[As Amended by House Committee of the
Whole]
Session of 2000
Substitute for SENATE BILL No. 554
By Committee on Public Health and Welfare
2-21
10 AN ACT
concerning health care data; [establishing the health
infor-
11 mation privacy act;
relating to reporting health care data to a
12 certain state
agency;] amending K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 65-6801 and 65-
13 6804 and repealing the
existing sections.
14
15 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the
State of Kansas:
16 Section
1. K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 65-6801 is hereby amended to read as
17 follows: 65-6801. (a) The legislature
recognizes the urgent need to pro-
18 vide health care consumers, third-party
payors, providers and health care
19 planners with information regarding the
trends in use and cost of health
20 care services in this state for improved
decision-making. This is to be
21 accomplished by compiling a uniform set of
data and establishing mech-
22 anisms through which the data will be
disseminated.
23 (b) It is the
intent of the legislature to require that the information
24 necessary for a review and comparison of
utilization patterns, cost, quality
25 and quantity of health care services be
supplied to the health care data-
26 base by all providers of health care
services and third-party payors to the
27 extent required by K.S.A. 1999 Supp.
65-6805 and amendments thereto
28 and this section and amendments thereto.
The secretary of health and
29 environment at the direction of the
health care data governing board shall
30 specify by rule and regulation the types
of information which shall be
31 submitted and the method of
submission.
32 (c) The
information is to be compiled and made available in a form
33 prescribed by the governing board to
improve the decision-making proc-
34 esses regarding access, identified needs,
patterns of medical care, price
35 and use of health care services.
36 Sec.
2. K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 65-6804 is hereby amended to read as
37 follows: 65-6804. (a) The secretary of
health and environment shall ad-
38 minister the health care database. In
administering the health care da-
39 tabase, the secretary shall receive health
care data from those entities
40 identified in K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 65-6805 and
amendments thereto and
41 provide for the dissemination of such data
as directed by the board.
42 (b) As directed
by the board, the secretary of health and environment
43 may contract with an organization
experienced in health care data collec-
2
1 tion to collect the data from the
health care facilities as described in
2 subsection (h) of K.S.A. 65-425 and
amendments thereto, build and main-
3 tain the database. The secretary
of health and environment may accept
4 data submitted by associations or
related organizations on behalf of health
5 care providers by entering into
binding agreements negotiated with such
6 associations or related
organizations to obtain data required pursuant to
7 this section.
8 (c) The
secretary of health and environment shall adopt rules and
9 regulations approved by the board
governing the acquisition, compilation
10 and dissemination of all data collected
pursuant to this act. The rules and
11 regulations shall provide at a minimum
that:
12 (1) Measures have
been taken to provide system security for all data
13 and information acquired under this
act;
14 (2) data will be
collected in the most efficient and cost-effective man-
15 ner for both the department and providers
of data;
16 (3) procedures
will be developed to assure the confidentiality of pa-
17 tient records. Patient names, addresses and
other personal identifiers will
18 be omitted from the database;
19 (4) users may be
charged for data preparation or information that is
20 beyond the routine data disseminated and
that the secretary shall estab-
21 lish by the adoption of such rules and
regulations a system of fees for
22 such data preparation or dissemination;
and
23 (5) the secretary
of health and environment will ensure that the
24 health care database will be kept current,
accurate and accessible as pre-
25 scribed by rules and regulations.
26 (d) Data and
other information collected pursuant to this act shall be
27 confidential, shall be disseminated only
for statistical purposes pursuant
28 to rules and regulations adopted by the
secretary of health and environ-
29 ment and approved by the board and shall
not be disclosed or made public
30 in any manner which would identify
individuals. A violation of this sub-
31 section (d) is a class C misdemeanor.
32 (e) In addition
to such criminal penalty under subsection (d), any
33 individual whose identity is revealed in
violation of subsection (d) may
34 bring a civil action against the
responsible person or persons for any dam-
35 ages to such individual caused by such
violation.
36 [New Sec. 3. Sections 3
through 7 shall be known as the health
37 information privacy act.
38 [New Sec.
4. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and
39 regulations to protect the privacy of an
individual's health infor-
40 mation. Such rules and regulations shall
include a prohibition on
41 the unauthorized collection, use or
disclosure of health informa-
42 tion by a carrier.
43 [New Sec.
5. The commissioner shall have the authority to im-
3
1 pose a civil penalty of not more
than $10,000 for each violation of
2 the rules and regulations
promulgated under this act.
3 [New
Sec. 6. As used in this act:
4
[(a) ``Carrier'' means a person or entity required to be
licensed
5 or authorized by the commissioner
to assume risk, including but
6 not limited to an insurer, a
hospital, medical or health service cor-
7 poration, a health maintenance
organization, a provider sponsored
8 organization, a multiple employer
welfare arrangement, a self-in-
9 sured group fund or a workers
compensation self-insurer. Carrier
10 does not include a nonrisk-bearing
regulated insurance entity,
11 such as a producer, agency or
administrator.
12
[(b) ``Commissioner'' means the commissioner of
insurance.
13 [(c) ``Health
information'' means any information or data,
14 whether oral or recorded in any form or
medium, and personal
15 facts or information about events or
relationships that relates to:
16 [(1) The past,
present or future physical, mental or behavioral
17 health or condition of an individual or
a member of the individual's
18 family;
19 [(2) the
provision of health care to an individual; or
20 [(3) payment
for the provision of health care to an individual.
21
[(d) ``Protected health information'' means health
information:
22 [(1) That
identifies an individual who is the subject of the in-
23 formation; or
24 [(2) with
respect to which there is a reasonable basis to believe
25 that the information could be used to
identify an individual.
26
[(e) ``Unauthorized'' means a collection, use or disclosure
of
27 protected health information made by a
carrier without the au-
28 thorization of the subject of that
protected health information or
29 that is not in compliance with this act,
unless collection, use or
30 disclosure without an authorization is
permitted by this act.
31 [New Sec.
7. The commissioner shall promulgate the rules and
32 regulations required by this act on or
before January 1, 2001.]
33 Sec. 3.
[8.] K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 65-6801 and 65-6804 are
hereby
34 repealed.
35 Sec. 4.
[9.] This act shall take effect and be in force from
and after
36 its publication in the Kansas register.