Idaho should consider withdrawing support for a $94 million taxpayer-backed, bankrupt government-created but heavily regulated health data sharing service, top health officials told lawmakers Wednesday. He spoke to the following people.
Idaho officials said: Idaho Health Data Exchange Dean Cameron, interim director of the Idaho Department of Health and Human Services, spoke to members of the Idaho Legislature about what changes are needed to ensure continued support for the state. Joint Legislative Oversight Committee.
The Idaho Health Data Exchange It is supported by approximately $92 million in federal tax funds and $2 million in state tax funds.according to a monitoring report by the Office of Performance Review released in November 2023.
The deal is supported by taxes, but Cameron said there is “no oversight, there is no transparency, there is no compliance” with Idaho laws that require the public disclosure of government decisions and the release of government records.
The performance evaluation office is Report released in November 2023 that the State of Idaho has established and manages the Idaho Health Data Exchange, a nonprofit organization dedicated to making health data more widely available; in a way that makes regulation difficult.. The report outlined that, as a nonprofit organization, the exchange was not subject to transparency or oversight rules run by government agencies. Idaho law “does not provide the state with any meaningful oversight mechanism for exchanges,” the report said.
The exchange filed for bankruptcy in the fall of 2022, with plans to repay 25% of its debt this year, according to the report. According to research published in June, the Idaho Capital Sun found The exchange reportedly fell into financial trouble after the exchange's leadership made a funding deal that went awry, leading to a bitter feud over the contract.
“We are at a crossroads and, in my opinion, the country needs to decide whether it can continue to operate and participate in data exchange. And my recommendation at this stage is not. But , we still have some work to do,'' Prime Minister Cameron said.
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Exchange operations have not been “significantly” affected, director says
Cameron said all he would need to withdraw Idaho's aid is a signed letter to that effect.
Jesse Meldl, executive director of the Idaho Health Data Exchange, said in an email to the Idaho Capital Sun that the action will not “significantly impact” the exchange's ability to operate. But the state could suffer losses, he said.
“The relatively small fees that IDHWs pay for access to health information exchanges provides an opportunity for IDHWs to extract more value from (the exchange) than at any other point in their relationship with the (exchange),” Meldl said. said. .
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Prime Minister Cameron also said states needed to know whether data on exchanges was secure. The report found no evidence that the data exchange was vulnerable, but identified potential conflicts of interest from third parties who attested to its security in 2021. Meldl had previously defended the exchange's data security as “first-class,” citing external reviews.
The exchange did not receive all of the approximately $94 million in taxpayer funds identified in the oversight report. The largest pool of funding was approximately $65 million in federal grants given to health care providers to develop electronic health record systems.
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Officials discussing path forward for affected hospitals and health care providers
Idaho Health Data Exchange Among several health information systems It is intended to help healthcare providers, insurance companies and others share patient medical data more effectively.
Prime Minister Cameron said authorities were aware that some health care providers that rely on the exchange “could potentially find themselves in a difficult situation if the state withdraws.” He said government officials are discussing the path for hospitals and health care providers if the state withdraws aid.
Prime Minister Cameron said several other states were moving from state-run data exchanges to privately run exchanges.
Sen. Scott Grow (R-Eagle), co-chair of the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee, said he thanked Cameron for taking a stand.
Grow said he has long questioned the need for the exchange, given that private health systems have their own systems and he has heard that providers have been slow to pay for the Idaho Medical Data Exchange. Stated. He said he hopes the state will be able to retrieve data from the exchange and that the private market will be able to address the needs of health care providers.
“If we've already spent $100 million and it's not working, I don't think it's going to make any difference if we put in more state money,” Grow said.
Since the end of 2020, the Idaho Health Data Exchange has operated without state or federal funding, Meldl said. And since the nonprofit emerged from bankruptcy last year, the exchange has reportedly been “financially sustainable and growing its business” with fees alone from more than 190 customers. he said.
Meldl said this would be to the detriment of IDHWs at a time when “further technological interventions with greater access to relevant data are needed to operate effectively within public health-focused departments.” “I was saddened to see this response from IDHW.”
Former state Department of Health Secretary Dave Jeppesen, in a letter responding to the report last fall, said that while he disagreed with some of the report's findings, the department had no “statutory or regulatory requirements” regarding the exchange. “He did not have the authority to do so,” he said, adding that such authority should not have been granted. Established as an independent organization.
