(a) The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources and the Insurance Commissioner shall jointly establish an advisory committee to assist them in the development and implementation of the uniform credentialing process in this state. The advisory committee shall consist of fourteen appointed members. Six members shall be appointed by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources: One member shall represent a hospital with one hundred beds or less; one member shall represent a hospital with more than one hundred beds; one member shall represent another type of health care facility requiring credentialing; one member shall be a person currently credentialing on behalf of health care practitioners; and two of the members shall represent the health care practitioners subject to credentialing. Five members shall be representative of the entities regulated by the Insurance Commissioner that require credentialing and shall be appointed by the Insurance Commissioner: One member shall represent an indemnity health care insurer; one member shall represent a preferred provider organization; one member shall represent a third party administrator; one member shall represent a health maintenance organization accredited by URAC; and one member shall represent a health maintenance organization accredited by the national committee on quality assurance. The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources and the Insurance Commissioner, or the designee of either or both, shall be nonvoting ex officio members. Upon the effective date of this legislation, the state hospital association, the state association of licensing boards and state medical association shall each designate to the department one person to represent their respective associations and members and those designees shall be appointed to the advisory committee by the secretary of the department.

(b) At the expiration of the initial terms, successors will be appointed to terms of three years. Members may serve an unlimited number of terms. When a vacancy occurs as a result of the expiration of a term or otherwise, a successor of like qualifications shall be appointed. Representatives of the hospital association, the association of licensing boards and the state medical association shall serve for three-year terms.

(c) The advisory committee shall meet at least annually to review the status of uniform credentialing in this state, and may make further recommendations to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources and the Insurance Commissioner as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this article. Any uniform forms and the list of health care practitioners required to use the uniform forms as set forth in legislative rule proposed pursuant to section two of this article may be amended as needed by procedural rule.