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Committee advances bill to require annual agency performance plans for health programs
Summary
Committee approved a committee substitute requiring West Virginia health-related agencies to prepare annual, metric-driven performance plans and report to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resource Accountability (LACRA); counsel said the substitute focuses on outcome measures rather than service counts.
The committee agreed to a committee substitute for Senate Bill 210 that would require the Department of Health, Department of Human Services, Department of Health Facilities and the Office of the Inspector General to prepare annual performance plans using quantitative metrics to measure outcomes and to submit reports to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resource Accountability (LACRA).
Counsel said the substitute directs agencies to develop metrics that assess how services improve health outcomes — not merely counts of clients served — and that initial reports will cover preceding fiscal years as specified in the draft. The substitute also requires that strategic plans and reports be completed in-house, with a restriction on using outside contractors for those projects.
Secretary Alex Mayer of the Department of Human Services testified in support of the bill’s intent but cautioned the committee that the in-house-production requirement and any additional metrics could require hiring staff and risk duplicating existing reporting and audits. Senators pressed on whether the work would be new or a repackaging of current reports.
Without amendment, the committee accepted the committee substitute by voice vote and moved to report it to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass.
