Utah Health Data Committee

The Utah Health Data Committee was created by the laws of the State of Utah. Members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate, and represent various perspectives from industry and community – public health, purchasers, providers, payers, and patients. By law, members are required to have to have experience with health data.

The committee is required to meets at least quarterly; its activities and actions are governed by a set of committee adopted bylaws. View detailed information for scheduled Health Data Committee meetings.

Mission Statement (Adopted 1994, Amended 2020):

The mission of the Utah Health Data Committee is to support health improvement initiatives through the collection, analysis, and public release of health care information.

Through public-private collaboration, the Committee actively participates in the planning, development, implementation and maintenance of a statewide health data reporting system, which provides accurate and independently validated information regarding health care in the State of Utah.

The Committee implements policies to transform data into objective baseline, trend, and performance measurement information, which is made available while preserving patient privacy and confidentiality.

Subcommittees of the HDC:

The Utah Health Data Committee convenes a number of subcommittees, to help ensure its mission and value to the State. The name of each subcommittee and its purpose are listed below:

The HDC Executive Committee works to set the agenda and priorities for HDC meetings, addresses any compliance issues, such as responding to requests by data suppliers for extensions and exemptions. Also, this subcommittee provides support to the Department of Health when responding to legislative requests and issues.

The Utah Payers Advisory Subcommittee (UPAS) provides a forum for entities who submit data to the All Payer Claims Database, to share information and ideas on how to make the data submission process easier or more effective. This subcommittee also helps identify opportunities to provide valuable information to payers serving Utahns. This committee was formerly known as the Payer Task Force (PTF).

The Utah Healthcare Facilities Subcommittee (UHFS) provides a forum for entities who submit data to the Healthcare Facilities Database, to share information and ideas on how to make the data submission process easier or more effective, and identifies opportunities to provide valuable information to healthcare facilities across the State of Utah. This committee was formerly known as the Facilities Task Force (FTF).

The Data Use Subcommittee (DUS) helps interpret policies for access and use of HDC data, identifies opportunities to make data usable and actionable, and evaluates specific data use requests for appropriateness.

The Transparency Advisory Group (TAG) works to identify opportunities to make high value information on health care cost and quality available to Utahns - including businesses, consumers, and providers. The TAG also plans outreach and connections with stakeholders across the state. Lastly, the TAG provides expertise, guidance, feedback and input on data publications, to comply with state law (26B-8 Part 5).

Utah Health Data Committee Members

Stephen Foxley

Third Party Payer Representative - Chair
Cambia Health Solutions

Stephen Foxley is the Public Affairs Director for Cambia Health Solutions, where he oversees legislative and regulatory activity for Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah. Prior to joining Cambia, he was an attorney at the government relations law firm of Foxley & Pignanelli. Stephen is on the Boards of the Utah Health Insurance Association and the Utah Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association. He is also very active with the Utah State Bar’s Young Lawyers Division. Stephen graduated in Business Administration from the University of Southern California and received his law degree from the University of Utah.

David Cook

Neutral Entity Representative
Comagine Health, Vice-Chair

Dave Cook is the State Director for Comagine Health (formerly HealthInsight) in Utah. He oversees the Utah Community board, the Utah Partnership for Value, the Utah office team, and most Utah based contracts. He also directs a six-state (UT, NV, NM, OR, WA, ID) team fighting opioid misuse. He presents regularly, and continues quality and health information technology consulting activities. He works closely with the Utah Department of Health. He chairs the Utah Diabetes Coalition. He is experienced in managing complex quality improvement (QI) projects and collaboratives with demonstrated impact since 2005. He has a BS in Chemistry, an MBA (healthcare) and certifications in healthcare quality, health information technology, and laboratory science. He has a clinical background as a clinical toxicologist. He is passionate about quality improvement, and value based medicine. When not working, Dave enjoys spending time with his family and hiking throughout Utah.

 

Charles Hawley

Consumer Advocate Representative
National Association of Health Data Organizations

Charles William Hawley currently serves as the Director of Projects at the National Association of Health Data Organizations (NAHDO). NAHDO is a national non-profit membership and educational organization dedicated to improving the collection and use of healthcare data. NAHDO’s members include state and private health data organizations that maintain statewide health care databases and stakeholders of these databases in the public and private sectors. NAHDO and its members are leaders in hospital discharge data and reporting systems and All-Payer Claims Databases (APCDs). Charles came to NAHDO as a research consultant and healthcare analyst experienced with administrative healthcare data in the public and private sectors. From 2011 to 2018, he served as a Research Consultant III in the Health Care Information and Analysis/Health Care Statistics program (HIA/HCS) (then-named Office of Health Care Statistics) where he contributed to establishing the APCD and modernizing the Healthcare Facility Database. Charles was awarded a Master’s degree in sociology from Kansas State University and an undergraduate degree in history and sociology from Weber State University.

