(c) The departments and divisions shall develop a plan or plans to ensure that a reasonable and appropriate level of health care is provided to the beneficiaries of the various programs including the Public Employees Insurance Agency and the workers' compensation fund, the Division of Rehabilitation Services and, to the extent permissible, the state Medicaid program. The plan or plans may include, among other things, and the departments and divisions are hereby authorized to enter into:
- (1) Utilization review and quality assurance programs;
- (2) The establishment of a schedule or schedules of the maximum reasonable amounts to be paid to health care providers for the delivery of health care services covered by the plan or plans. The schedule or schedules may be either prospective in nature or cost reimbursement in nature, or a mixture of both: Provided, That any payment methods or schedules for institutions which provide inpatient care shall be institution-specific and shall, at a minimum, take into account a disproportionate share of Medicaid, charity care and medical education: Provided, however, That in no event may any rate set in this article for an institutional health care provider be greater than the institution's current rate established and approved by the health care cost review authority pursuant to article twenty-nine-b of this chapter;
- (3) Provisions for making payments in advance of the receipt of health care services by a beneficiary, or in advance of the receipt of specific charges for the services, or both;
- (4) Provisions for the receipt or payment of charges by electronic transfers;
- (5) Arrangements, including contracts, with preferred provider organizations; and
- (6) Arrangements, including contracts, with particular health care providers to deliver health care services to the beneficiaries of the programs of the departments and divisions at agreed-upon rates in exchange for controlled access to the beneficiary populations.