Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

AGO 1963 NO. 24 >

Under chapter 75, Laws of 1963, the authority granted to the supervising official or governing body of any department, division or separate agency of state government to provide for hospitalization and medical aid for their employees and dependents through contracts with insurance carriers or health care contractors may not be delegated to the trustee appointed by the governor.

AGO 1965 NO. 34 >

(1) An agency cannot enter into a single contract for a hospitalization and medical aid plan that is not available to all its employees or all employees within constitutionally permissible categories because of the inability of the carrier to service all the employees of the agency where the agency executes only one contract.  However, an agency may contract for a hospitalization and medical aid plan which is not available to all of its employees or all employees within constitutionally permissible categories because of the inability geographically of the carrier to service all of the employees of the state agency, if the agency provides substantially equivalent hospitalization and medical aid contracts to all its employees or all employees within a certain category under another contract or contracts. (2) Same: An agency cannot enter into only one hospitalization and medical aid contract that is available to its employees or categories of employees only if the employees belong to a specific employee organization.  However, an agency may contract for a hospitalization and medical aid plan which is available to its employees or categories of employees but conditioned upon membership in a specific employee organization, if the agency at the same time provides substantially equivalent hospitalization and medical aid contracts to all its employees or all employees within a certain category under another contract or contracts.