U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America
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U.S. Department of Health & Human Services |
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Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America |
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| December 15, 1999 | Contact: | HHS Press Office (202) 690-6343 |
HHS monitoring will be based at an HHS Coordination Center in the Department's Humphrey Building in Washington, D.C. HHS staff will also be reporting to the Coordinating Center from all 12 HHS operating divisions in Washington, Baltimore, Atlanta, Albuquerque, Bethesda and Rockville, Md. The HHS Coordination Center will pass on key information to the government's central Information Coordination Center (ICC), where a national assessment of the "Y2K" roll-over will be made. More than 3,000 HHS employees are expected to take part in monitoring health and human services areas during the Dec. 31-Jan. 3 weekend. Monitoring will begin Dec. 31, but many program functions won't be measurable until after the work week begins on Jan. 3.
In addition to monitoring its own computer systems, the Department will also work with its business partners to monitor programs that are funded by HHS but administered with others. This includes state and local governments, tribal organizations, financial institutions, insurers and other contractors. With a budget of $400 billion, HHS supports some 300 separate programs of widely different sizes, about three-quarters of which are administered by state and local governments and others. Ten HHS programs have been designated in particular as "high impact" programs for the Y2K roll-over.
HHS will also work with private and public health care providers, including a number of hospitals, to report to the ICC on the functioning of the nation's health care sector. With input from its partners, HHS will determine whether there are any problems with pharmaceutical availability, medical devices and supplies, health information systems, or the public health system.
HHS Infrastructure: The Department will make an assessment of its own 1,174 computer systems, including its 284 data systems designated as "mission critical." These include systems ranging from those that operate major programs to those needed to operate personnel and other internal activities.
Nation's Health Care Sector: HHS will gather information from a number of public and private sector sources to help determine whether the nation's health care sector is experiencing any Y2K problems. Sources of the reports will include hospitals in the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs as well as a number of private sector hospitals, pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors, and state health agencies. Later reports will also come from health insurance payers. Reports on private sector emergency medical systems will be collected by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
HHS Services:HHS will make an immediate assessment of programs where it provides services directly, especially 24-hour medical services, including the 36 hospitals operated by the Indian Health Service, as well as the National Institutes of Health's Clinical Center. Services provided by other HHS-supported programs will be monitored when the work week begins and centers open, including services provided by Community and Migrant Health Centers and HHS-supported social programs like Head Start.
Data Exchange:HHS' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will make an assessment of its data exchange systems with state health departments, used in tracking disease outbreaks. Other data exchange with business partners will be tested as available during the weekend and into the work week.
Funds Transfer:Systems used to transfer funds for HHS-supported activities will be assessed over a period of weeks. The Health Care Financing Administration, which will pay more than $236 billion in Medicare benefits during FY 2000, will monitor billing by health care providers and payments by Medicare's 60 contractors. Other programs involving major funding transfers to states and local government include Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and children's programs.
Enrollment:Several HHS operating divisions, especially HCFA and the Administration for Children and Families, will monitor programs during January to assure that individuals qualified for particular programs are being properly enrolled.
Early reports are expected from the Indian Health Service; from participating private hospitals; and from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, operated for HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration by the United Network for Organ Sharing, Richmond, Va.
In addition, monitoring of any problem reports for pharmaceuticals and medical devices will take place throughout the weekend, using the same 24-hour emergency operations structure that is maintained year-round by the Food and Drug Administration.
Reporting on HHS' internal systems and infrastucture will also be completed during the weekend.
However, most reports on HHS-supported programs will not be available until the work week begins, or until later in the month. About three-quarters of HHS' 300 programs are operated by state and local governments and others. The primary Y2K monitoring questions will deal with assuring proper transfer of funds, and enrollment and record-keeping functions.
Program:
Medicare
Description: Medicare is the nation's largest health insurance program, providing health care coverage to almost 40 million older and disabled Americans. With a budget of $241 billion, Medicare processes almost a billion individual claims each year. Medicare claims are processed and paid by private contractors, and most claims processing is carried out electronically. Medicare worked rigorously with the contractors throughout 1999 to ensure that their systems would be prepared for Y2K. Medicare also provided outreach and assistance to individual providers, encouraging them to prepare their billing and records systems so that their claims will be Y2K compliant. In addition, Medicare worked with managed care entities, in which more than 6 million of Medicare's beneficiaries have chosen to enroll. All Medicare systems have been tested and certified Y2K-ready. If any computer problems are found by HCFA or contractors, they might temporarily payments, but would not affect patient care.
