Health Care Payments Data Program – Data Release Committee Conflict of Interest Acknowledgment
Conflict of Interest
An HPD Data Release Committee (DRC) member will be a public official who will be involved in approving or denying HPD data requests. California law prohibits members from making or participating in decisions in which members have a conflict of interest.
If a member with a conflict of interest participates in a decision, the decision may be overturned and the member could face administrative penalties, and even criminal prosecution for willful violations.
Financial Conflict of Interest and Annual Disclosures
California law prohibits members from making or participating in decisions in which a member, their family members, or their sources of income have a financial interest. This includes financial interests of the member’s employer, or businesses the member owns or are invested in.
Based on the above, HCAI is required to have members annually disclose their financial interests which are relevant to the Data Release Committee. These disclosures, called “Statements of Economic Interests” or “Form 700s,” are public records and will be available for anyone to obtain. For general information on the Form 700, go to https://www.fppc.ca.gov/Form700.html.
For the DRC, HCAI anticipates that members will have to disclose investments, business positions and income from entities which are likely to request protected HPD data or contractors that provide services related to HPD data (such as consulting, analytical, or research services). These entities may include research institutions, self-insured employers, hospitals, health insurance companies, health plans, and consulting firms.
Non-Financial Interests
A public official may also have non-financial conflicts of interest. Legally, public officials are to exercise their authority “with disinterested skill, zeal, and diligence and primarily for the benefit of the public.” Based on this, public officials cannot place themselves in a position in which they may be tempted by their own private interests to disregard the interests of the public. A simple example is if a member’s family member or friend applies for protected HPD data that the DRC must decide on.