MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2026 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Human Services
By: Representative Creekmore IV
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE MISSISSIPPI HEALTH INFORMATION EXCHANGE FOR THE PURPOSE OF ESTABLISHING A STATEWIDE HEALTH INFORMATION EXCHANGE THAT PROVIDES REAL-TIME BIDIRECTIONAL PATIENT ADMISSION, DISCHARGE AND TRANSFER DATA, AND OTHERWISE FACILITATES THE SECURE ELECTRONIC SHARING OF HEALTH INFORMATION BETWEEN LICENSED HOSPITALS AND PRACTITIONERS, PAYERS, PUBLIC HEALTH ENTITIES AND OTHERS; TO PROVIDE THAT THE EXCHANGE SHALL BE DEVELOPED AND ADMINISTERED BY A DESIGNATED ENTITY SELECTED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH THROUGH A COMPETITIVE BID PROCESS; TO SPECIFY THE AUTHORIZED AND REQUIRED PARTICIPANTS IN THE EXCHANGE; TO PROVIDE THAT PARTICIPANTS IN THE EXCHANGE ARE PERMITTED TO RETRIEVE OR ACCESS IDENTIFIED DATA ONLY FOR PATIENTS OR INSUREDS WITH WHOM THE PARTICIPANT HAS A TREATMENT, PAYMENT OR HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS RELATIONSHIP; TO PROVIDE THAT PARTICIPANTS SHALL GRANT TO OTHER PARTICIPANTS A NONEXCLUSIVE LICENSE TO RETRIEVE AND USE IDENTIFIED DATA RELATED TO THEIR OWN PATIENTS OR INSUREDS; TO SPECIFY CERTAIN CRITERIA THAT MUST BE MET BY THE DESIGNATED ENTITY SELECTED TO DEVELOP AND ADMINISTER THE EXCHANGE; TO PROVIDE THAT RECORDS TRANSMITTED TO OR FROM THE EXCHANGE SHALL BE EXEMPT FROM THE PROVISIONS OF THE MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC RECORDS ACT; TO CREATE THE MISSISSIPPI HEALTH INFORMATION EXCHANGE FUND AS A SPECIAL FUND IN THE STATE TREASURY FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUPPORTING PARTICIPANT CONNECTION TO, SUBSCRIPTION FOR, AND ONGOING PARTICIPATION IN THE EXCHANGE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) There is established the Mississippi Health Information Exchange for the purpose of establishing a statewide health information exchange that provides, at a minimum, real-time bidirectional patient admission, discharge and transfer data, and otherwise facilitates the secure electronic sharing of health information, as defined in 45 CFR Section 160.103, between licensed hospitals and practitioners, payers, public health entities and others; helps provide access to health care for Mississippi citizens; improves health care quality and the overall health of the population; increases efficiencies in the administration of health care; and reduces unnecessary health care costs.
(2) The Mississippi Health Information Exchange shall be the state-recognized health information exchange operating in the state and shall be developed and administered by a designated entity selected by the State Department of Health (the "department") through a competitive bid process pursuant to Section 31-7-13(c) and (d). The designated entity shall not be selected through the emergency purchase procedure provided in Section 31-7-13(j) or through any of the exceptions from bidding requirements as provided for in Section 31-7-13(m). The initial designation agreement shall be for a term of not less than five (5) years, subject to satisfactory performance.
(3) The designated entity shall be a nonprofit corporation, which shall collaborate with the department, but shall not be considered, in whole or in part, an agency, department or administrative unit of the state.
(4) (a) Participants in the exchange may include health care providers licensed or certified by the state, including, but not limited to, federally qualified health centers, ambulatory surgical facilities, or other health care clinics; managed care entities as defined in Section 83-41-403; health insurance issuers as defined in Section 41-149-3; health insurance plans as defined in Section 73-21-153; public health agencies, or any other entity or individual that the department has authorized to subscribe and submit, retrieve, access, or disclose health information transmitted through the exchange in accordance with applicable state and federal laws, including the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), and the policies and standards established by the designated entity and the department.
