Section 2A: Health information and analysis oversight council; members; meetings; powers and duties
Section 2A. (a) There shall be a health information and analysis oversight council which shall oversee the center; provided, however, that the council shall not oversee the Betsy Lehman center for patient safety and medical error reduction established in section 15. The council shall consist of: the secretary of health and human services; the secretary of administration and finance; the commissioner of insurance; the executive director of the health policy commission; 2 members who shall be appointed by the attorney general, 1 of whom shall have experience in cybersecurity; 2 members who shall be appointed by the state auditor, 1 of whom shall be a health care economist; and 3 members who shall be appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall have experience in health care delivery or health care management, 1 of whom shall have experience with the use of big data, open data and analytics and 1 of whom shall have experience in finance and budgeting. Appointments shall be made without regard to political affiliation. Members of the council shall serve for terms of 5 years. In the case of a vacancy, a successor shall be appointed for the remainder of the unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment. Members of the council shall be eligible for reappointment. Members of the council shall not be employed by, a consultant to, a member of the board of directors of, affiliated with, have a financial stake in or otherwise be a representative of: (i) an acute hospital; (ii) an ambulatory surgical center; or (iii) a surcharge payor. The council shall annually elect 1 of its members to serve as chair and 1 to serve as vice-chair. Members of the council shall be residents of the commonwealth.
(b) The council shall meet on a quarterly basis. Meetings of the council shall be subject to sections 18 to 25, inclusive, of chapter 30A. Six members of the council shall constitute a quorum and the council may take any action based on the affirmative vote of 6 members. No vacancy in the membership of the council shall impair the right of a quorum to exercise all the rights and duties of the commission. Members shall serve without pay, but shall be reimbursed for actual expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties.
(c) The council shall:
(1) prepare an annual operating budget for the center following at least 1 public hearing;
(2) review and manage the administrative expenses of the center;
(3) implement procedures for communications with the executive director;
(4) develop annual research and analysis priorities for the center; provided, however, that the council shall not require approval of the center's actions under section 16 of this chapter, section 38C of chapter 3 or section 17 of chapter 176A;
(5) develop guidelines for uniform reporting and data preparation pursuant to sections 8 to 10, inclusive; and
(6) develop guidelines for the collection, storage and maintenance of the payer and provider claims database established pursuant to section 12.
(d) Chapter 268A shall apply to all council members except that the center may purchase from, sell to, borrow from, contract with or otherwise deal with any organization in which any council member is in anyway interested or involved; provided, however, that such interest or involvement shall be disclosed in advance to the council and recorded in the minutes of the proceedings of the council; and provided further, that no member shall be deemed to have violated section 4 of said chapter 268A because of the member's receipt of that member's usual and regular compensation from the member's employer during the time in which the member participates in the activities of the council.