Information to be reported: The Health Care Financing Administration, which administers Medicare, will immediately assess its own 86 mission critical systems to be sure there are no Y2K problems. Medicare contractors' systems will also be assessed, and data links between systems will be tested. As the work week begins, HCFA will monitor claims processing by the contractors, as well as enrollment processes. This review will continue through the month, and HCFA will also monitor claims submission by providers to assess any problems with non-compliant billing.
How information will be gathered: HCFA will operate from its headquarters in Baltimore, and will also have staff stationed at each of the Medicare contractors' offices nationwide. Staff will also report from HCFA's 10 regional offices. Some 375 managed care organizations will also report to HCFA.
When information will be reported: Initial reports on HCFA internal systems and contractors' systems will be received during the New Years weekend. Assessment of claims processing will begin Jan. 3. Assessment of provider claims submission will continue throughout January.
Program:
Medicaid
Description: Medicaid is a joint federal-state program providing health insurance coverage to more than 34 million low-income Americans, including 18 million children. Medicaid is also the nation's largest payer for nursing home services. The federal government provides about 57 percent ($115 billion) of all Medicaid funds, but each state administers its own Medicaid program and provides the balance of the funding. Throughout 1999, the Health Care Financing Administration has provided assistance to states to prepare Medicaid programs for Y2K. As of December, no states were found to be at high risk for Y2K-related problems in their Medicaid systems. As with Medicare, if any Medicaid computer system problems developed, they might affect funds transfers, but would not affect patient care.
Information to be reported: HCFA will assess data links with state Medicaid programs. Claims processing and payments by each state program will be monitored, as well as enrollment of individuals qualified for Medicaid.
How information will be gathered: HCFA will work directly with state Medicaid programs. When information will be reported: Initial systems checks will occur during the New Years weekend, and further monitoring of claims payment and enrollment will begin with the work week.
Program:
Disease Monitoring
Description: Two HHS agencies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, participate in a network of state and local health departments which report on disease outbreaks, including food-borne disease. CDC operates the Public Health Laboratory Information System, which links public health laboratories in 53 states and territories. In addition, the national PulseNet system, linking CDC and FDA with states and the USDA laboratories, enables rapid DNA-based analysis of food borne illness. These disease monitoring capabilities make it possible to identify and take steps to contain infectious diseases throughout the United States and internationally. The disease monitoring systems have been end-to-end tested and certified Y2K-ready. (Emergency reports of infectious disease, however, do not depend exclusively on computer systems.)
Information to be reported: The computer-based data systems, as well as diagnostic laboratory equipment, will be assessed.
How information will be gathered: CDC will receive reports from state health agencies on the soundness of their disease monitoring systems and the functioning of data interchange systems. When information will be reported: Disease monitoring data systems will be assessed beginning during the first week of the New Year.
Program:
Indian Health Service
Description: HHS' Indian Health Service provides health care services to nearly 1.5 million American Indians and Alaska Natives. IHS facilities include 36 hospitals and 60 health centers, as well as additional urban Indian health centers, health stations and school-based health centers. There are about 90,000 admissions and 7 million outpatient visits each year at IHS facilities. IHS systems have been tested and verified Y2K-ready.
Information to be reported: Assessment will be made of the functioning of IHS health care facilities, any problems with medical devices and supplies, and record-keeping systems.
How information will be gathered: IHS will make a direct assessment of its facilities and conduct assessment of tribal and urban Indian health program information.
When information will be reported: Critical care facilities will be assessed immediately in the early hours of New Years day. Other facilities will be assessed throughout the weekend and into the work week.
Program:
Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network
Description: The matching and allocation system for the nation's solid organ transplantation network is operated under contract to HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) of Richmond, Va. Operating around-the-clock, the network connects 272 transplant center hospitals nationwide. The system has been thoroughly tested and certified Y2K-ready. Altogether, some 21,000 organ transplants are performed each year. The organ transplant data system enables physicians to rapidly match available organs with medically suitable patients.
Information to be reported: The operational status of the organ matching and allocation system network will be reported along with any Y2K related problems.
How information will be gathered: UNOS will contact HRSA's Y2K center to report if the system is operating properly.
When information will be reported: The OPTN system is expected to be tested beginning in the early morning hours, New Years day.
Program:
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Description: The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program replaces the former Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) programs. The block grant covers benefits (as of June 1999, there are 6.9 million recipients), administrative expenses, and services. States, territories, and tribes determine eligibility and benefit levels and services provided to needy families. In TANF, states and territories operate programs, and tribes have the option to run their own programs. States, territories, and tribes each receive a block grant allocation with a requirement on states to maintain a historical level of state spending known as maintenance of effort. The total federal block grant is $16.8 billion each year until fiscal year 2002.
