DATE: September 27, 2016
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Dawan Utecht, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT: Retroactive Confidentiality Agreement with Department of Health Care Services
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:
TITLE
1. Retroactively approve and authorize the Director of the Department of Behavioral Health to execute a Confidentiality Agreement with the California Department of Health Care Services to disclose confidential information about the temporary suspension or payment suspension of certified Drug Medi-Cal providers that are or were in contract with the County Department of Behavioral Health, effective October 12, 2015.($0)
2. Delegate authority to the Director of the Department of Behavioral Health to approve and execute subsequent amendments to the Confidentiality Agreement.
REPORT
Approval of the first recommended action will allow the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to enter into a confidentiality agreement with the County Department of Behavioral Health (DBH). It is essential that DHCS share this confidential information with DBH in its capacity as a Drug Medi-Cal (DMC) contractor because neither DHCS nor its contractors can pay claims submitted by a provider during a period of temporary suspension or payment suspension.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If the first recommended action is not approved, DBH would not be able to receive confidential information from DHCS regarding DMC certified providers on temporary suspension or payment suspension with DHCS. If the second recommended action is not approved, DBH would have to return to your Board with amendments and revisions which may impact the timely submission of documents requested with urgency by the State.
RETROACTIVE AGREEMENT:
The recommended Confidentiality Agreement was emailed to the Department on October 12, 2015 from DHCS, seeking to enter into an agreement with the County effective that date. Due to an administrative oversight, the email went unattended and w...
Click here for full text