An Act To Amend the Maine Health Data Organization Statutes and To Extend the Operation of the Maine Health Data Processing Center
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1359
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: PINGREE, MILLER, SA VIELLO, COWGER
Amends: 10 MRSA §691, 22 MRSA §8702, 22 MRSA §8703, 22 MRSA §8704, 22 MRSA §8706

Legislative Document 
No. 1359 
H.P.942 
House of Representatives, March 17,2005 
An Act To Amend the Maine Health Data Organization Statutes and 
To Extend the Operation of the Maine Health Data Processing 
Center 
Submitted by the Maine Health Data Organization pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative PINGREE of North Haven. 
111~ 
111· 7J7tJ£~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representatives: MILLER of Somerville, SA VIELLO of Wilton, Senator: 
COWGER of Kennebec. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 10 MRSA §691, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 456, §1, is 
amended to read: 
§691. Repeal 
This chapter is repealed September 1, 6GG§ 2010. 
Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §8702, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2003, c. 469, 
Pt. C, §17 and c. 689, Pt. S, §6, is further amended to read: 
4. 
Health care facility. 
"Health care facility" means a 
public 
or 
private, 
proprietary 
or 
not-for-profit 
entity 
or 
institution providing health services, including, but not limited 
to, a radiological facility licensed under chapter 160, a health 
care facility licensed under 
chapter 
or certified under 
chapter 405-0, 
an 
independent radiological 
service center, 
a 
federally 
qualified 
health 
center, 
rural 
health 
clinic 
or 
rehabilitation agency certified or otherwise 
approved 
by 
the 
Division of Licensing and Certification within the Department of 
Health and Human Services, a home health care provider licensed 
under chapter 419, an assisted living program or a residential 
care 
facility 
licensed 
under 
chapter 
±994 
1663, 
a 
hospice 
provider licensed under chapter 1681, a retail store drug outlet 
licensed under Title 32, 
chapter 117, 
a 
state institution as 
defined under Title 34-B, chapter 1 and a mental health facility 
licensed under Title 34-B, chapter 1. 
Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §8703, sub-§2, 'A, as amended by PL 2003, c. 
264, §1, is further amended to read: 
A. 
The 
Governor 
shall 
appoint 
board 
members 
in 
accordance with the following requirements. 
Appointments by 
the Governor are not subject to review or confirmation. 
(1) 
Four members must represent consumers. 
For the 
purposes of this section, "consumer" means a person who 
is not affiliated with or 
employed 
by 
a 
3rd-party 
payor, a provider or an association representing those 
providers or those 3rd-party payors. 
(2) 
Three 
members 
must 
represent 
employers. 
One 
member must be chosen from a list provided by a health 
management coalition in this State. 
(3) 
Two members must represent 
from 
a 
list provided 
by 
a 
representing 3rd-party payors. 
3rd-party payors chosen 
statewide 
organization 
(4) 
Nine 
members 
must 
represent 
providers. 
Two 
provider members must represent hospitals chosen from a 
list 
e'-~&-~~--9-~~~~&~-~~~--~e~~eseB~a~iyes 
provided 
by 
the 
Maine 
Hospital 
Association. 
Two 
provider members must be physicians or representatives 
of physicians, one chosen from a list e€--a-t;.-.J.ea&t:--s 
BemiBees 
provided 
jeiB~ly 
by 
the 
Maine 
Medical 
Association and one chosen from a list provided by the 
Maine Osteopathic Association. 
One provider member 
must be a 
eai~e~~ae~e~ doctor of chiropractic chosen 
from 
a 
list 
provided 
by 
a 
statewide 
chiropractic 
association. 
One 
provider 
member 
must 
be 
a 
representative, 
chosen 
from 
a list provided by 
the 
Maine 
Primary 
Care 
Association, 
of 
a 
federally 
qualified health center. 
One provider member must be a 
pharmacist chosen from a list provided by the Maine 
Pharmacy Association. 
One provider member must be a 
mental health provider chosen from a list provided by 
the Maine Association of Mental Health Services. 
One 
provider 
member 
must 
represent 
a 
home 
health 
care 
company. 
Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §8703, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2001, c. 457, 
§6, is further amended to read: 
3. 
Terms of office. 
The terms of office of board members 
are determined under this subsection. 
A. 
The terms of board members appointed by the Governor are 
determined as follows. 
(1) 
Initial terms are staggered. 
One consumer, 
one 
employer, 
one 3rd-party payor and 
providers shall 
serve one-year terms. 
Two consumers, one employer, one 
3rd-party payor 
and 
providers shall serve 2-year 
terms. 
