ENROLLED
2020 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 52
BY REPRESENTATIVE ECHOLS
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health and the Medicaid managed care
organizations with which it contracts to plan for actions that are necessary for their
compliance with newly issued federal rules on interoperability of health records and
access by patients to their health data and to request that the department report on
these plans to the legislative committees on health and welfare.
WHEREAS, in March of 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, referred to hereafter in this Resolution
as "CMS", began the promulgation of an administrative rule known as the "CMS
Interoperability and Patient Access Proposed Rule" (84 Fed. Reg. 7610 (March 4, 2019));
and
WHEREAS, this proposed rule outlined policies that, according to CMS, are
intended to move the healthcare system in the direction of interoperability and to signal the
federal health agency's commitment to the vision set forth in the 21st Century Cures Act
(Public Law 114-255) and Executive Order 13813 for improving quality and accessibility
of information that Americans need to make informed decisions concerning their health care;
and
WHEREAS, now finalized as the Interoperability and Patient Access Final Rule (85
Fed. Reg. 25510 (May 1, 2020)), this set of federal regulations focuses on driving
interoperability and patient access to health information by liberating patient data through
CMS's authority to regulate Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance
Program, and issuers of qualified health plans on the federally facilitated health insurance
exchanges; and
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WHEREAS, the Interoperability and Patient Access Final Rule will provide for better
access by patients to their own health information while improving processes for maintaining
the privacy and security of that information; and
WHEREAS, the final rule also features standards for application programming
interfaces to support provider directories and patient access to claims, encounter data, and
clinical information; requirements for payer-to-payer data exchanges; and provisions for
public reporting of providers who do not list or update their digital contact information in
the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System; and
WHEREAS, successful compliance with this rule by the Louisiana Department of
Health, along with the Medicaid managed care organizations with which the department
contracts, will be a landmark achievement in patient access to health information that will
provide substantial, long-awaited benefits to healthcare consumers throughout our state.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health and the Medicaid managed care
organizations with which it contracts to plan for actions that are necessary for their
compliance with the Interoperability and Patient Access Final Rule.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that on or before October 1, 2020, the Louisiana
Department of Health shall submit to the House Committee on Health and Welfare, the
Senate Committee on Health and Welfare, and the David R. Poynter Legislative Research
Library a report addressing the actions it has taken, or will take, to ensure both its own
compliance with the Interoperability and Patient Access Final Rule and compliance with that
rule by the Medicaid managed care organizations of this state.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and the executive director of the Louisiana
Medicaid Managed Care Organization Association.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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