53-6-1317. (Temporary -- effective on occurrence of contingency) Duties of Montana HELP Act oversight committee -- reports. (1) To provide reports and make recommendations to the legislature, the oversight committee on the Montana Health and Economic Livelihood Partnership Act shall review:
     (a) data from and activities by the department of public health and human services and the department of labor and industry related to the health care and workforce development activities undertaken pursuant to the HELP Act;
     (b) the Montana medicaid program; and
     (c) the delivery of health care services in Montana.
     (2) The departments shall report the following information to the oversight committee quarterly:
     (a) the number of individuals who were determined eligible for medicaid-funded services pursuant to 53-6-1304;
     (b) demographic information on program participants;
     (c) the average length of time that participants remained eligible for medical assistance;
     (d) the number of participants who completed an employment or reemployment assessment;
     (e) the number of participants who took part in workforce development activities;
     (f) the number of participants subject to the fee provided for in 15-30-2660 and the total amount of fees collected;
     (g) the level of participant engagement in wellness activities or incentives offered by health care providers or the third-party administrator;
     (h) the number of participants who reduced their dependency on the HELP Act program, either voluntarily or because of increased income levels; and
     (i) the total cost of providing services under Title 39, chapter 12, and this part, including related administrative costs.
     (3) The committee shall review and provide comment on administrative rules proposed for carrying out activities under Title 39, chapter 12, and this part. The committee may ask the appropriate administrative rule review committee to object to a proposed rule as provided in 2-4-406.
     (4) The committee shall:
     (a) review how implementation of the act is being carried out, including the collection of copayments and premiums for health care services;
     (b) evaluate how health care services are delivered and whether new approaches could improve delivery of care, including but not limited to the use of medical homes and coordinated care organizations;
     (c) review ideas to reduce or minimize the shifting of the payment of unreimbursed health care costs to patients with health insurance;
     (d) evaluate whether providing incentives to health care providers for meeting measurable benchmarks may improve the delivery of health care services;
     (e) review options for reducing the inappropriate use of emergency department services;
     (f) review ways to monitor for the excessive or inappropriate use of prescription drugs;
     (g) examine ways to:
     (i) promote the appropriate use of health care services, particularly laboratory and diagnostic imaging services;
     (ii) increase the availability of mental health services;
     (iii) reduce fraud and waste in the medicaid program; and
     (iv) improve the sharing of data among health care providers to identify patterns in the use of health care services across payment sources;
     (h) receive regular reports from the department on the department's efforts to pursue contracting options for administering services to members eligible for medicaid-funded services pursuant to 53-6-1304;
     (i) coordinate its efforts with any legislative committees that are working on matters related to health care and the delivery of health care services; and
     (j) recommend future funding options for the HELP Act program to future legislatures.
     (5) The committee shall summarize and present its findings and recommendations in a final report to the governor and to the legislative finance committee no later than August 15 of each even-numbered year. Copies of the report must be provided to the children, families, health, and human services interim committee. (Terminates June 30, 2019--sec. 28, Ch. 368, L. 2015.)

     History: En. Sec. 12, Ch. 368, L. 2015.