LA County Board

46. Approval to Delegate Authority to Enter Into Agreements for Provision of Certain Services to County Patients Recommendation: Authorize the Director of Health Services, to negotiate and execute agreements with qualified outside health care providers including, but not limited to, clinics, physicians or physician practice groups, pharmacies, or other licensed health care facilities. Under such agreements, the County will pay for care not offered by the Department of Health Services (DHS), and related services to ensure continuity of care, which will be provided to County referred patients, with modifications to, or waivers of, County's contracting requirements for insurance, standard indemnification and other standard County contract terms not mandated by County ordinance, on a case-by-case basis, and effective upon execution following the Board's adoption of this letter, for a term of up to one year, with two one-year extension options, at the discretion of the Director, subject to the following conditions: payments are only made for patients who have previously been treated at a DHS facility and are, at the time of referral, under the care of a DHS physician; the patient is seeking services which DHS does not offer, and other related services to ensure continuity of care; DHS shall not influence treatment decisions of the outside health care provider; and the total annual payment across all such agreements shall not exceed $1,000,000 in aggregate for each fiscal year. Authorize the Director to take the following actions: (Department of Health Services) APPROVE Negotiate and execute amendments to such agreements to extend the term for up to two additional one-year periods; add, delete, and/or change non-substantive terms and conditions in the agreements; add or delete facilities and approve necessary changes to scope of services, and; delegate certain administrative responsibilities to other County Departments upon the Departments' mutual agreement as determined to be in the best interest of the County. Make a finding pursuant to County Code Section 2.121.420 that contracting for physician services, as described herein, can be performed more feasibly by an independent contractor. (26-1476)