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The Virgin Islands Healthcare Reform Implementation Task Force forged ahead with its plans to establish workgroups necessary to the implementation of key aspects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The formation of the workgroups was among the issues discussed on Tuesday, May 31, 2011 when the Task Force met at Government House on St. Croix. The meeting was convened by Lieutenant Governor Gregory R. Francis, Chairman of the Healthcare Reform Implementation Task Force, and in his capacity as Commissioner of Banking and Insurance.
The establishment of the workgroups further positions the Task Force to be more effective in coordinating the healthcare reform related efforts of various agencies throughout the government. During the meeting, three subcommittees were formed: Stakeholder Consultation, Health Information Technology and the Insurance Subcommittee.
The Stakeholder Consultation group is charged with hosting a series of public meetings to hear the needs and challenges of community stakeholders regarding the accessibility of healthcare and insurance. The group particularly hopes to engage the homeless and advocates for the homeless, French Creole and Hispanic communities in addition to reaching business owners and medical providers. The Health Information Technology (HIT) group will serve as a conduit to the Department of Health, which is taking significant strides to upgrade its medical information systems and enable online enrollment for health services. This committee will partner with the existing Health Information Exchange (HIE) Steering Committee to ensure that all relevant parties are engaged and to minimize duplication of HIT efforts. The third committee, Insurance, will work with brokers and agents who offer health insurance products to ensure that their voice is heard in the reform discussions and to define the role of a “Health Insurance Navigator” as it pertains to assisting consumers access a potential Health Insurance Exchange (HIX). A fourth subcommittee, Workforce Development, has been in place for several months and has already begun to identify ways that Virgin Islanders can be trained and prepared to participate in the economic and employment opportunities that will be created by the expansion of the territory’s healthcare system.
During the meeting, the Task Force considered the benefits of expanding the Department of Health’s medical information technology network, which would enable greater utilization of 21st century applications like electronic medical records. Upon learning that expansion of the IT network could be delayed by fiscal shortfalls, Task Force Chairman Francis committed to explore public-private partnerships in order to secure the necessary funding to advance the implementation of electronic medical records. According to Francis, technology cannot be overlooked as the territory moves forward with its healthcare reform objectives.
“The healthcare reform process will not only have far-reaching implications in the way we deliver services, but in the way clients access services and information here in the territory,” Francis stated.
The Task Force received updates from Dwayne Henry, Legal Counsel to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, on the status of the Rate Review Grant and recently drafted insurance exchange legislation. Task Force Coordinator Taetia Dorsett presented an overview of national meetings on the Health Insurance Exchange and the integration of behavioral health data into the territory’s medical information framework. Paul Ritzma, Executive Director of the Medical Assistance Program, provided an update on Medicaid. The Task Force also continues to closely monitor healthcare related activities taking place in Washington, D.C., which potentially threaten the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in the Virgin Islands and throughout the United States.
The 14-member task force is comprised of Chairman Lieutenant Governor Gregory R. Francis; Attorney General Vincent F. Frazer; Office of Management and Budget Director Debra Gottlieb; Acting Health Commissioner Fern Clarke; Human Services Commissioner Christopher Finch; Division of Personnel Director Kenneth Hermon; Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor Pamela B. Berkowsky; Schneider Regional Medical Center CEO Alice Taylor; Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital CEO Jeff Nelson; Frederiksted Health Care, Inc. CEO Masserae Sprauve Webster; St. Thomas East End Medical Center Executive Director Wilbur Smith; GESC-Health Insurance Board of Trustees Chairman John Abramson; Virgin Islands Equicare Director Nancy Bass; and the Legislature’s Chairman for the Committee on Health, Hospitals, and Human Services Senator Patrick Sprauve. Taetia Phillips-Dorsett serves as the Task Force’s Healthcare Reform Coordinator.
The next meeting of the Task Force will be on June 22, 2011 at St. Thomas Government House.
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