Committee for the reasonable expenses incurred in
carrying out their duties as members.
(2) EXPENDITURES FOR SERVICES.—The Com-
mittee may provide for acquiring the services of such
staff and temporary consultants as may be necessary
from time to time to carry out the requirements of
this title.
SEC. 303. FUNCTIONS OF COMMITTEE.
(a) OUTREACH PROGRAMS.—Each Committee shall
develop and coordinate programs for outreach to the com-
munity.
(b) FORUM TO FACILITATE COMMUNICATION.—Each
Committee shall conduct regular meetings of enrollees and
representatives of the health plan under such procedural
rules as the Committee considers appropriate, so that such
meetings will serve as effective forums for facilitating com-
munication between such plan and enrollees.
(c) ENSURE
ENROLLEE
GRIEVANCES
ARE
AD-
DRESSED.—Each Committee shall conduct such ad hoc
meetings and other activities as may enable the Committee
to ensure that the grievances of enrollees in the area are
generally heard and addressed by the health plan.
(d) DISSEMINATION OF CRITERIA FOR ENROLLEE
CARE QUALITY.—Each Committee shall provide to the
community the enrollee care quality criteria established by
the health plan under section 104(c).
(e) EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE OF OFFICE OF
CONSUMER ADVOCACY.—Each Committee shall evaluate
annually the performance of the Office for the State in
which the health plan is located and make recommenda-
tions to the Secretary regarding the appropriateness for
continued service of the Office.
SEC. 304. LIABILITY OF MEMBERS OF COMMITTEE.
No member of a Committee established under this
section shall be liable under any law for the good faith
performance of the functions specified in this title.
SEC. 305. ANNUAL REPORT TO OFFICE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 31st of
each year, each Committee shall submit to the Office for
the State in which the health plan offers health care serv-
ices a report providing recommendations for improvements
in health care delivery under the plan, and including as-
sessments of—
(1) the accessibility (by location) of offices and
clinics providing items and services under the plan;
(2) the condition of health care facilities em-
ployed under the plan;
(3) the ease with which prescriptions are filled
under the plan;
(4) delays occurring under the plan in receiving
requested medical attention;
(5) the time spent by enrollees in waiting rooms
under the plan;
(6) the complexity of paperwork required under
the plan;
(7) the courtesy of plan personnel; and
(8) such other concerns regarding the plan’s
system of delivering health care services that the
Committee may choose to assess.
(b) DATE OF FIRST REPORT.—Each committee shall
file its first report not later than December 31st of the
first full calendar year after such Committee is estab-
lished.
SEC. 306. FUNDING FOR COMMITTEES.
(a) ESCROW ACCOUNT FOR COMMITTEES.—In ac-
cordance with procedures which shall be made by rule
under subsection (e), an Office shall establish and main-
tain an escrow account for each Committee established in
the State served by the Office.
(b) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS TO ESCROW ACCOUNT
FOR COMMITTEES.—The Office shall annually distribute
an amount equal to 25 percent of the total amount remit-
ted for the year to the Secretary by the State under sec-
tion 208, on the basis of which funds are made available
to the Office for the year under title II, in the form of
deposits to the escrow accounts maintained by the Office
for Committees pursuant to subsection (a). The amounts
deposited to such escrow accounts shall be in proportion
to the numbers of enrollees represented by the Committees
for which such escrow accounts are maintained.
(c) WITHDRAWAL OF FUNDS FOR COMMITTEE AT
THE REQUEST OF THE CHAIR.—The funds maintained in
each such escrow account for a Committee shall be made
available for withdrawal by the chair of the Committee
upon request of the chair, specifying in writing the pur-
pose for the withdrawal.
(d) ANNUAL ACCOUNTING.—The Office shall provide
the Secretary an annual accounting of the receipts and
disbursements made with respect to each such escrow ac-
count.
(e) RULES.—Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall make
rules to carry out this section.
(f) RESTRICTION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Funds with-
drawn from an escrow account maintained pursuant to
this section for a Committee established pursuant to this
title shall be used by the Committee solely for purposes
of carrying out its duties under this title.
TITLE 
IV—COORDINATION
AMONG 
OFFICE, 
COMMIT-
TEES, AND SECRETARY
SEC. 401. INTERACTION AMONG OFFICE AND OTHER ORGA-
NIZATIONS.
An Office shall establish and maintain a system of
referrals among the Office, other consumer advocacy orga-
nizations, legal assistance providers serving low-income
persons, and protection and advocacy systems for individ-
uals with disabilities.
SEC. 402. ASSISTANCE TO COMMITTEES.
An Office shall provide technical assistance to the
Committees maintained by health plans pursuant to sec-
tion 301, and distribute and account for funding for such
Committees in accordance with section 306.
SEC. 403. COORDINATED DATA ANALYSIS AND DISSEMINA-
TION PROCEDURE.
(a) DATA COMPILATION AND SUBMISSION.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than December
31st of each year, each Committee shall compile the
enrollee quality care data collected under section
104(c) and shall submit such data to the Office from
which such Committee received its funds under sec-
tion 306.
(2) TRANSMISSION
FROM
OFFICE
TO
SEC-
RETARY.—Not later than 30 days after the receipt
of the data submitted by the Committees under
paragraph (1), the Office shall compile all data re-
ceived from the Committees to which it transmits
funds under section 306 and shall submit such data
to the Secretary.
(b) DATA ANALYSIS AND PUBLICATION.—The Sec-
retary shall analyze the data received under subsection
(a)(2) with the purpose of using such data to develop Fed-
eral guidelines for patient care quality and shall publish
its findings.
(c) USE
OF GUIDELINES
FOR EVALUATION
OF
HEALTH PLAN.—An Office and the Committees shall use
such findings and guidelines to evaluate the performance
of health plans operating in their community rating areas.
If an order is granted pursuant to subparagraph (C) or
(F), the court shall impose appropriate safeguards against
unauthorized disclosure. Court orders authorizing disclo-
sure under subparagraph (C) shall issue only with prior
notice to the consumer and only if the law enforcement
agency shows that there is probable cause to believe that
the records or other information sought are relevant to
a legitimate law enforcement inquiry. In the case of a
State government authority, such a court order shall not
issue if prohibited by the law of such State. A court issu-
ing an order pursuant to this section, on a motion made
promptly by the video tape service provider, may quash
or modify such order if the information or records re-
quested are unreasonably voluminous in nature or if com-
pliance with such order otherwise would cause an unrea-
sonable burden on such provider.
Æ