Assembly Holds Other Hearings on Health Information Exchange, COVID-19 Impacts

The Assembly Health Committee convened this week to explore California’s Health Information Exchange (HIE) landscape. Members of the Committee heard from several experts who discussed how HIE works currently in California, federal and state policy that has shaped HIE systems, what other states have done to build HIE capacity, and options for California to consider as it expands HIE capability. Links for hearing materials can be found here: agenda and background paper.

Two other Assembly hearings this week focused on COVID-19 and impacts to California’s state correctional system and higher education systems. First up, the Assembly Budget Subcommittee #6 on Budget Process, Oversight, and Program Evaluation heard from state corrections officials including Kathleen Allison, Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Clark Kelso, the court appointed federal receiver charged with overseeing California’s correctional healthcare system about their efforts to prevent and contain COVID-19 within their facilities. Materials for this hearing can be found here: hearing agenda and hearing materials.  

The Assembly Higher Education Committee and the Assembly Budget Subcommittee #2 on Education Finance convened a joint informational hearing to discuss the impacts of the pandemic both on higher education budgets and enrollment with testimony provided by officials from the UC System, the CSU system, the community college system, and California’s private colleges and universities. A second panel covered what life has been like on campus for both university/college officials and students. Materials for this hearing can be found here: agenda and materials.