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COMMITTEES   |   Health Care Working Group

About the Working Group

Issue Statement:The Health Care Working Group will seek to examine the ways in which health IT initiatives, particularly state-driven health IT efforts, are developing and evolving. The renewed focus on technology in health care presents opportunities for state CIO's to engage and support key state and national program objectives. The group will continue to focus on tracking and analyzing current state health IT efforts, healthcare reforms and the CIOs involvement within them with an objective of preparing state CIO's to support changes to existing technology and prepare for new initiatives in health care technology.

Background: The President signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and the Health Care Education and Reconciliation Act of 2010 in March of 2010. Both of these bills, products of the health care reform agenda, have created new requirements and opportunities for the states in both the near-term and long-term.

As a result of these reforms, state and local health IT spending will increase by 19% by 2015 and it is imperative that the state CIOs have a clear understanding of the role they play in implementation of health care reform. A few of the major initiatives state CIOs will be responsible for implementing are state based Health Insurance Exchange (HIE) information technology systems by 2014, HIE eligibility systems, and updating or replacing legacy Medicaid eligibility systems due to the massive increase in enrollment. These initiatives provide an opportunity to integrate with existing state CIO priorities to ensure coordination across program areas.

In addition to PPACA, state and local health IT efforts will continue to benefit from funding for community-based health care center modernizations and e-record systems, Medicaid management information systems, health information exchanges and record-locator services, public health systems and telehealth.

Goals and Objectives: This group will ensure that state CIO's are updated on emerging state and national trends that state CIOs need to be aware of, including changing polices related to the PPACA and the standards, architecture, implementation strategies, privacy and security implications that are associated with new requirements. This working group will seek to advance the role of the state CIO in Health IT conversations in regards to policy, architecture, governance and standard setting.

The group will also maintain relationships with health information technology organizations such as the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), National Governors Association. National Association of Medicaid Directors, National Academy of State Health Policy, Health IT Connect, Markle Foundation, American Public Human Services Association, and the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Committee Roster

Co-Chair: Aaron V. Sandeen, State of Arizona

Co-Chair: Manu Tandon, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Claire Bailey, State of Arkansas Dave Barber, Software AG Michael Berman, Datacard Claudia Boldman, Commonwealth of Massachusetts Linda Boles, Cisco Systems Inc. Easter Asi Bruce, American Samoa Rena Burns, IBM Tom Calvert, Intel Paul Cartland, State of Alaska Charles Cephas, Symantec Heidi Chase, IBM Raj Chaudhary, Crowe Horwath LLP Harvey Chute, Northrop Grumman Shell Culp, State of California Vinay Dattu, State of Tennessee William F Davenhall, ESRI Nathan Desjardins, BerryDunn Justin Dew, ActivIdentity Rafael C Diaz, State of Illinois Jack Doane, State of Alabama Stephanie Doiron, AT&T Edward J Driesse, State of Louisiana Lisa Feldner, PhD, State of North Dakota Mr. David Finn, Symantec Steve Fowler, State of Colorado Gregory Franklin, State of California Vivian J Funkhouser, Motorola Solutions Chris Gardner, SecureKey Technologies Debra Gaymon McNair, AT&T Jacqueline Gombach, Software AG Chad Grant, NASCIO Kevin Gray, State of Mississippi Sherri Hammons, State of Colorado Viann Hardy, MAXIMUS Inc. Carder Hawkins, State of Arkansas Paul Hencoski, KPMG LLP Mitch Herckis, NASCIO John Hogan, IBM Kennan Hogg, Software AG Daniel Hudson, Datacard Gregorio Hunt, US Department of Health and Human Services Gregory Jackson, State of Ohio Devin Jopp, Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange Thomas S Keefe, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Peter Kirkwood, MorphoTrust Michael Kleinmann, Deloitte Consulting LLP Gregory Kramer, Infosys Public Services, Inc Mary Lalouch, Software AG Paul Laurent, Oracle USA Inc. Mr. Charles Knapp Leadbetter, III, BerryDunn Josh Lemieux, Intel Thomas Lockwood, Professional & Executive Services, LLC

