Montana State Legislature

2011-2012 Select Committee On Efficiency in Government

The Select Committee on Efficiency in Government is joint bipartisan committee of the Legislature that will meet during the 2011-12 legislative interim. It was created by House Bill No. 642 (2011) and is commissioned to examine the efficiency and effectiveness of state government in four broad areas: budgeting; health care; technology; and natural resources.

SENATE MEMBERS     HOUSE MEMBERS COMMITTEE STAFF TEAM
JON SONJU--Chair    MARK BLASDEL DAVE BOHYER, Lead Staff
EDWARD BUTTREY  RON EHLI  DAVID NISS, Staff Attorney
MARY CAFERRO GALEN HOLLENBAUGH DAWN FIELD, Secretary
JIM KEANE PAT NOONAN   SUE O'CONNELL, LSD, Health Care
EDWARD WALKER SCOTT REICHNER JASON MOHR, LSD, Nat'l Res.
DAVID WANZENRIED KATHLEEN WILLIAMS  QUINN HOLZER, LFD, Health Care
    TARYN PURDY, LFD, Budgeting Process
    BARBARA SMITH, LFD, Technology
    LOIS STEINBECK, LFD, Health Care

 

Proposed Legislation
LCSC20: Clarifying where electronic records for a county may be stored
LCSC21: Requesting an interim study to investigate electronic records management 
LCSC22: Revising or eliminating certain provisions that unnecessarily require a notarization 

  • Agenda
  • Memorandum re Payment of Invoices by State Agencies by Dave Bohyer
  • Memo:Job training programs
    • Summary of job training programs

Health Care/Medicaid Materials

Full Committee - February 6-7, 2012

Natural Resources- February 6, 2012

Information Technology - February 7, 2012

  • Agenda
  • Minutes

Full Committee - January 10, 2012

Health Care/Medicaid

Information Technology

Natural Resources

Full Committee

Health Care/Medicaid Subcommittee

Work Plan Subcommittee

  • Nov. 15 Subcommittee meeting: Minutes

October 6-7, 2011 - Capitol Building, Helena, Montana

Full Committee

Health Care/Medicaid

Information Technology

  • Panelist Biographies: Information Technology Panel -- Data Center Panel

Missions, Goals, and Objective Subcommittee

  • Oct. 6 Subcommittee meeting: Minutes

Information Technology

Medicaid

Publications/Informational Materials

The Select Committee on Efficiency in Government is charged with looking at areas of efficiency and effectiveness in health care access, delivery, and affordability. At its August 2011 meeting, the committee created a subcommittee on Medicaid to gather more information and ideas for efficiencies in the Medicaid program. The subcommittee met four times to review suggested changes to Medicaid and other health care laws and administrative rules.

In May 2012, the full committee reviewed and took public comment on six bills drafts. Members approved five of the measures for introduction in the 2013 Legislature, after approving revisions to some of the bill drafts. The committee approved legislation to:

  • revise the Medicaid application and eligibility determination process;
  • impose a penalty on people who receive assets that were improperly transferred by a person who applies for Medicaid coverage of long-term care costs;
  • revise certain elements of the 72-hour presumptive eligibility program for mental health crisis stabilization services;
  • require the Department of Public Health and Human Services to measure and report on outcomes for children's mental health services; and
  • establish a four-year effort to develop and put in place a pay-for-performance pilot project for children's mental health services.

At the May meeting, members tabled a draft bill to eliminate unit billing for certain targeted case management services. However, members later agreed to hear a revised proposal and in September 2012 approved as committee bills measures to:

  • appropriate $5.7 million in state and federal funds in the next biennium to increase the reimbursement rate for children's mental health targeted case management services; and
  • establish a nine-member advisory committee to work with DPHHS on developing a monthly reimbursement rate for adult and children's Medicaid mental health targeted case management services that better reflect the actual costs of providing services.

The committee also agreed to recommend to the 2013 Legislature that it limit the appropriation for utilization review of Medicaid children's mental health services to only those services for which such review is required under federal law. Members asked that DPHHS be notified of the letter so the agency was aware of the potential change as it finalized a contract for the utilization review services. DPHHS replied to the committee's letter in June.

Proposed Legislation

The committee reviewed the following bill drafts at the May 2012 meeting:

In September 2012, the committee also reviewed the following bills:

  • LCSC13: Appropriate Funds to Increase Children's Mental Health Targeted Case Management Rates
  • LCSC14: Create Advisory Committee on Cost-Based Reimbursement for Targeted Case Management Services

The committee made revisions to some of the drafts and approved all but LCSC12 for introduction in the 2013 Legislature. The final versions of the bills, along with the official "LC" number assigned to them for the session, are available on the committee's Proposed Legislation tab (see below).

Publications

Related Links and Materials

Subcommittee Information

Rep. Pat Noonan, D-Ramsay, served as chairman of the Medicaid/Health Care Subcommittee. Other members were Rep. Mark Blasdel, R-Somers; Sen. Mary Caferro, D-Helena; and Sen. Ed Walker, R-Billings.

Last Meeting: Feb. 1, 2012 -- 10 a.m. -- Room 172, State Capitol
-- Agenda -- Listen -- Watch
-- Public Comment Submitted on Materials Under Discussion:
    -- Medicaid Tort Reform Pilot Project
    -- Licensing of Health Care Professionals
    -- Preparation for Medicaid Expansion
    -- Potential Medicaid Delivery System Reforms

Previous Meetings: 
-- Jan. 9, 2012 -- Agenda -- Listen -- Watch
-- Nov. 15, 2011 -- Agenda -- Listen -- Watch
-- Oct. 6, 2011 -- Agenda -- Listen -- Watch

Members

Meeting Information

  • None Scheduled

Publications

Related Links and Materials

The Select Committee on Efficiency in Government is charged with looking at areas of efficiency and effectiveness in natural resource development, permitting, advanced technologies, and taxation. To date, it has focused on natural resource permitting in Montana. At its January 2012 meeting, the committee created a subcommittee on natural resources to gather more information and ideas for efficiencies. The subcommittee will meet for the first time in February and decide how best to focus its work.

Sen. Jim Keane, D-Butte, is chairman of the subcommittee. Other members are Sen. Ed Buttrey, R-Great Falls; Rep. Ron Ehli, R-Hamilton; Rep. Galen Hollenbaugh, D-Helena; Rep. Kathleen Williams, D-Bozeman; and; Sen. Ed Walker, R-Billings.

Natural Resources Subcommittee Meeting Information

Next Meeting: 8 a.m., April 9, 2012; Room 302, Natural Resources Building, Montana Tech, Butte

Previous Meeting: March 1, 2012, Room 102 State Capitol Building

Staff

Select Committee on Efficiency in Government Staff Reports

The committee has approved the following bill drafts for introduction as committee bills in the 2013 Legislature.

Health Care/Medicaid

  • LC 123: Pay-for-Performance Pilot Project
  • LC 124: Outcomes-Based Measurement for Children's Mental Health Services
  • LC 125: Revise the 72-Hour Presumptive Eligibility Program
  • LC 150: Revise the Medicaid Application Process
  • LC 151: Create Penalty for Improper Transfer of Assets
  • LC 348: Children's Mental Health Targeted Case Management Appropriation
  • LC 349: Advisory Committee on Cost-Based Reimbursement for Targeted Case Management
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