Group: Social Services - Department of Health

Agency: Health

Line Item: Executive Director's Operations

Function

The Executive Director's Operations include those functions of the Department of Health that provide overall direction of policy, management, and administrative support to the divisions, offices, and programs of the Department. This organizational line item also includes the Center for Health Data and Internal Audit and Program Integrity.

Statutory Authority

The Executive Director's Operations are governed by the Utah Health Code in Title 26 of the Utah Code.

• UCA 26-1-8 through 26-1-17 details the qualifications and powers of the executive director of the Department.
• UCA 26-2 creates the Vital Statistics Act which is the State's repository of birth and death certificates.
• UCA 26-3 empowers the Department to collect and maintain health data and utilize that data for analytical purposes.
• UCA 26-33a is the Utah Health Data Authority Act and also creates the Health Data Committee which uses the data collected through UCA 26-3.
• UCA 26-18a creates the Kurt Oscarson Children's Organ Transplant Coordinating Committee with the purpose of providing interest-free loans or grants for children facing organ transplants.
• UCA 26-18b creates the Organ Donation Contribution Fund which promotes and supports organ donations through a statewide registry and donor awareness education.
• UCA 26-28 establishes criteria for organ donations and how those affect the Medical Examiner.
• UCA 26-48 creates the Cat and Dog Community Spay and Neuter Program Restricted Account to spay and neuter dogs and cats owned by people with low incomes (defined in rule as incomes below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level).

Intent Language

All General Funds appropriated to the Department of Health - Executive Director's Operations line item are contingent upon expenditures from Federal Funds - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 1, 111th United States Congress) not exceeding amounts appropriated from Federal Funds - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in all appropriation bills passed for FY 2011. If expenditures in the Executive Director's Operations line item from Federal Funds - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act exceed amounts appropriated to the Executive Director's Operations line item from Federal Funds - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in FY 2011, the Division of Finance shall reduce the General Fund allocations to the Executive Director's Operations line item by one dollar for every one dollar in Federal Funds - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act expenditures that exceed Federal Funds - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act appropriations.

Funding Detail

For analysis of current budget requests and discussion of issues related to this budget click here.

Program: Executive Director

Function

The Office of the Executive Director is responsible for the overall direction of policy and management of the Utah Department of Health. The following administrative support functions also report to this office:

• Legal Counsel - Provides legal counsel and support, drafts administrative rules, conducts administrative hearings, and coordinates the Department's legislative affairs.
• Employee Development - Provides personnel support services throughout the Department.
• Policy Support - Facilitates public health strategic and operational planning as well as coordinates issues and programs of local health departments with the Department of Health.
• Public Information - Releases public health information to the media.

Kurt Oscarson Children's Organ Transplant Trust Account

The Kurt Oscarson Children's Organ Transplant Trust Account was established in 1992 to assist families with some of the ancillary expenses involved with an organ transplant. The account does not pay for transplants. The account is funded through a check off on the Utah State Income Tax Form.

The five-member coordinating committee, established in UCA 26-18a, may award financial assistance to eligible families. The committee establishes terms of repayment, which may include a waiver of repayment. In addition to the financial assistance, the committee has approved expenditures for marketing and public awareness campaigns, and for membership dues to Intermountain Organ Recovery. The code requires the committee to make an annual report to the Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee.

Cat and Dog Community Spay and Neuter Program Restricted Account

The 2006 Legislature established the Cat and Dog Community Spay and Neuter Program Restricted Account. The purpose of the fund is to assist a low-income person (defined in rule as an income below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level) to have their cats and/or dogs spayed or neutered. Pet population control measures are taken to reduce the number of cats and dogs taken in by shelters and reduce the threat of diseases borne by these stray animals. Funding is offered to qualified organizations in the form of a grant to distribute through a voucher system. Revenue is generated by a voluntary donation on the Utah State Income Tax Form.

Organ Donation Contribution Fund

The 2002 Legislature approved the Organ Donation Contribution Fund in an effort to promote and support organ donation, assist in maintaining an organ donation registry, and provide donor awareness education. The fund receives revenue from voluntary donations collected with motor vehicle registrations and driver licenses.

Funding Detail

Program: Center for Health Data

Function

The Center for Health Data manages, analyzes, and provides appropriate access to strategic information resources that support Utah's public health. The operating units of the Center are the Offices of Health Care Statistics, Public Health Assessment, Vital Records and Statistics, and Public Health Informatics. The mission of the Center is to:

1. Provide accurate, timely health information to monitor health status
2. Assess the performance of the health care system
3. Identify health threats
4. Document health events
5. Guide health decisions

The program implements this mission through the following functions:

• Registration, preservation, and certification of the State's vital records
• Collection, tabulation, analysis, and publication of vital statistics and other health status and health system statistical reports
• Providing health indicators to businesses and the public over the internet as an e-government service
• Coordinating e-health or informatics innovations among public health programs and between the public and private sector
• Providing training and consultation on the intelligent use of data for planning and carrying out public health measures
• Providing health system transparency through analysis of data from the All Payer Claims Database
• Collecting and reporting of statewide hospitalization, surgery, and emergency department encounter data
• Collecting and reporting of managed care organizations' performance measures and health maintenance organization enrollee satisfaction

Records of vital events preserved in the Office of Vital Records and Statistics are used for legal purposes, such as documentation of citizenship, age, and family relationships. The data derived from health records are for monitoring the health of the Utah population. The Department of Health routinely calculates and web-publishes health indicators through the Indicator Based Information System for Public Health (IBIS-PH). Key health indicators are leading causes of death, prevalence of chronic diseases (such as diabetes, cancer, asthma, and arthritis), and the incidence of serious injuries like poisonings and motor vehicle crash injuries.

Health system data collected under the Health Data Authority Act in UCA 26-33a permit similar monitoring of the functioning of the health care delivery system. Key indicators in this area include costs for hospitalization and medical care, access to and utilization of various health services, and comparative measures of the quality of health services provided throughout Utah. Results of assessments of the health system in Utah are disseminated to the public through MyHealthCare website.

Center for Health Data surveys result in a number of reports, among them: Health Insurance Coverage, Injuries in Utah, Health Status in Utah, Chronic Conditions in Utah, Socioeconomic Status and Health, Limitations of Activities, Interpersonal Violence, Health Care Access and Utilization, Lifestyle Factors, and the Medical Outcomes Study.

Performance

Funding Detail

Program: Program Operations

Function

The following administrative support functions make up Program Operations and report to the Executive Director:

• Office of Fiscal Operations - Directs the following functions:
  1. Budget - manages the preparation of the Health Department's annual appropriations request and monitors expenditures within the appropriated budget.
  2. Finance - Provides purchasing, accounting, payroll, and financial information services.
• Department of Technology Services - Provides computer and communication technology support.
• Employee Support Services - Provides administrative support for office function, building, equipment, and grounds.

Funding Detail

Program: Internal Audit and Program Integrity

Function

The Office of Internal Audit and Program Integrity performs the following functions:

• Financial audits of contracts with outside agencies as well as internal audit activities.
• Compliance, performance, cost settlement, and special request audits.
• Statistical sampling of Medicaid services for medical necessity and appropriate billing.
• Payment error rate measurement - calculates eligibility and claim error rates.
• Post and pre-payment review of medical claims.
• Field audits of Medicaid providers.
• Maintaining and updating provider database for enrollment status and sanctions.

Performance

Funding Detail

Prior to FY 2011, the funding for this program was part of the Health Care Financing line item.