Sec. 19a-6h. State-wide Primary Care Access Authority. Members. Duties. Consultants and assistants. Report.
Sec. 19a-6h. State-wide Primary Care Access Authority. Members. Duties.
Consultants and assistants. Report. (a) There is established a State-wide Primary Care
Access Authority. The authority shall consist of the Commissioners of Public Health
and Social Services, the Comptroller, the chairpersons of the HealthFirst Connecticut
Authority established under section 19a-6g and the following members: One each appointed by the Connecticut Primary Care Association, the Connecticut State Medical
Society, the Connecticut Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Connecticut Nurses Association, the Connecticut Association of School-Based Health Centers,
the Connecticut State Dental Association, the Connecticut Community Providers Association and the Weitzman Center for Innovation In Community Health and Primary
Care. Members shall serve for a term of four years commencing on August 1, 2007. All
initial appointments to the committee shall be made by July 15, 2007. Any vacancy
shall be filled by the appointing authority.
(b) The chairpersons of the HealthFirst Connecticut Authority established under
section 19a-6g shall serve as cochairpersons of the State-wide Primary Care Access
Authority. Members shall serve without compensation but shall, within available appropriations, be reimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their
duties.
(c) The chairpersons shall convene the first meeting of the State-wide Primary Care
Access Authority not later than October 1, 2007. Any member who fails to attend three
consecutive meetings or who fails to attend fifty per cent of all meetings held during
any calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned from the committee.
(d) All members appointed to the authority shall be familiar with the criteria of the
Institute of Medicine of the National Academies Principles for Healthcare Reform and
shall be committed to making recommendations about health care reform for the state
of Connecticut that are consistent with said criteria.
(e) The State-wide Primary Care Access Authority shall:
(1) Determine what constitutes primary care services for purposes of subdivisions
(2) to (4), inclusive, of this section;
(2) Inventory the state's existing primary care infrastructure, including, but not limited to, (A) the number of primary care providers practicing in the state, (B) the total
amount of money expended on public and private primary care services during the last
fiscal year, (C) the number of public and private buildings or offices used primarily for
the rendering of primary care services, including, but not limited to, hospitals, mental
health facilities, dental offices, school-based health clinics, community-based health
centers and academic health centers. For the purposes of this subdivision, "primary care
provider" means any physician, dentist, nurse, provider of services for the mentally ill or
persons with mental retardation, or other person involved in providing primary medical,
nursing, counseling, or other health care, substance abuse or mental health service,
including such services associated with, or under contract to, a health maintenance organization or medical services plan.
(3) Not later than December 31, 2008, develop a universal system for providing
primary care services, including prescription drugs, to all residents of the state that
maximizes federal financial participation in Medicaid and Medicare. The committee
shall (A) estimate the cost of fully implementing such universal system, (B) identify any
additional infrastructure or personnel that would be necessary in order to fully implement
such universal system, (C) determine the state's role and the role of third party entities
in administering such universal system, (D) identify funding sources for such universal
system, and (E) determine the role of private health insurance in such universal system.
(4) Develop a plan for implementing by July 1, 2010, the universal primary care
system developed pursuant to subdivision (3) of this section. Such plan shall (A) include
a timetable for implementation of the universal primary care system, (B) establish benchmarks to assess the state's progress in implementing the system, and (C) establish mechanisms for assessing the effectiveness of the primary care system, once implemented.
(f) The State-wide Primary Care Access Authority may (1) retain and employ consultants or assistants on a contract or other basis for rendering professional, legal, financial, technical or other assistance or advice as may be required to carry out its duties or
responsibilities, and (2) apply for grants or financial assistance from any person, group
of persons or corporation or from any agency of the state or of the United States.
(g) On or before February 1, 2008, and annually thereafter on or before January
first, the State-wide Primary Care Access Authority shall report to the joint standing
committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public
health, insurance and human services, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, concerning its progress in developing the universal primary care services system
and the implementation plan for such system.
(P.A. 07-185, S. 31; P.A. 08-184, S. 19.)
History: P.A. 07-185 effective July 10, 2007; P.A. 08-184 amended Subsec. (a) by authorizing Connecticut State Dental
Society and Connecticut Community Providers Association to each appoint one member to the authority, effective June
12, 2008.