304.17B-003 Establishment of Kentucky Health Care Improvement Authority -- Members and meetings -- Programs and expenditure of funds -- Public hearings -- Annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly -- Liabilities. (1) There is hereby established the Kentucky Health Care Improvement Authority as an agency, instrumentality, and political subdivision of the Commonwealth and a public body corporate and politic with all the powers, duties, and responsibilities conferred upon it by statute and necessary or convenient to carry out its functions. The authority shall be administered by a board of fifteen (15) members and is created to perform the public functions of administering programs financed by the funds appropriated to the authority in conformance with KRS 304.17B-001 to 304.17B-031 and any terms and conditions established by the General Assembly as a part of the act appropriating the funds. The members of the board shall consist of the following: (a) The secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, or the secretary's designated representative, who shall serve as chair; (b) The commissioner of the Department of Insurance, or the commissioner's designated representative, who shall serve as vice chair; (c) Two (2) nonvoting members serving ex officio from the House of Representatives, one (1) of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House and one (1) appointed by the minority floor leader, and who shall serve a term of two (2) years; (d) Two (2) nonvoting members serving ex officio from the Senate, one (1) of whom shall be appointed by the President of the Senate and one (1) appointed by the minority floor leader, and who shall serve a term of two (2) years; (e) The deans of the University of Louisville School of Medicine and the their designated University of Kentucky College of Medicine, or representatives; (f) The commissioner of the Department for Public Health, or the commissioner's designated representative; (g) Two (2) representatives of Kentucky health care providers, who shall be appointed by the Governor; and (h) Four (4) citizens at large of the Commonwealth, who shall be appointed by the Governor. (2) The terms of office of the initial appointments of the citizen at-large members of the board shall expire one (1), two (2), three (3), and four (4) years respectively from the expiration date of the initial appointment. One (1) of the initial terms of the representatives of health care providers, at least one (1) of whom shall be male and at least one (1) of whom shall be female, shall be for two (2) years and one (1) shall be for four (4) years. All succeeding appointments shall be for four (4) years from the expiration date of the term of the initial appointment. Two (2) of the citizens at large shall be male and two (2) shall be female. Board members shall serve until their successors are appointed. (3) In making private sector and citizen-at-large appointments to the board, the Governor shall assure broad geographical and ethnic representation as well as representation from consumers and the major sectors of Kentucky's health care and health insurance businesses. Private sector and citizen-at-large members shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses. (4) The authority shall establish procedures for accountability, including the review of expenditures, and develop mechanisms to measure the success of programs that receive allocated funds in accordance with any criteria or instructions provided by the General Assembly. The authority shall be attached to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services for administrative purposes and shall establish advisory boards it deems appropriate, which shall consist of health insurance consumers, health care providers, and insurance company representatives, to assist with oversight of fund expenditures. (5) Grants and funds obtained under KRS 304.17B-001 to 304.17B-031 shall be used for expenditures as follows: (a) Seventy percent (70%) of all moneys in the fund shall be placed into the Kentucky Access fund for the purpose of funding Kentucky Access; (b) Twenty percent (20%) of all moneys in the fund shall be spent on a collaborative partnership between the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky dedicated to lung cancer research; and (c) Ten percent (10%) of all moneys in the fund shall be used to discourage the use of harmful substances by minors. (6) The authority shall ensure that a public hearing is held on the expenditure of funds allocated under this section, except for funds allocated to the Kentucky Access fund. Advertisement of the public hearing shall be published at least once but may be published two (2) more times, if one (1) publication occurs not less than seven (7) days nor more than twenty-one (21) days before the scheduled date of the public hearing. The authority shall submit an annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly indicating how the funds were used and an evaluation of the program's effectiveness in health care and access to health insurance for Kentucky residents. (7) Neither the authority nor its employees shall be liable for any obligations of any of the programs established under KRS 304.17B-001 to 304.17B-031. No member or employee of the authority shall be liable, and no cause of action of any nature may arise against them, for any act or omission related to the performance of their powers and duties under KRS 304.17B-001 to 304.17B-031, unless the act or omission constitutes willful or wanton misconduct. The authority may provide in its policies and procedures for indemnification of, and legal representation for, its members and employees. (8) The authority shall have all the powers necessary or convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of KRS 304.17B-001 to 304.17B-031, including, but not limited to, retaining the staff it deems necessary for the proper performance of its duties. (9) The authority shall meet at least quarterly and at other times upon call of the chair or a majority of the authority. Effective: June 27, 2019 History: Amended 2019 Ky. Acts ch. 90, sec. 12, effective June 27, 2019. -- Amended 2010 Ky. Acts ch. 24, sec. 1274, effective July 15, 2010. -- Amended 2005 Ky. Acts ch. 37, sec. 1; and ch. 99, sec. 579, effective June 20, 2005. -- Created 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 476, sec. 2, effective July 14, 2000. 2018-2020 Budget Reference. See State/Executive Branch Budget, 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 169, Pt. X, (5e) at 1386. 2018-2020 Budget Reference. See State/Executive Branch Budget, 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 169, Pt. X, E at 1389.