A. The legislature recognizes that health care costs have risen greatly over the past decade and must be contained without jeopardizing:
(1) The quality of care received by patients.
(2) The ability of health care providers to maintain, update, and expand their facilities to serve their patients and communities and to meet federal and state standards and regulations.
B. The legislature further recognizes that there must be some incentive for purchasers and providers to strive for more cost-efficient and effective methods of providing quality patient care and more efficient payment for services rendered.
C. Therefore, the state can assist in reducing health care costs by authorizing the formation of preferred provider organizations.
D. The legislature further recognizes that the state and governmental bodies can reduce the cost of providing health care benefits for their employees by contracting with a preferred provider organization.