(2) 
After the initial terms, members appointed by the 
Governor shall serve full 
6-yea~ 3-year terms and shall 
continue to 
serve until their successors have been 
appointed. 
(3) 
Board members may serve 3 full terms consecutively. 
B. 
The 
terms 
of departmental 
board members 
are 
6-yea~ 
3-year 
terms. 
Departmental board members 
may 
serve 
an 
unlimited number of terms. 
Sec. 5. 22 MRSA §8704, sub-§7, as amended by PL 2003, c. 469, 
Pt. C, §25, is further amended to read: 
7. 
Annual report. 
The board shall prepare and submit an 
annual report on the operation of the organization and the Maine 
Health Data Processing Center as authorized in Title 10, section 
681, including any activity contracted for by the organization, 
aBQ-e£-~l~~~-t~eBQS to the Governor and the joint standing 
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health and 
human services matters no later than February 1st of each year. 
The report must include an annual 
accounting of all revenue 
received and expenditures incurred in the previous year and all 
revenue and expenditures planned for the next year. 
The report 
must include a list of persons or entities that requested data 
from the organization in the preceding year with a brief summary 
of the stated purpose of the request. 
Sec. 6. 22 MRS A §8705-A, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 
659, §2, is amended to read: 
2. 
RulemaJting. 
The board shall adopt rules to implement 
22th iss e c t ion. 
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The rules may contain procedures for monitoring 
compliance with this chapter. 
Rules adopted pursuant to this 
subsection must include a schedule of fines for: 
A. 
Failure to file data; 
B. 
Failure to pay assessments; and 
C. 
Intentionally or 
knowingly 
and without 
authorization 
using or disseminating health care information that directly 
or 
indirectly 
identifies 
patients 
or 
health 
care 
practitioners performing abortions 
as defined in section 
1596. 
Sec. 7. 22 MRSA §8706, sub-§2, ,B, as repealed and replaced by 
PL 1997, c. 525, §3, is amended to read: 
B. 
Reasonable user fees must be charged on a sliding scale 
for 
the 
right to 
access 
and 
use 
the health data 
and 
information available from the organization. 
Fees may be 
charged 
for 
services 
provided 
to 
the 
department 
on 
a 
contractual basis. 
Fees-~--ge-w~¥~-~~-~be-~~-ef 
~Bs~~aBeeT 
Fees may be reduced or waived for users that 
demonstrate 
a 
plan to 
use 
the 
data or 
information 
in 
research of general value to the public health or inability 
to pay the scheduled fees, as provided by rules adopted by 
the board. 
Sec. S. 22 MRS A §S70S-A, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 469, Pt. 
C, §28, is amended to read: 
§S70S-A. Quality data 
The board shall adopt rules regarding the collection of 
quality data. 
The board shall work with the Maine Quality Forum 
and the Maine Quality Forum Advisory Council established in Title 
24-A, chapter 87, subchapter 2 to develop the rules. The rules 
must be based on the quality measures adopted by the Maine 
Quality Forum pursuant to Title 24-A, section 6951, subsection 
2. 
The 
rules 
must 
specify 
the 
content, 
form, 
medium 
and 
frequency of quality data to be submitted to the organization. 
In the collection of quality data, the organization must minimize 
duplication of effort, minimize the burden on those required to 
provide 
data 
and 
focus 
on 
data 
that 
may 
be 
retrieved 
in 
electronic format from within a health care practitioner's office 
or health care facility. 
As specified by the rules, health care 
practitioners and health care facilities shall submit quality 
data to the organization. 
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aFe-ma~~-~~~-F~les-~~-~~~-~&-~i~*e-~-~~~-~+aT 
s~BeaaE'teF-6-A ... 
Sec. 9. 22 MRSA §S711, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1999, c. 353, 
§16, is repealed. 
Sec. 10. Rulemaking; routine technical. 
Rules adopted pursuant 
to 
the 
Maine 
Revised 
Statutes, 
Title 
22, 
section 
8705-A, 
subsection 2 and section 8708-A revert to being routine technical 
rules, as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A, under 
the general rule-making power of the Board of Directors of the 
Maine Health Data Organization granted under Title 22, section 
8704, subsection 4. 
SUMMARY 
This bill extends the statutory authority of the Maine 
Health Data Processing Center from September 1, 2005 to September 
1, 2010. 
The bill also eliminates the major substantive rule 
requirement for the Maine Health Data Organization enforcement 
rules and the quality data rules, makes a number of modifications 
to provide consistency within the statutes and repeals language 
that is obsolete.