to be the agent of the State. The commissioner and the carrier acting at the direction of the commissioner may offer or demand negotiate such terms and conditions as the commissioner considers to be in the best interest of the State to reduce the expense of the state employee health plan, including, but not limited to, offering or demanding negotiating reductions in standard hospital reimbursement rates, rebates and refunds and uniform terms relating to such reductions, rebates or refunds. The commissioner may not affect or seek to affect amounts paid to hospitals relating to any other customer of the carrier.

2. The Commissioner of Human Services shall implement appropriate normalizing adjustments, no less than annually, to the public revenue component and the annual periodic interim

payments, PIP, of each such hospital, consistent with the requirements of Title XIX of the federal Social Security Act, to offset the impact of any plan-related revenue reduction under