Suzanne Love Beck, Deloitte Consulting LLP Todd Marker, Xerox Pam Matthews, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Mike Maxwell, Symantec Cathy McMahan, IBM Sean McSpaden, State of Oregon Urvashi A Mehra, CA Technologies Kathy Moore, State of West Virginia Mr. Robert A Myles, Symantec Bob Nelson, SAS Institute Steve Nichols, State of Georgia Patricia O'Donnell, J.P. Morgan Chase Barbara Oliver, State of Louisiana Dr. Craig P Orgeron, PhD, State of Mississippi Brian Patt, Infosys Public Services, Inc Kym Patterson, State of Arkansas Brendan M Peter, CA Technologies Zeca Pires, Datacard Holli Ploog, CGI Technologies & Solutions Inc. Lauren Plunkett, State of Colorado Damon Porter, State of Missouri Aparna Priyadarshi, Infosys Public Services, Inc Linda Pung, State of Michigan Safouen Rabah, Socrata William Rapp, J.P. Morgan Chase Bob Raymond, NetApp Steve Reynolds, Xerox Paula Rhea, Trend Micro Calvin Rhodes, State of Georgia Will Rice, State of Tennessee Doug Robinson, NASCIO Tim Robyn, State of Missouri Vivek Salve, IBM Charlie Sasser, State of Georgia Mary Scanlon, Xerox Ellena Schoop, State of Minnesota Loren Schrag, State of Colorado Todd Schrubb, Computer Aid, Inc. Eric Simon, HP Beverly Smith, MAXIMUS Inc. Elaine A. Solomon, HP Tim Study, HP David Taylor, Software AG Lisa Thompson, NASCIO Scott Utley, State of Arkansas Derek Vale, State of Hawai'i Mark VanOrden, State of Utah Andrey Verevko, State of Michigan Vince Vickers, Zanett Meredith Ward, NASCIO Samantha Wenger, NASCIO Amanda White, Deltek

Committee Publications

• Publications Archive

This is an unprecedented time for health IT in the United States, and the backbone of achieving lower costs, better health outcomes, and system interoperability relies on an enterprise view. In response to the CMS release of Medicaid Information Technology Architecture (MITA) 3.0, the NASCIO Health Care Working Group has formulated guidance to states as they navigate Medicaid IT transformation. NASCIO continues to be an advocate for enterprise solutions and view the MITA framework as a way state CIOs can decouple legacy systems and break down existing silos in state government. State CIOs grasp the importance of modernizing the Medicaid enterprise in a way that is flexible, interoperable, and takes into consideration emerging technologies like cloud computing. In addition to emphasizing conformity to the MITA vision, the report calls attention to emerging security threats in the states and the importance of protecting personally identifiable information and personal health information.

Sustainable Success: State CIOs and Health Information Exchange
September 2011

While NASCIO has continued to track the role of the State CIO in Health Information Exchange (HIE), the recently released issue brief highlights the importance of a sustainable public HIE. Included in the brief are best practices for creating potential revenue streams, considerations for systems development, and innovative options that may reduce maintenance and lower costs. State CIOs and state policy officials need to consider the business drivers that will ensure that revenues exceed costs to plan, implement and operate an interoperable HIE. State CIOs recognize that there is no better opportunity than now for carrying out these goals, but continued ingenuity will be imperative in ensuring a state-run HIE is independently sustainable when public grants may no longer be available.

On the Fence: IT Implications of the Health Benefit Exchanges
June 2011

Despite the contentious debate over national health care reform there seems to be one trend that has gained some degree of consensus at the state level – planning for implementation of state health benefit exchanges. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) has already provided $2.8 billion in funding to states to build benefit exchanges, expand Medicaid eligibility and continue prevention efforts. In addition to the substantial amount of funding states have already received, they will receive billions more during 2011 and beyond. The Affordable Care Act provides states with the unique opportunity to either develop and run their own exchange or default to the federal government to establish and operate the exchange. State CIOs will play varying roles in health care reform, but irrespective of their responsibilities it will be imperative to provide sound leadership and provide feedback to governors on any IT gaps that may exist during this momentous time.