(b) Participants in the exchange shall include licensed hospitals as defined in Section 41-9-3, including, but not limited to, rural emergency hospitals as defined in 42 USC Section 1395x(kkk), and community mental health centers operated by a regional commission established under 41-19-33. As a condition for licensure in the State of Mississippi, hospitals and community mental health centers shall be required to connect to the exchange, transmit data, and participate in any bed availability program available through the exchange.
(c) Participants in the exchange shall be permitted to retrieve or access identified data only for patients or insureds with whom the participant has a treatment, payment, or health care operations relationship, or for whom the participant reasonably anticipates such a relationship, including, but not limited to, circumstances involving referrals, transfers, emergency treatment, or care coordination, in accordance with applicable state and federal laws, including HIPAA, and the policies and standards established by the designated entity and the department.
(d) Participants in the exchange shall grant to other participants a nonexclusive license to retrieve and use identified data related to their own patients or insureds, in accordance with applicable state and federal laws, including HIPAA, and the policies and standards established by the designated entity and the department.
(e) The department may access all exchange data for public health purposes only, but shall not disclose such data to any other participant, entity, or individual. The department may use de-identified data within the exchange for research and broader public health purposes, and may disclose such data to the public in furtherance of broader public health purposes, in accordance with applicable state and federal laws, including HIPAA, and the policies and standards established by the designated entity and the department.
(5) The designated entity selected to develop and administer the exchange shall demonstrate, at a minimum, the following principles and capabilities:
(a) A patient-centered mission driven primarily to increase access to and ensure the efficient administration of health care in Mississippi;
(b) At least five (5) years of experience and demonstrated proficiency in health information technology standards, health data management and analytics, and health information and patient navigation technology and platforms;
(c) Compliance with established national standards and applicable state and federal laws, including HIPAA; and
(d) In terms of the exchange software, hardware, and platform provided by the designated entity, minimum requirements shall include:
(i) Interoperability between electronic health record systems;
(ii) Deliverance of real-time bidirectional admission, transfer, and discharge data across all connected participants;
(iii) Ability to create and implement a real-time bed availability system to ease essential transfers between licensed hospitals and mental health providers; and
(iv) Deliverance of de-identified data to participants, the Legislature, public health agencies, and others on focus areas for the state, including, but not limited to, maternal and infant morbidity and mortality, behavioral and mental health conditions, substance use disorders, and other priority health outcomes identified by the department and other agencies, for the purpose of improving public health across the state.
(6) In order to minimize implementation time and cost to the state, preference in the selection of a designated entity shall be provided to entities that can demonstrate:
(a) At least two (2) years of continuous operational experience providing health information exchange services offering real-time bidirectional admission, discharge, and transfer data to Mississippi health care providers;
(b) Established, operational data interfaces with major electronic health record systems utilized by Mississippi providers;
(c) Current certification under nationally-recognized security and privacy certification frameworks;
(d) Ability to expand current services to meet the requirements of this section within six (6) months of designation; and
(e) Ability to expand the capabilities of the exchange over time into patient navigation and care coordination, or other similar programs aimed at connecting participants to improve health care quality, access, and efficiency.
(7) The designated entity selected to administer the exchange shall, at a minimum, develop and implement:
(a) A standard participation agreement that defines the minimum privacy and security obligations of all participants using the exchange and services available through the exchange;
(b) A process by which patients may opt out of participating, in whole or in part, in the health information exchange. A patient shall not be denied health care or treatment for declining to participate in the health information exchange; and
(c) Industry accepted security standards, policies, and procedures to protect the transmission and receipt of protected health information exchanged through the exchange, which shall, at a minimum, comply with all applicable state and federal laws, including HIPAA, and the policies and standards established by the designated entity and the department.
(8) A participant shall not be compelled by subpoena, court order, or other process of law to access health information through the exchange to gather records or information not created by the participant.
(9) Records transmitted to or from the exchange shall be exempt from the provisions of the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983.
(10) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to impede or preclude the formation and operation of regional, population-specific, or local health information networks or the participation of such networks in the exchange.
(11) The State Board of Health shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary for the proper administration of the exchange.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.