During the 80th Regular Session, HB 1066, established the Texas Health Services Authority (THSA), a public-private partnership, legally structured as a nonprofit corporation, to promote and coordinate the development of electronic health information exchange in Texas.
Stephen Palmer began the board meeting by briefing the board on the Texas Application for the State Health Information Exchange (HIE) Cooperative Agreement Program. Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) submitted the application in mid-October but they were asked for more detail in December. As a result, the application was resubmitted with further detail and an answer is expected by the middle of February. HHSC will serve as the fiscal agency while THSA will be in charge of operational procedures and coordinating at a state level. The planning process should be complete by late summer. After approval of application, it will take 1-2 weeks to transfer funds from HHSC to THSA making the earliest start-up date sometime in late February.
The new CEO was announced at the end of the meeting; Tony Gilman was selected as the CEO of the THSA. He previously served as the Executive Officer of Texas Health Care Policy Council and as the governor’s liaison to the state health profession licensure boards. He is also the past Austin director of the Texas Office of State-Federal Relations and formerly served as a policy advisor to then Gov. George W. Bush. Gilman received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas.
