B.__Establish a comprehensive statewide health care claims database in which all data are treated as confidential;

C.__Provide the Maine Health Data Organization with a complete all payor and all-setting health care claims database for public use; and

D.__Promote high-quality and accurate data to support easy and flexible access to the health care database by multiple users.

For purposes of determining which data is confidential, all data collected and processed by the Maine Health Data Processing Center is determined to be Maine Health Data Organization data and subject to Title 22, section 8707 and rules adopted under that section.

§683.__Board of directors; officers

The Board of Directors of the Maine Health Data Processing Center, referred to in this chapter as the "board of directors," consists of a minimum of 8 directors elected to serve in that capacity in accordance with this section.__The Maine Health Data Organization board of directors shall elect 1/2 of the directors from among its members, and the Maine Health Information Center board of directors shall elect 1/2 of the directors from among its members.__The director of the Maine Health Data Organization and the president of the Maine Health Information Center are also ex officio members of the board of directors.__A person may not serve as a director for more than 5 years in succession.__The board of directors shall elect a chair and a vice-chair.

§684.__General powers

The Maine Health Data Processing Center may:

1.__Application for and receipt of funds.__Apply for and receive funds from any private source or governmental entity, whether by way of grant, donation or loan or in any other manner;

2.__Real and personal property.__Purchase, receive, hold, lease or acquire by foreclosure and operate, manage, license and sell, convey, transfer, grant or lease real and personal property together with such rights and privileges as may be incidental and appurtenant to the real and personal property and the use of the real and personal property, including, but not limited to, any real or personal property acquired by the Maine Health Data

Processing Center from time to time in the satisfaction of debts or enforcement of obligations;

3.__Expenditures and obligations regarding real and personal property.__Make all expenditures and incur any obligations reasonably required in the exercise of sound business principles to secure possession of, preserve, maintain, insure and improve real and personal property or interests in the real and personal property acquired by the Maine Health Data Processing Center;

4.__Contracts and liabilities. Make contracts, including contracts for services, and incur liabilities for any of the purposes authorized in the contracts;

5.__Cooperation with agencies and organizations.__Cooperate with and avail itself of the services of government agencies and the University of Maine System and cooperate, assist and otherwise encourage organizations, local or regional, private or public, in the various communities of the State in the collection and processing of health care data; and

6.__Bylaws.__Adopt bylaws not inconsistent with this chapter for the governance of the affairs of the Maine Health Data Processing Center, to have the general powers accorded corporations under Title 13-A, section 202 and to do all other things necessary or convenient to carry out the lawful purposes of the center.

§685.__Limitation of powers

The center does not have power or authority to enter into contracts, obligations or commitments of any kind on behalf of the State or any of its agencies, nor does it have the power of eminent domain or any other power not provided to business corporations generally.

§686.__Prohibited interests of officers, directors and employees

An officer, director or employee of the Maine Health Data Processing Center or the spouse or dependent children of such a person may not receive any direct personal benefit from the activities of the center in assisting any private entity.__This provision does not prohibit corporations or other entities with which an officer or director is associated by reason of ownership or employment from participating in health care data collection or processing activities with the center as long as the ownership or employment is made known to the board of directors and that director abstains from voting on matters relating to that participation.

§687.__Funding

The State, through the Governor, may accept donations, bequests, devises, grants or other interests of any nature on behalf of the Maine Health Data Processing Center and transfer funds, property or other interests to the center.__The Maine Health Data Organization may also provide legislatively authorized funds to the center for the purposes described in section 681.

§688.__Annual report; audit

The Maine Health Data Processing Center shall provide an annual report and an independent audit of its activities to the Governor, the Legislature, the Maine Health Data Organization board of directors and the Maine Health Information Center board of directors by January 1st of each year.__The center is subject to such further audit and review determined necessary by the Governor or the Legislative Council at the expense of the State.

§689.__General conditions; dissolution

The Maine Health Data Processing Center shall operate as a not-for-profit organization consistent with its composition and broad public purposes. The following conditions shall apply to the operation or dissolution of the center.

1.__Net earnings of the center.__The net earnings of the Maine Health Data Processing Center may not inure to the benefit of any officer, director or employee, except that the center is authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and otherwise hold, manage and dispose of its property in furtherance of the purposes of the center.

2.__Dissolution of center.__Upon dissolution of the Maine Health Data Processing Center, the board of directors shall, after paying or making provision for the payment of all liabilities of the center, cause all of the remaining assets of the center to be transferred to the Maine Health Data Organization and the Maine Health Information Center in shares proportionate to the total revenue transferred to the center by each entity.

§690.__Liberal construction

This chapter must be construed liberally to effect the interest and purposes of the Maine Health Data Processing Center for an improved health care data collection and processing effort in the State and is broadly interpreted to effect such intent and purposes and not a limitation of powers.

Sec. 2. Allocation. The following funds are allocated from Other Special Revenue funds to carry out the purposes of this Act.

2001-02 2002-03

MAINE HEALTH DATA

ORGANIZATION

Maine Health Data Organization

Positions - Legislative Count (3.000) (3.000)

Personal Services $175,796 $181,109

All Other 242,323 286,000

Allocates funds for 2 Programmer Analysts and one Planning and Research Associate II to increase access to and improve the utility of health care information and to provide funds for the establishment of the Maine Health Data Processing Center.

MAINE HEALTH DATA ORGANIZATION ________ ________

TOTAL $418,119 $467,109

SUMMARY

This bill establishes the Maine Health Data Processing Center, a nonprofit organization to collect and process health care claims data in Maine. The center is created as a public/private partnership that can capitalize on the interests, resources and efforts of each sector. The center shall carry out its responsibilities with direction from the Maine Health Data Organization and the Maine Health Information Center, a private nonprofit health care data organization.