HBA-MPM H.B. 1513 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1513 By: Maxey Public Health 3/23/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The Texas Health Care Information Council (council) was created by the 73rd Texas Legislature to develop a statewide health care data collection system to collect health care charges, utilization data, provider quality data, and outcome data to facilitate the promotion and accessibility of cost-effective, quality health care. By collecting hospital-based data and requiring HMO reporting, the council has been able to provide useful report cards on HMOs. H.B. 1513 provides a new definition for "public use data" to include patient level data that has had patient identifying information removed and that identifies physicians only by use of uniform physician identifiers, rather than identifying both physicians and patients by their respective identifiers. Furthermore, it makes changes to the compositions of the council's technical advisory committees, deletes specific data from the data the council is prohibited to release and to which a person or entity may not gain access unless authorized. This bill also authorizes the Health and Human Services Commission to charge a provider or a health benefit plan a fee for any incorrect data submitted; excludes provider quality data relating to rural providers from the list of those providers about whom the council is required to release data. It requires the council to establish a committee which has experience in ethics, patient confidentiality, and health care data to approve requests for information and to adopt rules regarding the release of data. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Health Care Information Council in SECTION 8 (Section 108.0135) of this bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 108.002(14), Health and Safety Code, to redefine "public use data" to include patient level data that has had patient identifying information removed and that identifies physicians only by use of uniform physician identifiers, rather than identifying both physicians and patients by their respective identifiers. SECTION 2. Amends Section 108.003(g), Health and Safety Code, to provide that Chapter 2110 (State Agency Advisory Committees), Government Code, does not apply to the four technical advisory committees (committees) appointed by the Texas Health Care Information Council (council) as described in this subsection. Deletes the requirement that two of the committees include at least five practicing physicians licensed in this state, and deletes the development and dissemination of consumer education information and materials from the advice and recommendations which the first of these committees provides to the council. Deletes a third committee that is composed of individuals who have expertise in the reimbursement of medical education and research costs. Redesignates Subdivisions (4) and (5) to Subdivisions (3) and (4), respectively. Makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes. SECTION 3. Amends Section 108.0045, Health and Safety Code, to prohibit the council from producing public information for inspection or duplication before the 20th business day after the information is requested. Requires the council to verify the accuracy of the public information before producing it. SECTION 4. Amends Section 108.009, Health and Safety Code, by adding Subsection (j), as follows: (j) Authorizes the Health and Human Services Commission to charge a provider or a health benefit plan a fee for any incorrect data that either entity submits and requires these fees to be placed in the general revenue fund to the credit of the health care information account. Provides that money in this account may be appropriated only to the council to enforce this chapter. SECTION 5. Amends Section 108.010(i), Health and Safety Code, to exclude provider quality data relating to rural providers from the list of those providers about whom the council is required to release data because the rural providers do not meet the requirements of Section 108.0025(2), Health and Safety Code, which specifies that a provider is a rural provider if it is not a state-owned hospital or one managed or owned by an individual, association, partnership, corporation, or other legal entity that owns or manages one or more hospitals). Specifies that the data released shall be in an aggregate form without uniform physician identifiers, rather than without patient and physician identifiers. SECTION 6. Amends Section 108.011(i), Health and Safety Code, to make conforming changes. SECTION 7. Amends Sections 108.013(c), (e), (f), (g), and (h), Health and Safety Code, to delete data that could be reasonably expected to reveal the zip code of a patient's primary residence from that data the council is prohibited to release, and to which a person or entity may not gain access unless authorized by this chapter. Removes the provision which expressly exempted the release of a uniform patient identifier from possible prohibition in Subsections (c) and (g). Makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes. SECTION 8. Amends Chapter 108, Health and Safety Code, by adding Section 108.0135, as follows: Sec. 108.0135. RELEASE OF INFORMATION. (a) Requires the council to establish a committee which has experience in ethics, patient confidentiality, and health care data to approve requests for information. Requires the council to adopt rules similar to the federal Health Care Financing Administration's guidelines on releasing data to help the committee determine whether to approve a request for information. Provides that a request for information must be made on a form created by the council. SECTION 9. Amends Section 108.014, Health and Safety Code, by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (d), as follows: (c) Provides that the venue of an action brought under this section is in Travis County. (d) Requires a civil penalty recovered in a suit instituted by the attorney general under this chapter to be deposited in the general revenue fund to the credit of the health care information account. SECTION 10. Amends Chapter 108, Health and Safety Code, by adding Section 108.0142, as follows: Sec. 108.0142. RELEASE OF LIABILITY. Provides that notwithstanding any other law, a provider or health benefit plan that submits data to the council under this chapter is not liable to the extent that the release of information violates the law. SECTION 11. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 12. Emergency clause.