House Bill 891

AN ACT TO CREATE THE HEALTHCARE COORDINATING COUNCIL TO ESTABLISH A COMPREHENSIVE PREVENTIVE HEALTH CARE PLAN AND PROVIDE FOR ITS MEMBERSHIP; TO PROVIDE FOR THE ELECTION OF OFFICERS; TO PROVIDE FOR MEETINGS AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE COUNCIL; TO PROVIDE FOR THE PAYMENT OF PER DIEM AND TRAVEL EXPENSES; TO PROVIDE FOR THE DUTIES OF THE HEALTHCARE COORDINATING COUNCIL; TO REQUIRE ANNUAL REPORTS TO THE LEGISLATURE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) There is created the Healthcare Coordinating Council, which will be responsible for making recommendations to the Legislature regarding the establishment of a long-range, comprehensive preventive health care plan.

(2) The council will consist of fifteen (15) members to be appointed as follows:

(a) Two (2) members of the House of Representatives to serve four-year terms appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

(b) Two (2) members of the Mississippi State Senate to serve four-year terms appointed by the Lieutenant Governor;

(d) One (1) representative of an appropriate state agency to serve a two-year term appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

(e) Two (2) member from appropriate state agencies to serve four-year terms appointed by the Governor;

(f) One (1) health advocate to serve a two-year term appointed by the Governor;

(g) One (1) health advocate to serve a four-year term appointed by the Lieutenant Governor;

(h) One (1) health advocate to serve a six-year term appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

(i) One (1) health care provider to serve a two-year term appointed by the Lieutenant Governor;

(j) One (1) health care provider to serve a four-year term appointed by the speaker of the House of Representative;

(k) One (1) health care provider to serve a six-year term appointed by the Governor; and

(l) One (1) at large position to serve a four-year term appointed by the Governor.

(3) At its first meeting, the council shall elect a chairman and other necessary officers from among its membership. The chairman and other officers shall be elected annually by the council. The council shall adopt bylaws and rules for its efficient operation. The council may establish committees that will be responsible for conducting specific council programs or activities.

(4) The council shall meet and conduct business at least quarterly. All meetings of the council and any committees of the council will be open to the public, with opportunities for public comment provided on a regular basis. Notice of all meetings shall be given as provided in the Open Meetings Act (Section 25-41-1 et seq.) and appropriate notice also shall be given to all persons so requesting of the date, time and place of each meeting. Eight (8) members of the council will constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

(5) The council is assigned to the State Department of Health for administrative purposes only, and the department shall designate staff to assist the council. The council will have a line item in the budget of the State Department of Health and will be financed through the department's annual appropriation.

(6) Members of the council who are not legislators, state officials or state employees may be compensated at the per diem rate authorized by Section 25-3-69 and may be reimbursed in accordance with Section 25-3-41 for mileage and actual expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. Legislative members of the council will be paid from the contingent expense funds of their respective houses in the same manner as provided for committee meetings when the Legislature is not in session. However, legislative members will not be paid per diem or expenses for attending meetings of the council while the Legislature is in session. No council member may incur per diem, travel or other expenses unless previously authorized by vote, at a meeting of the council, which action must be recorded in the official minutes of the meeting. Nonlegislative members may be paid from any funds made available to the council for that purpose.

SECTION 2. The Healthcare Coordinating Council has the following duties:

(a) Develop recommendations for a long-range preventive health care plan for the period beginning July 1, 2002, through July 1, 2020;

(b) Consider the feasibility of implementing the following preventive health care strategies, known as the 20-20 Vision:

(i) Bridge the gap between Medicaid and CHIP by expanding coverage under Medicaid for pregnant women up to two hundred percent (200%) of the federal poverty level;

(ii) Expand beyond two hundred percent (200%) of the federal poverty level with a sliding fee scale for both premiums and health care services;

(iii) Expand CHIP income eligibility and implement a sliding fee scale for both premiums and health care services;

(iv) Establish supplemental coverage for gaps in private coverage such as vision and dental health care for children up to the CHIP income eligibility limit;

(v) Increase the period of postnatal care provided under Medicaid;

(vi) Expand Medicaid to include continuously enrolled college students that "age-off" family coverage plans held by their parents;

(vii) Establish a business buy-in plan that expands coverage to the parents of CHIP and Medicaid eligible children and other income-eligible adults;

(viii) Include the state as an eligible employer in the business buy-in plan;

(ix) Expand coverage for individuals with mental illness, specifically addressing the need for therapeutic care for children, day treatment nurseries for preschool-age children, foster home care, group home care, diagnostic and evaluation emergency shelters, and intensive in-home care;

(x) Expand breast and cervical cancer screenings and treatment;

(xi) Establish a demonstration treatment program for heart disease;

(xii) Establish a demonstration treatment program for diabetes;

(xiii) Certify all allowable spending in the state as match to reduce the demand for general fund revenue;

(xiv) Evaluate the potential of increasing the number of health care providers accepting CHIP and Medicaid patients by participating in a fee-based system of enhanced and optional services;

(xv) Pursue disproportionate share formulas for other health care providers;

(xvi) Expand school-based services such as the school nurse program;

(xvii) Expand scholarship programs to include all needed health care service providers;

(xviii) Establish public education campaigns to increase wellness by reducing high-risk behavior; and

(xix) Expand consumer assistance services to ensure prompt and accurate resolution of issues of denial and billing;

(d) For each element of the plan recommended by the council, the following should be established:

(i) Performance benchmarks,

(ii) Projected costs, and

(iii) Projected benefits;

(e) At the quarterly meetings, the council shall review level of spending by category, revise spending estimates, assess feasibility of expansions, consider cost options and note changes in applicable federal policy;

(f) Make an annual report to the Legislature by December 1 on the status of the implementation of the plan including recommendations for legislative action; and

(g) Make the annual report available to the public.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2002.