State employee group insurance program utilization review pilot program establishment

This bill establishes a pilot program (2026-2030) to compare two methods for reviewing healthcare services under Minnesota's state employee health insurance program. It requires health plans to use retrospective utilization review (evaluating care *after* it’s provided) instead of prior authorization (requiring approval *before* care) for state employee enrollees, while allowing health plans to optionally use prior authorization. The program mandates quality audits to track impacts on access to care, costs for enrollees/state, and payments to providers. Reports on these findings must be submitted to lawmakers annually through 2031. The pilot directly affects state employees covered by the group insurance program and the health carriers administering their coverage.