126-AA:4 Commission to Evaluate the Effectiveness and Future of the New Hampshire Granite Advantage Health Care Program. –
I. There is hereby established a commission to evaluate the effectiveness and future of the New Hampshire granite advantage health care program.
(a) The members of the commission shall be as follows:
(1) Three members of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate, one of whom shall be a member of the minority party.
(2) Three members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, one of whom shall be a member of the minority party.
(3) The commissioner of the department of health and human services, or designee.
(4) The commissioner of the department of insurance, or designee.
(5) A representative of each managed care organization awarded contracts as vendors under the Medicaid managed care program, appointed by the governor.
(6) A representative of a hospital that operates in New Hampshire, appointed by the New Hampshire Hospital Association.
(7) A public member, who has health care expertise, appointed by the senate president.
(8) A public member, who currently receives coverage through the program, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
(9) A public member representing the interests of taxpayers in New Hampshire, appointed by the president of the senate.
(10) A representative of the medical care advisory committee, department of health and human services, appointed by the commissioner of the department of health and human services.
(11) A licensed physician, appointed by the New Hampshire Medical Society.
(12) A licensed mental health professional, appointed by the National Alliance on Mental Illness New Hampshire.
(13) A licensed substance use disorder professional, appointed by the New Hampshire Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors Association.
(14) An advanced practice registered nurse (APRN), appointed by the New Hampshire Nurse Practitioner Association.
(15) The chairperson of the governor’s commission on alcohol and drug abuse prevention, treatment, and recovery, or designee.
(b) Legislative members of the commission shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the commission.
II. (a) The commission shall evaluate the effectiveness and future of the program. Specifically the commission shall:
(1) Review the program’s financial metrics.
(2) Review the program’s product offerings.
(3) Review the program’s impact on insurance premiums for individuals and small businesses.
(4) Make recommendations for future program modifications, including, but not limited to whether the program is the most cost-effective model for the long term versus a return to private market managed care.
(5) Evaluate non-general fund funding options for longer term continuation of the program, including options to accept funding from the federal government allowing a self-administered program.
(6) Review up-to-date information regarding changes in the level of uncompensated care through shared information from the department, the department of revenue administration, the insurance department, and provider organizations and the program’s impact on insurance premium tax revenues and Medicaid enhancement tax revenue.
(7) Review the granite workforce pilot program.
(8) Evaluate reimbursement rates to determine if they are sufficient to ensure access to and provider capacity for all behavioral health services.
(9) Review the number of people who are found ineligible or who are dropped from the rolls of the program because of the work requirement and determine whether the age of beneficiaries subject to the requirement should be changed. The commission shall issue any recommendation for change by December 1, 2019.
(10) Review the reasons beneficiaries are found ineligible or are dropped from the program and determine if the number of required hours should be changed. The commission shall issue any recommendation for change by December 1, 2019.
(11) Review the program’s provider reimbursement rates and overall financing structure to ensure it is able to provide a stable provider network and sustainable funding mechanism that serves patients, communities, and the state of New Hampshire.
(b) Any funding solutions recommended by the commission shall not include the use of new general funds.
(c) The commission shall solicit information from any person or entity the commission deems relevant to its study.
(d) The commission shall make a recommendation on or by October 1, 2019 to the commissioner concerning recommended monitoring and evaluation requirements for work and community engagement requirements, including a draft of proposed metrics for quarterly and annual reporting, including suggested costs and benefits evaluations.
III. The members of the commission shall elect a chairperson from among the members. The first meeting of the commission shall be called by the first-named senate member. The first meeting of the commission shall be held within 45 days of the effective date of this section. Eight members of the commission shall constitute a quorum.
IV. The commission shall make an interim report on or before December 1, 2020 and a final report, together with its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation, to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the senate clerk, the house clerk, the governor, and the state library on or before December 1, 2022. Both reports shall contain the commission’s recommendation regarding whether the program should continue.
Source. 2018, 342:1, eff. June 28, 2018. 2019, 159:3-5, eff. July 8, 2019.