HIE Update from Jay Ludlum, Assistant Secretary for Medicaid

The General Assembly has been working on legislation that would allow for extensions and exemptions for certain providers from connecting to the State’s Health Information Exchange (HIE).

House Bill 70 has passed the House, was amended in the Senate and sent back to the House for concurrence. We believe the House will take action on the bill within the first two weeks of June.

Current law requires that certain providers are connected to the NC HIE or have received an extension based upon provisions in legislation by June 1, 2019. Though the bill will not become law by June 1, we believe that it would be inappropriate for DHHS to act upon the current provisions while changes are being considered by the General Assembly.

Once the bill becomes law, DHHS will inform providers of the new requirements and the process DHHS intends to use to implement the law.

DHHS values the providers who serve North Carolina citizens through our Medicaid and Health Choice, Mental Health, IDD and Substance Use, and public health programs and want to support providers in their effort to connect to the HIE. We look forward to working with you in the coming months as we implement the requirements of the law.