Profiles of Progress 4: State Health IT Initiatives
July 2010
Since Profiles of Progress was last released in April of 2009, there has been a tremendous flurry of activity due to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) announcing the recipients of the State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program (State HIE). In addition, the funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has started to be dispensed to state and regional efforts across the nation and will be used to invest, solidify and make sustainable health IT efforts in the states. The updated compendium, “Profiles of Progress 4: State Health IT Initiatives,” serves as a snapshot of how states are responding to the challenge of leading the implementation of health IT and what role, if any, the state CIO is playing in these efforts. The numerous revisions within the compendium reflect the expeditious growth and adoption of health IT over the past year. As government leaders increasingly support Health IT as a means to improve patient care and reduce costs it is imperative that states implement an enterprise-wide architecture for the statewide exchange of health information.

HITECH in the States: Action List for State CIOs
August 2009
In recent years, health information technology has grown from a burgeoning trend to a top policy priority for NASCIO as state CIOs from across the nation have become increasingly involved in health IT initiatives in their states. With billions of dollars now allocated to flow into health IT and health information exchange (HIE) initiatives around the country under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), this trend is only poised to accelerate. HITECH in the States: Action List for State CIOs examines the impact on states—and the implications for state CIOs—of the HITECH Act (ARRA’s health IT requirements) and outlines four broad areas in which state CIOs can have an immediate, and long-term, impact in regards to HIE: Planning, Governance, Financing/Sustainability and Policy. Additionally, this brief highlights the questions that state CIOs should be asking as they work to begin exploring their role within these HIE efforts and also features the affect of the HITECH Act on the Medicaid IT Architecture (MITA) initiative.

Profiles of Progress 3: State Health IT Initiatives
April 2009
The passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which allocated billions of dollars to flow into health IT initiatives across the country, has ushered forth a new era for health IT. This is an unprecedented moment for healthcare stakeholders and government, at all levels, to invest significant resources toward health IT and health information exchange initiatives. This compendium, “Profiles of Progress 3: State Health IT Initiatives,” is a product of NASCIO’s Health IT Working Group. It provides a state-by-state “snapshot” of progress that each state has made toward developing and implementing health information exchange and other health IT initiatives. It specifically examines the role of the state CIO in these efforts, and also includes an overview of the implications for health IT since the passage of the ARRA.

The MITA Touch: State CIOs and Medicaid IT Transformation
August 2008
Medicaid transformation, and incorporating information technology into these efforts, is among the fastest-growing trends in healthcare today.  With the introduction of the federal Medicaid IT Architecture (MITA) initiative, states are beginning to assess their current Medicaid systems and explore how the MITA initiative can foster information exchange and improve healthcare quality outcomes.  This brief, a product of NASCIO’s Health IT Working Group, examines the ways in which state CIOs can play a role in the MITA effort, and how their enterprise view contributes to the holistic vision that MITA promotes across state agencies and all levels of government. 

Profiles of Progress II: State Health IT Initiatives
September 2007
State governments are increasingly utilizing health information technology initiatives in order to reduce healthcare cost and improve patient care.  A product of NASCIO’s Health IT Working Group, this compendium provides a state-by-state “snapshot” of progress that each state has made in introducing health information technology (HIT) initiatives.  Each individual state profile features ways in which states are working toward HIT development and implementation.   An updated version of NASCIO’s 2006 document, this compendium highlights the rapid growth of state health IT initiatives and specifically examines the role of the state CIO in these efforts.

Health Care Links

• AHRQ’s National Resource Center for Health IT
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
  • MITA
• eHealth Initiative (eHI)
• Government Health IT magazine’s Latest News
• Healthcare IT Connect
• Healthcare IT News
• HIMSS
  • HIMSS State Dashboard
• HHS's Health Information Technology Web Site
• HHS’s Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)
  • ONC's American Health Information Community (AHIC)
  • ONC's Directory of Federal Health IT Programs
• National Academy for State Health Policy
  • NASHP State Refor(u)m
• NCSL's HITChampions
• NGA Health Reform Implementation Resource Center
• NGA State Alliance for eHealth