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(3) MEMBER SURVEYS.—A health access plan
shall survey its enrollees on a regular basis to deter-
mine their satisfaction with the quality of services
received.
(4) INDEPENDENT QUALITY AUDITS.—A health
access plan shall be evaluated on a regular basis by
an independent health care accrediting organization.
(f) EFFECTIVE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES.—A health
access plan must provide for effective procedures for hear-
ing and resolving grievances between the plan and individ-
uals enrolled in the plan.
(g) CONFIDENTIALITY OF ENROLLEE RECORDS.—
(1) A health access plan shall ensure that infor-
mation concerning its enrollees is protected from un-
authorized disclosure by the plan, its employees or
its providers.
(2) To promote the coordination of benefits to
health plan enrollees, a health access plan may dis-
close information about its enrollees to the extent
necessary to facilitate the enrollee’s receipt of serv-
ices and assistance from other entities.
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SEC. 6. DESIGNATION OF COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH AC-
CESS DISTRICTS AND CERTIFICATION OF
COMPREHENSIVE 
COMMUNITY-BASED
HEALTH ACCESS PLANS.
The Secretary shall designate a community that
meets the criteria set forth in section 2(a) of this Act a
comprehensive health access district and shall certify an
entity that meets the criteria set forth in section 5 of this
Act as a comprehensive health access plan. Each such cer-
tification and designation shall be reviewed every five
years. The Secretary may delegate all or part of the cer-
tification function to the State in which the health access
plan operates.
SEC. 7. NATIONAL HEALTH OUTCOMES RESEARCH AND
EVALUATION.
(a) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—In order to evalu-
ate the performance of health access plans in improving
the health status of persons living in comprehensive health
access districts, each health access plan shall provide the
Secretary, at a time and in a manner specified by the Sec-
retary, at least the following information:
(1) Information on the characteristics of enroll-
ees that may affect their need for or use of health
services.
(2) Information on the types of treatments and
services and outcomes of treatments with respect to
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the clinical health, functional status and well-being
of enrollees.
(3) Information on enrollee satisfaction.
(4) Information on health care expenditures,
volume and prices of procedures, and use of special-
ized services.
(b) ANALYSIS
OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary
shall analyze the information reported by health access
plans in order to report to Congress, the plans and the
public, no less than annually, on the following:
(1) The health status of persons living in com-
prehensive health access district (particularly those
indicators listed in section 2(a) of this Act).
(2) The level and rate of expenditures by health
access plans on medical services and other programs
to improve health status.
(3) The effectiveness of health access plans in
improving health outcomes (particularly outcomes
related to health indicators listed in section 2(a) of
this Act).
(c) RESEARCH.—
(1) The Secretary shall examine the relation-
ship between socioeconomic factors and health status
and, based on his findings, suggest interventions ap-
propriate to comprehensive health access districts.
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(2) The Secretary may contract with non-gov-
ernmental entities to perform this research. Persons
undertaking this work shall have access to the infor-
mation provided by the health access plans to the
Secretary.
SEC. 8. REGULATIONS AND EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) The Secretary shall promulgate regulations nec-
essary to implement this Act.
(b) This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1999, with-
out regard to whether or not final regulations to carry out
this Act have been promulgated by such date.
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