HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 09162008 - C.122 ,��•--- -.off,
TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS - Contra
FROM: Joseph P. Valentine, Director �,; _ -.����;,;� -
'� Costa
Employment and Human Services
DATE: September 16, 2008 County
SUBJECT: Department of Health Care Services Medi-Cal Eligibility Data System Data
Security Agreement and Funding
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATION: APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Employment and Human Services Department (EHSD)
Director, or designee, to sign the Medi-Cal Data Privacy and Security Agreement(MEDS)with the State Department
of Health Care Services (DHCS) to pay County an amount not to exceed $831,000 for the period of July1, 2008
through June 30, 2009 for compliance with Med-Cal data confidentiality and security requirements. (All Districts)
(#19-456-0)
FISCAL IMPACT: No Net County cost. For State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2008/09, $33 million has been allocated
statewide to cover the costs for counties to be in compliance with the (MEDS. Contra Costa County's estimated
share for SFY 2008/09 is$831,000. DHCS is projecting that there will be an additional allocation for SFY 2009/10,
however, the amount is not yet known.
Included in the agreement between DHCS and California counties is the provision "If at any time, the county is
unable to meet the security and privacy requirements imposed in this Agreement in the manner specified therein
due to a lack of funding, DHCS will work with the county to develop a Corrective Action Plan which can be
implemented within the resources provided by the state for this purpose..."
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES SIGNATURE:
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR ReCOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
---APPROVE OTHER
SIGN URE(S):
ACTION OF BOARD ON APPROVE AS RECOMMENDED O ER
VOF SUPERVISORS
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
AYES: NOES: OF SUPERVISORS O THEDATE SHOWN.
ABSENT: ABSTAIN:
ATTESTED
A,4CLnK OF THE BOARD OF
SU RVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
Contact: MICHAEL ROETZER 3-1582
JUDY SIMMONS, EHSD IT
EHSD CONTRACTS UNIT(EB)
COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
AUDITOR-CONTROLLER BY"g�
Page Two
Department of Health Care Services Medi-Cal Eligibility Data System Data Security Agreement
BACKGROUND: The Medi-Cal program is funded by federal and State funds. In order to administer the Medi-Cal
program, county welfare departments manage applicant and recipient personal identification information (P11)from a
variety of sources, including data contained in the State's Medi-Cal Eligibility Data System (MEDS). MEDS is a
State-mandated system for the tracking of Medi-Cal eligibility and issuance of Medi-Cal benefits.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) authorizes the access and use of its data that is contained in MEDS.As a
condition of using the data for Medi-Cal eligibility determination, SSA requires DHCS to sign an agreement that
Medi-Cal PII, regardless of the medium that contains it, will be protected, kept confidential, and used appropriately.
Federal regulations delegate the administration of medical welfare benefits to the states and the state of California
delegates the administration of Medi-Cal to the counties. Therefore all 58 state counties must also acknowledge
their agreement to comply with federal data confidentiality and security requirements, per DHCS All County Welfare
Directors Letter#08-31.
Because the requirements have increased, the State is providing funding in SFY 2008/09 and 2009/10 to county
welfare departments to assist with implementation. The agreement contains requirements that must be met by July
2010, or to the degree possible depending on funding to assure confidentiality an d security of Medi-Cal data.
DHCS is and will be conducting county site assessments to assist counties to determine their level of compliance
with the Medi-Cal Privacy and Security Agreement and develop corrective action plans if necessary. Areas of
impact include systems, personnel, staff development, building security, and operations. Contra Costa County's
site assessment is currently scheduled July 28 through July 31, 2009.