Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 23 - PUBLIC UTILITIES AND REGULATED INDUSTRIES (§§ 23-1-101 — 23-119-105) › Subtitle 3 - INSURANCE (§§ 23-60-101 — 23-103-417) › Chapter 61 - STATE INSURANCE DEPARTMENT (§§ 23-61-101 — 23-61-1111) › Subchapter 9 - ARKANSAS HEALTHCARE TRANSPARENCY INITIATIVE ACT OF 2015 (§§ 23-61-901 — 23-61-910) › Section 23-61-905 - Arkansas Healthcare Transparency Initiative Board - Membership - Duties

(a)
(1)
There is created the Arkansas Healthcare Transparency Initiative Board, which shall be composed of the following members:
(A)
A representative of the Department of Human Services;
(B)
A representative of the Department of Health;
(C)
A representative of the Office of Health Information Technology or its successor entity as provided by state law;
(D)
The Arkansas Surgeon General;
(E)
Nine (9) members appointed by the Governor as follows:
(i)
Two (2) representatives from the health insurance industry, one (1) of whom shall be a multistate representative and one (1) of whom shall be a domestic representative;
(ii)
Two (2) representatives from the healthcare provider community;
(iii)
A representative from a self-insured employer;
(iv)
A representative from an employer of fewer than one hundred (100) full-time employees that provides healthcare coverage to employees through a fully insured product;
(v)
A representative from a healthcare consumer organization;
(vi)
A representative from the academic research community with expertise in healthcare claims data analysis; and
(vii)
A representative with expertise in health data privacy and security; and
(F)
A representative from the Arkansas Biosciences Institute who shall serve as an ex-offico, nonvoting member.
(2)
A Governor-appointed member of the board in subdivision (a)(1)(E) of this section shall serve for a term of three (3) years.
(3)
The board shall appoint one (1) member as Chair of the Arkansas Healthcare Transparency Initiative Board and determine the qualifications, duties, and the term of office of the chair.
(4)
Seven (7) members present constitute a quorum.
(5)
The board shall hold its first meeting no later than July 1, 2015.
(b)
The State Insurance Department shall:
(1)
Have the authority to:
(A)
Collect, validate, analyze, and present health data, including claims data;
(B)
Assess penalties for noncompliance with this subchapter; and
(C)
Establish and convene additional subcommittees to carry out the purposes of this subchapter;
(2)
Designate the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement as the Administrator of the Arkansas Healthcare Transparency Initiative, which shall be responsible for development and implementation of a sustainability plan subject to data use and disclosure requirements of this subchapter and any rules promulgated under this subchapter;
(3)
With the assistance of the Administrator of the Arkansas Healthcare Transparency Initiative, establish and convene the following subcommittees:
(A)
The Data Oversight Subcommittee of the Arkansas Healthcare Transparency Initiative, which shall:
(i)
Consist of:
(a)
Three (3) Governor-appointed board members; and
(b)
One (1) individual healthcare consumer; and
(ii)
Review and make recommendations to the State Insurance Department regarding:
(a)
Data requests for consistency with the intent and purpose of this subchapter, including whether the data request contains the minimum required information; and
(b)
Reports and publications generated from data requests to ensure compliance with this subchapter; and
(B)
The Scientific Advisory Subcommittee of the Arkansas Healthcare Transparency Initiative, which shall:
(i)
Consist of:
(a)
The Governor-appointed member of the board from the academic research community; and
(b)
Two (2) nonmembers of the board who are academic researchers; and
(ii)
Serve as peer review for academic researchers and provide advice regarding data requests for academic proposals and the scientific rigor of analytic work; and
(4)
Adopt any rules necessary to implement this subchapter under the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, §
25-15-201
et seq.
(c)
In consultation with the board, the State Insurance Department shall exercise its powers and duties under this subchapter to:
(1)
Establish policies and procedures necessary for the administration and oversight of the Arkansas Healthcare Transparency Initiative, including procedures for the collection, processing, storage, analysis, use, and release of data;
(2)
Identify and explore the key healthcare issues, questions, and problems that may be improved through more transparent information, including without limitation data required to be disclosed to patients related to provider relationships or affiliations with payers and providers, financial interests in healthcare businesses, and payments or items of any value given to providers from pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturers or agents thereof; and
(3)
Provide a biennial report to the General Assembly on the operations of the Arkansas Healthcare Transparency Initiative.
Amended by Act 2017, No. 979,§ 4, eff. 8/1/2017.
Added by Act 2015, No. 1233,§ 1, eff. 4/7/2015.