Opportunity for Public Comment: 10.25.19 State Recognition of an Electronic Advance Directives Service
The Maryland Health Care Commission proposes to amend Regulations .02—.04, .07, and .08, under COMAR 10.25.19 State Recognition of an Electronic Advance Directives Service. Notice of Proposed Action was printed in the Maryland Register, September 23, 2022, Volume 49, Issue 20, Page 916.
The purpose of this action is to propose amendments to COMAR 10.25.19. State law (2016 Chapter 510 and 2017 Chapter 667) required the Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC) to develop a State Recognition Program for electronic advance directives services (vendors). In 2016, MHCC worked collaboratively with stakeholders to develop regulations and vendor criteria for State Recognition. During the 2022 session of the Maryland General Assembly, Chapter 312 (Senate Bill 824), Health – Accessibility of Electronic Advance Care Planning Documents, was passed repealing a requirement that vendors implement a certain electronic authorization guideline (National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800–63–2: Electronic Authentication Guideline or subsequent replacement publications to 800-63) to connect to the State-Designated Health Information Exchange. The proposed amendments remove references of the electronic authentication guideline under Regulation .02, and other miscellaneous non-technical changes in Regulations .03, .04, .07, and .08.
Comments may be sent to Justine Springer, Program Manager, Maryland Health Care Commission, 4160 Patterson Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21215, or call 410-764-3574, or email to justine.springer@maryland.gov, or fax to 410-358-1236. Comments will be accepted through October 24, 2022.
A public hearing has not been scheduled. Final action on the proposal will be considered by the Maryland Health Care Commission during a public meeting to be held on November 17, 2022, at 1 p.m., at 4160 Patterson Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21215.
Vendor Criteria for State Recognition of an Electronic Advance Directives Service
Published Maryland Register, Volume 49, Issue 18, August 26, 2022
State law (2016 Chapter 510 and 2017 Chapter 667) required the Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC) to develop a State Recognition Program for electronic advance directives services (vendors). The law aims to facilitate use of cloud-based technology to support creation of and accessibility to electronic advance directives. State Recognition demonstrates a vendor meets certain criteria or standards for privacy and security, independent audits, education, reporting, and technical provisions, some of which are required by State and federal law. During the 2022 session of the Maryland General Assembly, Chapter 312 (Senate Bill 824), Health – Accessibility of Electronic Advance Care Planning Documents, repealed the requirement that vendors implement a certain electronic authorization guideline (NIST Special Publication 800–63–2: Electronic Authentication Guideline or subsequent replacement publications to 800-63) to connect to the State Designated Health Information Exchange.
The MHCC seeks public comment on the draft vendor criteria for State Recognition (Version 2.0 – July 2022). The criteria exclude the NIST requirement to align with the law and include other miscellaneous changes; material changes are in bold. Public comments will be accepted until 4:30 pm on October 24, 2022. Comments should be submitted via email to Justine Springer at justine.springer@maryland.gov, or via mail to Justine Springer, Program Manager, Maryland Health Care Commission, 4160 Patterson Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21215.
Opportunity for Public Comment: 10.25.17 Benchmarks for Preauthorization of Health Care Services
The Maryland Health Care Commission proposes to amend Regulations .01—.05 under COMAR 10.25.17 Benchmarks for Preauthorization of Health Care Services. Notice of Proposed Action was printed in the Maryland Register, September 9, 2022, Volume 49, Issue 19, Page 876.
The purpose of this action is to propose amendments to COMAR 10.25.17. Benchmarks for Preauthorization of Health Care Services. Health-General Article, §19-108.2, Annotated Code of Maryland, required the Commission to work with payors (i.e., State-regulated insurers, nonprofit health service plans, health maintenance organizations, and pharmacy benefit managers) to implement, in a phased approach, electronic preauthorization processes in a series of four benchmarks. The proposed amendments 1) extend the duration of time on a waiver from the benchmark requirements from 2 to 5 years; 2) add language requiring a payor granted a waiver to notify MHCC within 30 days when circumstances justifying the waiver have changed; 3) add language to permit MHCC to withdraw a waiver for cause; and 4) include other miscellaneous changes.
Comments may be sent to Justine Springer, Program Manager, Maryland Health Care Commission, 4160 Patterson Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21215, or call 410-764-3574, or email to justine.springer@maryland.gov, or fax to 410-358-1236. Comments will be accepted through October 11, 2022.
A public hearing has not been scheduled. Final action on the proposal will be considered by the Maryland Health Care Commission during a public meeting to be held on October 20, 2022, at 1 p.m., at 4160 Patterson Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21215.
Opportunity for Informal Public Comment: COMAR 10.24.01 Certificate of Need Health Care Facilities
The Maryland Health Care Commission is seeking informal review and comment on draft amendments to COMAR 10.24.01, the procedural regulations applicable to health care facility project reviews, including Certificate of Need (CON) applications, requests for exemption from CON review, and Certificate of Conformance applications. A "redline" version of the draft proposed amendments and a final "clean" version of the proposed changes have been provided for your convenience. A workgroup has not been formed yet, but the Commission may consider convening a workgroup in the future depending on the volume of comments received. If a workgroup is formed, it would focus on a limited number of high interest areas.
When this notice of availability for comment was posted on Friday, July 22, 2022, the indicated deadline for submission of comments was close of business on Friday, August 26, 2022. After considering initial comments received, MHCC is extending the deadline for submission of informal comments to close of business on Monday, September 19, 2022.
Alexa Bertinelli
Assistant Attorney General
Maryland Health Care Commission
4160 Patterson Avenue
Baltimore, Maryland 21215
alexa.bertinelli@maryland.gov