Section 130251 Of Division 109.5. California Health Information Technology And Exchange Act From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 109.5.
130251
. (a) The California Health and Human Services Agency or one
of the departments under its jurisdiction may apply for federal funds
made available through the federal American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5) for health information
technology and exchange. If the California Health and Human Services
Agency or one of the departments under its jurisdiction submits an
application pursuant to this subdivision, and later chooses to
subgrant, in whole or in part, a portion of the federal grant to a
qualified nonprofit entity for the purposes of establishing health
information exchange, that entity shall be designated as the state
governance entity.
(b) In the event that the California Health and Human Services
Agency or one of the departments under its jurisdiction elects not to
submit an application described in subdivision (a), the Governor
shall designate a qualified nonprofit entity to be the
state-designated entity for the purposes of health information
exchange, pursuant to the requirements set forth in the federal
American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009.
(c) In addition to existing requirements applicable to nonprofit
entities, the state governance entity may be held to additional
requirements under federal and state law, and directives from the
California Health and Human Services Agency.
(d) The agency or state-designated entity shall execute tasks
related to accessing federal stimulus funds made available through
ARRA, and facilitate and expand the use and disclosure of health
information electronically among organizations according to
nationally recognized standards and implementation specifications
while protecting, to the greatest extent possible, individual privacy
and the confidentiality of electronic medical records.
(e) The agency or state-designated entity shall develop strategic
and operational plans to ensure that health information exchange
capabilities are available, adopted, and utilized statewide so that
patients do not experience disparities in access to the benefits of
this technology by age, race, ethnicity, language, income, insurance
status, geography, or otherwise.
(f) The agency, state-designated entity, or state governance
entity shall create a plan for a self-sustaining funding mechanism
that does not include use of General Fund moneys that shall cover all
reasonable costs of the administration of health information
exchange when federal ARRA funds expire or are exhausted. A detailed
business plan and sustainability model shall be submitted to the
Governor and the Legislature by April 1, 2011. The plan may include a
combination of approaches to create viable revenue streams, and
shall take into account the needs of safety net institutions and
providers.
(g) The state-designated entity or state governance entity shall
continually meet any conditions for being so designated as determined
by the Secretary of California Health and Human Services. Failure to
comply with this subdivision may result in the applicable entity
losing its contract for state designation or subgrant agreement.
(h) As a condition of receiving the contract for state designation
or subgrant agreement, the state-designated entity or state
governance entity shall comply with all of the following
requirements:
(1) It shall be subject to oversight by the California Health and
Human Services Agency.
(2) (A) It shall be governed by an initial board with a diverse
composition from multiple types of organizations from multiple
regions throughout the state. The initial governing board shall
include all of the following:
(i) The Secretary of California Health and Human Services or his
or her designee.
(ii) The Chair of the Senate Committee on Health or his or her
designee.
(iii) The Chair of the Assembly Committee on Health or his or her
designee.
(iv) One administrator from a state department under the
jurisdiction of the California Health and Human Services Agency
responsible for a statewide health program.
(v) At least two consumer representatives, one of whom shall have
expertise in privacy and security of health information.
(vi) One licensed physician and surgeon, representing a solo or
small group practice.
(vii) One licensed physician and surgeon, representing a medical
group or independent practice association.
(viii) One representative from a safety net clinic.
(ix) Two representatives of hospitals, one of whom shall represent
a public hospital.
(x) Two representatives of health plans or health insurers, one of
whom shall represent a publicly run health plan or insurer.
(xi) One local public health officer.
(xii) Two representatives of health information exchange
organizations, one from northern California, and one from southern
California.
(xiii) One representative of the medical informatics industry or
who has experience in medical informatics.
(xiv) One representative of an employer who provides employees
with health care coverage, or a group purchaser of health care
coverage.
(xv) One representative from labor.
(xvi) The chief executive officer of the nonprofit entity.
(xvii) Two at-large cochairs of the nonprofit entity.
(B) The majority of the board shall be comprised of
nongovernmental employees.
(3) If the governing board convenes workgroups or subcommittees,
the workgroups or subcommittees shall be comprised of representatives
from multiple types of organizations from multiple regions
throughout the state, and meetings of any workgroup or subcommittee
shall be held in an open, public, and transparent way.
(4) The state-designated entity or state governance entity shall
have nondiscrimination and conflict-of-interest policies that
demonstrate a commitment to open, fair, and nondiscriminatory
participation by stakeholders.
(i) The California Health and Human Services Agency, in
consultation with the initial governing board, may modify the
composition of the initial governing board. If a modification is made
to the composition of the initial governing board pursuant to this
subdivision, the agency shall inform the Legislature of, and the
reason for, the change implemented.
(j) Upon the completion of the initial one-year term of the two
at-large cochairs of the state-designated entity or state governance
entity, the board shall select a chair or two cochairs from its
membership.