| Advisory opinion request regarding whether Navigant Consultants, Inc. may assist Louisiana Healthcare Quality Forum (Quality Forum) in transactions with the Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) when John Hardy, an employee of Navigant Consultants, Inc., is a former employee of DHH. |
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The Louisiana Healthcare Quality Forum (Quality Forum) was created as a nonprofit corporation pursuant to the urging of the Louisiana Legislature in House Concurrent Resolution No. 75 of the 2007 Regular Legislative Session. HCR 75 stated that the Louisiana Legislature urged and requested DHH to enter into a cooperative effort with other public and private organizations and institutions in establishing Quality Forum. The Quality Forum was organized pursuant to the corporation laws on July 6, 2007. Following the incorporation of the Quality Forum, the Quality Forum entered into cooperative endeavor agreements with DHH. In 2009, the Quality Forum was designated by DHH as the State-Designated Entity to lead the planning and implementation of health information technology grants made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Quality Forum has assisted eligible medical professionals and eligible hospitals in applying for and receiving Medicare/Medicaid Electronic Health Record incentive payments.
In July 2012, DHH and Quality Forum entered into a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement wherein Quality Forum agreed to coordinate and manage Louisiana's efforts to gain maximum benefit from the health information technology opportunities in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
DHH must submit and obtain approval for additional funds for Federal fiscal year 2015 to 2016 before September 2015 in order for the Electronic Health Record Incentive Payment Program to continue operation.
Quality Forum is working with DHH to submit the Louisiana Implementation Advanced Planning Document Update, which allow DHH to obtain the additional funding. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services allows states to submit health information technology Implementation Advanced Planning Documents every two years. However, each Federal fiscal year Implementation Advanced Planning Document is a separate request for funds and the state must submit an update 12 months from the date of the last Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Implementation Advanced Planning Document.
Quality Forum would like to contract with Navigant Consulting, Inc. to help it prepare the Implementation Advanced Planning Document-Update. Navigant will meet with Quality Forum and DHH to confirm project scope, identify initiatives to include in the update, develop the narrative for the update funding requests, develop and deliver a draft of the update to DHH to submit to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, discuss past and future HIT/HIE strategy with DHH and Quality Forum, and provide technical assistance as requested by DHH.
The Implementation Advanced Planning Document-Update will include a reference to the approved HIT PAPD/IAPD and all approved changes; a project activity status which reports the status of the past year's major project tasks/milestones remaining to be completed and discusses past and anticipated problems or delays in meeting target dates in the approved HIT technology PAPD/IAPD and approved changes to it; a report of all project deliverables completed in the past year and degree of completion for unfinished products; a project activity schedule for the remainder of the project; a project expenditure status which consists of a detailed accounting of all expenditures for project development over the past year and an explanation of the differences between projected expenses in the approved HIT PAPD/IAPD and actual expenditures for the past year; and a report of any approved or anticipated changes to the allocation basis in the advance planning document's approved cost methodology.
Josh Hardy is currently employed with Navigant Consultants. He was a former employee of DHH since 2010.Between 2012 until September 2013, Mr. Hardy was the Health Informatics Director for the Louisiana Office of Behavioral Health. From September 2013 until February 2015, Mr. Hardy worked as the Section Chief over the Medicaid Quality Management Statistics and Reporting Section. This Section was responsible for the development, implementation, and monitoring of the Medicaid Quality Strategy and for the development and dissemination of research and reporting on operations and quality outcomes for the entire Medicaid Program, including, fee-for-service and Medicaid Management Care Programs. While employed in his position, Mr. Hardy submitted the Implementation Advanced Planning Document for Federal fiscal year 2011 to 2012 and, under his supervision, another employee submitted the Implementation Advanced Planning Document for Federal fiscal year 2014 and 2015.
Mr. Hardy will not be the project manager coordinating the services being provided by Navigant to Quality Forum, but he may be called on to provide historical insight.
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La. R.S. 42:1121A(1) provides no former agency head or elected official shall, for a period of two years following the termination of his public service as the head of such agency or as an elected public official serving in such agency, assist another person, for compensation, in a transaction, or in an appearance in connection with a transaction, involving that former agency or render any service on a contractual basis to or for such agency.
La. R.S. 42:1121B provides no former public employee shall, for a period of two years following the termination of his public employment, assist another person, for compensation, in a transaction, or in an appearance in connection with a transaction in which such former public employee participated at any time during his public employment and involving the governmental entity by which he was formerly employed, or for a period of two years following the termination of his public employment, render, any service which such former public employee had rendered to the agency during the term of his public employment on a contractual basis, regardless of the parties to the contract, to, for, or on behalf of the agency with which he was formerly employed.
La. R.S. 42:1121C provides that no legal entity in which a former public servant is an officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee shall, for a period of two years following the termination of his public service, assist another person, for compensation, in a transaction, or in an appearance in connection with a transaction in which such public servant at any time participated during his public service and involving the agency by which he was formerly employed or in which he formerly held office.
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Adopt proposed advisory opinion.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
Tracy Barker |
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