Page 354

House Bill No. 5506

Public Act No. 22-118 354 of 739

informational public hearing concerning such modified benchmarks. Until the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to insurance approves annual health care cost growth benchmarks for the succeeding five-year period, such benchmarks shall be deemed to be equal to the average annual health care cost growth benchmark for the preceding five-year period. (2) (A) Not later than July 1, 2025, and every five years thereafter, the executive director shall develop and adopt annual health care quality benchmarks for the succeeding five calendar years for provider entities and payers. (B) In developing annual health care quality benchmarks pursuant to this subdivision, the executive director shall consider (i) quality measures endorsed by nationally recognized organizations, including, but not limited to, the National Quality Forum, the National Committee for Quality Assurance, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Centers for Disease Control, the Joint Commission and expert organizations that develop health equity measures, and (ii) measures that: (I) Concern health outcomes, overutilization, underutilization and patient safety, (II) meet standards of patient-centeredness and ensure consideration of differences in preferences and clinical characteristics within patient subpopulations, and (III) concern community health or population health. (C) (i) The executive director shall hold at least one informational public hearing prior to adopting the health care quality benchmarks for each succeeding five-year period described in this subdivision. The executive director may hold informational public hearings concerning the quality measures the executive director proposes to adopt as health care quality benchmarks. Such informational public hearings shall be held at a time and place designated by the executive director in a notice prominently posted by the executive director on the office's Internet web site and in a form and manner prescribed by the executive director.