MINUTES

MAINE HEALTH DATA ORGANIZATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
151 CAPITOL STREET, AUGUSTA, MAINE
THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2003

The meeting of the Maine Health Data Organization (MHDO) Board of Directors began at 9:10 a.m. with the following Board members present:  Richard Bruns, Chair, Dana Kempton, Vice-Chair, Vaikko Allen, Warren Bartlett, Theresa Bellmore, Robin Bickford, Michael Brannigan, Lynn Davey, Cathy Gavin, Peter Gore, Doug Libby, Rebecca Martins, Diane Moongrove, John Portela, and Sydney Sewall.  Absent members were Mark Granzier, David Johnson, Dick Lowd, and Vicki Purgavie.

The December 12, 2002, MHDO Board minutes were approved as written.

Introductions were made and Warren Bartlett distributed copies of Healthy Maine 2010.

Executive Director Report
Financial Report:  Director Alan Prysunka reiterated that 20% from salary savings has been targeted to go to the General Fund upon approval of the Appropriations Committee.  He also informed the Board of the need to purchase computer hardware and a compatible backup system to handle the large volume of health data claims being received from the Maine Data Processing Center.  The Board discussed options available regarding the carryover money necessary to fund the MHDO’s operations in July/August of 2003.  Staff will track expenditures closely over the next few months to more accurately assess the carryover amount needed. 
 
An updated status of collected assessments was disseminated which showed that Brooks Pharmacy has not paid their assessment fee. There was a motion and a second to bring Brooks to the next step in the compliance procedure, which is referral to the Attorney General’s Office.  The motion passed unanimously.  Before referring this to the AG’s Office, staff will ensure that correspondence is being directed to the appropriate person.

Chapter 120 and Chapter 125:   There was a motion to begin the formal rulemaking process for Chapter 120 and Chapter 125.  The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.  A timeline for additional rule amendments was distributed and discussed.  
It was stated that Anthony Briscoe recently requested and was decertified as a Medicare service provider.  The Board discussed whether Mr. Briscoe should still be held accountable for the current assessment payment due to the fact that he was certified during the assessment period.  The Board directed staff not to further pursue collection of the payment. 

MHDO Board Minutes
January 9, 2003
Page 2

Public Comment
Suanne Singer gave the Board an update on the Maine Health Data Processing Center stating that they have received a response from all the major payers with the exception of Aetna.  A newsletter will be going out to all payers and a list serve will be created to notify them of any changes.  Forty-eight files received by the Data Processing Center have been tested and after a brief discussion it was stated that no data will be released prematurely.  

Third party payer representative Mark Granzier arrived and Chairman Richard Bruns updated him on actions taken by the Board.  Mr. Granzier stated that Aetna will be submitting comments relative to Chapter 120 and briefly described the issues of concern. Chairman Bruns asked that he work with Mr. Prysunka before the February 13 hearing regarding these issues.

A discussion ensued regarding Chapter 120 being HIPAA compliant.  It was stated that Maine rules are more stringent than those in the HIPAA regulation.  Also, those receiving restricted data from the MHDO sign a confidentiality agreement stating they won’t misuse the data, which is also compliant with HIPAA.  If a problem should arise, in the future, the Board would modify Chapter 120 as necessary.

Future Meetings
The next Board meeting will be held on Thursday, February 13, 2003, immediately following a hearing on Chapter 120.  The hearing will begin at 9:00 a.m.  The hearing and Board meeting will be held at The Senator Inn & Conference Center, 284 Western Avenue, Augusta, Maine.

The meeting adjourned at 10:10 a.m. and was followed by a Board Orientation.

Respectfully submitted,

Linda Adams
Administrative Assistant