Blue Shield of California initially sought a “comprehensive” amount of medical data from the University of California’s health system in exchange for doses of vaccines under the state’s revamped allocation plan, a move that obstructs UC and alarm of advocates for privacy of patients.
Heather Harper, a spokeswoman for UC Health, said representatives of the UC system had contacted Blue Shield and the contract had been revised to “restrict access to vaccination records only and only by federal and state agencies and their contractors.” The university health system did not want to elaborate on what kind of patient data Blue Shield requested.
“We have brought the Third-Party Administrator’s attention to a seemingly extensive scope of access to patient data,” Harper said in talks with Blue Shield over the original contract. “… We were able to solve the problem.”
UC finally signed the contract Thursday.
Concerned about patients’ privacy offers a look at questions raised by health care and local government officials about the extent of Blue Shield’s role as an independent supervisor of California’s network of COVID-19 vaccine providers, which implements the program which delays government Gavin Newsom. unveiled several weeks ago. Provinces contacted by The Times said they were still reviewing the contract and declined to comment. Other vaccine providers have raised issues with the original contract, but declined to speak publicly, saying it could affect future vaccines.
A template for the revised contract was released Friday by the California Department of Public Health. A Blue Shield spokesman denied that the company had requested access to patient data, saying the contract clause is the standard language for record keeping to ensure there is proper access to records in the event of an audit.
Blue Shield President Paul Markovich said the insurance provider uses the data obtained from the administration of the vaccine program for its own business purposes.
“This is simply not going to happen and is contractually prohibited,” Markovich said Friday.
The Times received a copy of a previous contract sent to some vaccine providers, but it is unclear whether the terms are the same as in the initial contract sent to the UC health system. The contract reviewed by The Times states that a vaccine provider must provide access to ‘accurate medical, vaccination, financial and other reports and reports’ at least three years after the termination of the contract. The revised contract released by the state on Friday stated that the information that Blue Shield would have access to for three years was “records and reports related to vaccine, financial and other.”
The state approved the final contract drawn up by Blue Shield under California’s agreement with the insurance company. Markovich said more than 30 vaccine suppliers have signed contracts so far.
“This language is not and has never been a request for data for three years,” said Don Campbell, vice president of corporate communications at Blue Shield. “It is a request not to destroy records for three years on the performance of its contract against vaccine networks.”
Health privacy advocates say there is reason for a larger investigation into how much data is shared with Blue Shield by the state’s new vaccine network.
“The state must intervene and not perpetuate the exploitation of Californians seeking information, services and vaccines during a global pandemic,” said Samantha Corbin, a lawyer for privacy and technology.
Data plays a critical role in the healthcare industry, enabling healthcare plans to identify high consumers, target geographic areas to expand and grow their market, meet regulatory and quality requirements, and adapt marketing to specific demographics.
“Data is the foundation of healthcare and it not only supports patient care, but it also supports the work of providing care,” Jennifer Kent said. She was appointed director of the state Department of Health Services during the administration of former government Jerry Brown in 2015 before resigning in 2019. “Whoever controls the data controls everything.”
Blue Shield began taking over the administration of the state’s vaccine program on February 15 and has the task of deciding who should administer doses in California and how many vaccines each provider should receive from the limited amount available.
But some local government officials have complained that the distribution of vaccines has only become more complicated.
Blue Shield would begin work on Monday in ten counties, mainly in or near the Central Valley, along with Riverside. Government officials say the changes have been delayed by a week and will begin next Monday.
“Nothing has changed yet,” Fresno County Superintendent Ernest “Buddy” Mendes said.
Newsom said Friday that the state’s contract with Blue Shield will enable all 58 counties in California to work on a single platform that will provide “transparency, more accountability.” Blue Shield will rely on analytics to determine where doses are most needed, while monitoring and encouraging providers who administer the vaccine effectively, he said.
“Next week, the process begins on a whole new scale,” Newsom said Friday.
In its contract with the state, Blue Shield set a goal to deliver 3 million shots per week by March 1st. Secretary of the Government Industry Agency, Yolanda Richardson, said California is on track to achieve the goal in anticipation that the stock coming into the state will increase. .
“By April, we expect the network to grow even more with the ability to deliver 4 million doses per week,” Richardson said Friday.
In January, Newsom was under great pressure to improve the deployment of the state vaccine, which was hampered by less-than-expected doses, complicated rules that determine who qualifies for appointments and data errors. The state was initially considered among the worst in the country with the administration of vaccine doses it received, but has improved its ranking over the past few weeks.
Provincial health officials said improvement was largely due to the correction of data issues in the state, prompting some to question the demand for a new system under Blue Shield.
Dr. Maggie Park, public health officer in San Joaquin County, said Tuesday during a board of supervisors that timelines and information are still changing under the Blue Shield contract, making it difficult to plan. Park said health officials across the country were frustrated with the timing of the changes in the state’s vaccine distribution, which she said came as though officials “feel we are really increasing our capacity.”
Tom Patti, chairman of the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors, on Tuesday requested that the province’s advice examine options to exclude the “tremendous bureaucratic system” under Blue Shield and to see if other provinces would join the effort.
Before the state concluded the agreement with Blue Shield, Ventura County officials asked the state to exclude the option from the agreement, arguing that insufficient supply, not poor oversight, was detrimental to distribution.
A separate vaccine contract with Kaiser Permanente, which Newsom announced at the same time as its agreement with Blue Shield, was signed on Tuesday. Kaiser Permanente, which provides services to more than 9 million Californians, will, according to the contract, run a separate vaccination program for its members, operate two massive vaccination sites and set up clinics in vulnerable and out-of-community communities.
The state’s decision to contract with Blue Shield has raised questions about how the Oakland company, which is a Newsom donor and has a significant political position in state politics, ended up with the contract and what it is going to achieve. Blue Shield has undertaken to manage the distribution programs at or near cost and is not likely to make a profit, and the contract with the state stipulates that the company will not be able to pay more than $ 15 million during the contract period. -vakkoste.
Blue Shield is expected to take full responsibility for administering vaccines in the state by March 31st. The terms of the contract last until 31 December.
“What I said to provinces for the first time and what I say to you all gives us a chance to make it work,” Markovich said. “I think there’s a lot of speculation about all the things that could possibly go wrong, and it’s our job to make it work and work for everyone.”
Times Myry author John Myers contributed to this report.