New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 6 - PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION › Chapter 50 - INSURANCE › Part 7 - EMPLOYEE-BENEFIT AND RISK-RELATED MINIMUM BENEFIT AND FINANCIAL STANDARDS PARTICIPATION WAIVER › Section 6.50.7.11 - BOARD PROCEDURE FOR CONSIDERING REQUESTS FOR WAIVER

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A. In the event the authority determines it
				will issue a request for proposal for either risk-related or group health
				insurance because of termination of an existing contract during its term or
				because of expiration of an existing contract pursuant to the contractual term
				limit, the authority shall issue a schedule for the procurement. The request
				for proposal shall contain a proposed time schedule for responsive offers. The
				authority shall also set a target date for selection of a carrier. Sixty days
				prior to the carrier selection target date, the authority shall, by ordinary
				mail, send to each school district and charter school a copy of the authority's
				request for proposal notifying the school districts and the charter schools
				that the request for proposal sets forth the minimum benefits and financial
				standards for purposes of their opportunity to waive participation in the
				individual line of coverage being procured. The authority shall in the notice
				to the school districts and charter schools establish a deadline within which
				time any school district or charter school desiring a waiver must submit
				documentation of its proposal matching the authority's minimum benefits and
				financial standards. A copy of 6.50.7 NMAC shall be enclosed with the
				notice.
B. A school district or
				charter school that plans to file a request for waiver for any individual line
				of coverage shall within 14 calendar days after receiving notice from the
				authority as required by Subsection A of 6.50.7.11 NMAC above, file a notice of
				intent to file a request for waiver for that particular individual line of
				coverage. The purpose of this preliminary filing is to permit the authority to
				structure its request for proposal to give notice to any proposed bidders of
				the approximate number of school districts and charter schools that may attempt
				to waive participation in that individual line of coverage, since this can have
				a significant effect on the procurement process.
C. Any school district or charter school that
				has filed a notice of intent to file a request for waiver, may, if the school
				district or charter school desires to continue its waiver efforts, seek
				proposals for insurance through a request for proposal in accordance with state
				law. The school district's or charter school's request for proposal shall, as a
				minimum, contain the minimum employee benefits and financial standards or the
				risk-related minimum benefits and financial standards as required by the
				authority's request for proposal. The school district or charter school may
				include additional coverages or additional limits in its request for
				proposal.
D. After the school
				district or charter school receives responses to its request for proposals and
				still desires to continue to seek a waiver, it shall prepare a request for
				waiver which affirmatively sets forth the coverages, the premiums and a summary
				of the school district's or charter school's data with respect to each of the
				criteria set forth in 6.50.7.12 NMAC.
E. The request for waiver of participation
				with all documentation shall be filed with the authority on or before the date
				on which the authority's request for proposal requires proposals to be
				received.
F. Any school district or
				charter school that does not timely file a notice of intent to file for a
				waiver of participation or a request for waiver of participation is prohibited
				from waiving out of the authority coverage.
G. When the authority receives a request for
				a waiver of participation, the authority shall immediately send a notice to the
				school district or charter school setting forth the time and place for a public
				board meeting to consider approval or rejection of the waiver request. Since
				time is of the essence, if necessary, the board shall call a special meeting in
				accordance with the Open Meetings Act, Section
				10-15-1
				et seq., NMSA 1978, to consider the waiver request.
H. At the meeting, the school district or
				charter school will present its proposed coverages and the costs of those
				coverages. Then, the authority's executive director will explain the comparable
				coverages to be offered by the authority and their costs. The board shall
				review all documents and information presented orally and in writing and then
				shall either make its decision at the meeting or notify the school district or
				charter school of the decision in writing within five calendar days after the
				meeting.
I. The decision of the
				authority board to grant or deny a waiver of participation is final. Any
				district denied a waiver of participation may appeal such decision. An appeal
				shall be taken within thirty days from the date of the board action. Such
				appeal is on the record made before the authority board and the board decision
				may be reversed only if shown upon a review of the whole record to be
				arbitrary, capricious or in violation of law.