Information to be reported: ACF will monitor the status of state TANF programs.
How information will be gathered: Information will be reported by the states, which administer the programs.
When information will be reported: Any initial weekend reports by states will be made to the ICC from central state Y2K reporting offices. More complete reports will be available after programs open the week of Jan. 3.
Program:
Child Care
Description: The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) provided $3.2 billion to states in 1999. Tribes received approximately $61 million for FY 1999. This program, authorized by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, PL 104-193, assists low-income families, families receiving temporary public assistance, and those transitioning from public assistance in obtaining child care so they can work or attend training/education. In 1998, the block grant enabled states to provide child care assistance to 1.5 million children and their families.
Information to be reported: ACF will monitor the status of state child care programs.
How information will be gathered: Information will be reported by the states, which administer the programs.
When information will be reported: Any initial weekend reports by states will be made to the ICC from central state Y2K reporting offices. More complete reports will be available after programs open the week of Jan. 3.
Program:
Child Welfare
Description: For those children who cannot remain safely in their homes, foster care provides a stable environment that assures a child's safety and well-being while their parents attempt to resolve the problems that led to the out of home placement, or when the family cannot be reunified, until the child can be placed permanently with an adoptive family. Foster Care and Adoption Assistance programs provide federal matching funds to states which directly administer the programs. Other child welfare services help state public welfare agencies keep families together. They are available to children and their families without regard to income. State services include: preventive intervention aimed at keeping children within the home; services to develop alternative placements, such as foster care or adoption, if children cannot remain at home; and reunification services so children can return home if possible.
Information to be reported: ACF will monitor the status of state child welfare programs. How information will be gathered: Information will be reported by the states, which administer the programs.
When information will be reported: Any initial weekend reports by states will be made to the ICC from central state Y2K reporting offices. More complete reports will be available after programs open the week of Jan. 3.
Program:
Child Support Enforcement
Description: The Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program is a federal/state partnership which promotes family self-sufficiency by securing regular and timely child support payments. State CSE programs locate parents, establish paternity, establish and enforce support orders, and collect payments. Welfare reform legislation that President Clinton signed in 1996 provides strong measures for ensuring that children receive the support due them; tough new penalties, such as license revocation and seizure of assets, will be available when child support obligations are not met. The 1996 legislation also recognizes the importance to children of access to their noncustodial parent. In 1998, the program collected $14.3 billion for over 4.5 million families.
Information to be reported: Information will be reported by the states, which administer the programs. How information will be gathered: Information will be reported by the states, which administer the programs.
When information will be reported: Any initial weekend reports by states will be made to the ICC from central state Y2K reporting offices. More complete reports will be available after programs open the week of Jan. 3.
Program:
Low Income Home Energy Assistance
Description: With LIHEAP funds, the federal government provides grants to states, territories, Native American tribes, and tribal organizations that wish to assist low-income households in meeting the costs of home heating and cooling needs. States can make payments directly to eligible households or to home energy suppliers who comply with legislative provisions. LIHEAP funds can also be used by grantees to help low-income households deal with energy-related crises or pay for repairs to make their homes more energy efficient. LIHEAP benefits help over 4.5 million households annually.
Information to be reported: ACF will monitor the status of state LIHEAP programs. How information will be gathered: Information will be reported by the states, which administer the programs.
When information will be reported: Any initial weekend reports by states will be made to the ICC from central state Y2K reporting offices. More complete reports will be available after programs open the week of Jan. 3.
How information will be gathered: Reports will be made to HHS by a number of private hospital chains, working through the American Hospital Association. Reports will also be made by hospitals operated by the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Indian Health Service.
When information will be reported: Information on critical care facilities will begin to be reported in the early morning hours on New Years day.
How information will be gathered: Reports will be made to HHS as part of the Health Care Financing Administration's overview of the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
When information will be reported: Substantial information on payers will be reported as the work week begins Jan. 3
How information will be gathered: FDA will work with the Pharmaceutical Alliance, a coalition of associations representing a significant portion of the healthcare industry, including drug manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and retail and hospital pharmacists.
When information will be reported: Information on drug supplies will be monitored continually from December through the beginning of the New Year.
How information will be gathered: CDC will work with public health agencies in all states and territories.
When information will be reported: Monitoring will begin during the New Years weekend and continue through the Jan. 3 work week.
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