With the Thanksgiving holiday just hours away, I know most of you are surely in the midst of preparing for tomorrow’s feeding frenzy.  But, when its time to give yourself a break from your organic, free-range, locavore turkey, be sure to check out what the Governor’s Health Care Reform Advisory Committee has been up to! 

The committee met in Albany  for the third time last Monday (11/22).   Troy Oechsner of the State Department of Insurance, Greg Allen of the State Department of Health, and  Lou Felice  of the Department of Insurance –  who is also serving as the Chair of the Health Care Reform Solvency Impact Subgroup for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) – filled the group in on:

• How New York law is conforming to the 6-month changes in the federal health reform law and the NAIC’s development of standard definitions and explanations of coverage to be used by health insurers, and
• The NAIC’s role in medical-loss ratio (MLR) reporting. 

Donna Frescatore  of the Department of Health also shared information from the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) regarding health homes for patients with with chronic conditions, including a letter from CMS to state Medicaid directors.

Check out HCFANY’s page on the Governor’s Health Care Reform Advisory Committee for these and other documents from previous committee meetings.