David Crockett

Hospital Representative
Intermountain Healthcare

David Crockett is the Assistant Vice President for Clinical Analytics at Intermountain Healthcare, leading data and analytics efforts in Clinical Programs, Clinical Shared Services, Office of Patient Experience, and the Office of Research. David joined Intermountain in 2016. Prior to that, he led the Research Analytics and Data Science teams at Health Catalyst for three years, and also held a number of research and leadership roles with ARUP Laboratories. David completed undergraduate training in molecular biology from Brigham Young University. His PhD training was focused on computational prediction of gene variants from the Biomedical Informatics department in the University of Utah School of Medicine. With many years of “bench to bedside” experience in clinical diagnostics, data science, and patient care, David has published more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles in areas such as bioinformatics, biomarker discovery, immunology, molecular oncology, and genomics. He is keenly focused on providing real world applications for data driven decision making in healthcare. Dr. Crockett grew up in a small farm town in southern Arizona.  He and his wife have been married for more than 25 years with two boys and a beagle named Harley, and enjoy yard work, home remodeling, jeep wranglers and baseball games.

Jeffrey Eason

Public Health Representative
Utah Department of Health & Human Services

Jeffrey Eason has been a member of the Utah Health Data Committee since 2020 and currently serves as the Director of the Office of Communicable Disease at the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. He possesses a strong background in healthcare and public health data systems, their privacy considerations, and analytic uses. His primary focus is on providing access, transparency, infrastructure, and technical assistance to public health partners and communities, enabling them to effectively engage with and leverage health data. With over 15 years of experience in local and state public health, Mr. Eason is deeply committed to the ethical use and security of health data for the benefit of all.

Dr. Patrice F. Hirning

Physician Representative (UMA)
Intermountain Healthcare

Patrice Hirning, MD completed medical school at the University of Arizona. She did her residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Westside VA. She served as Chief Resident in Internal Medicine at the Westside VA. After completing residency, she was Director of the Admitting Office/Emergency Care Unit at the Salt Lake VA Hospital. She entered private practice in Internal Medicine in Salt Lake City, Utah with 3 other female internists in 1992. She has been employed by the Intermountain Healthcare Medical Group since January 2015 providing outpatient primary care. She has been involved with CME through the Utah Medical Association and is currently the chair of the Accreditation Committee. She is serving her second term on the Committee for Review and Recognition at the ACCME. She had experience doing risk management and risk management education for physicians as Medical Director of the Utah Medical Insurance Association (a physician owned malpractice insurance company) from 2009-2014. Currently, Dr. Hirning serves on the UMA Board of Trustees and is the Utah delegate to the American Medical Association.

Dr. Stephen D. Neeleman

Business Representative
HealthEquity

Dr. Stephen Neeleman is the founder and vice chairman of HealthEquity. Steve founded HealthEquity in 2002, with the vision to repair the fractured relationship between patients and their physicians and to help more people obtain quality health insurance by re-introducing consumerism to health care. Steve is the co-author of The Complete HSA Guidebook—How to Make Health Savings Accounts Work for You.

In addition to his duties as founder and vice chairman of HealthEquity, Steve was also a practicing general and trauma surgeon for Intermountain Healthcare at American Fork Hospital and Utah Valley Regional Medical Center until 2015. As a board-certified physician, Steve brings his passion and firsthand knowledge from the practice of medicine to his leadership role at HealthEquity. Steve was appointed by Utah’s Governor, Gary Herbert, to serve as a board member of HIP Utah, Utah’s high-risk insurance pool. He also serves on the Council for Affordable Health Insurance HSA Working Group, and on America’s Health Insurance Plans’ HSA Leadership Council.

Prior to his medical training, Steve worked as the general airport manager for Morris Air (later acquired by Southwest Airlines), based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Steve helped combine efficiency, technology, and excellent customer service to succeed in a rocky industry. This innovative business model allowed Morris Air to rise above financially struggling competitors. Steve’s goal is to use this model to help save another struggling industry—health care.

Steve completed his undergraduate degree and played football at Utah State University. He attended medical school at the University of Utah and completed his surgical training at the University of Arizona. Steve also served as an assistant professor of surgery at the University of Arizona.

Terri Nehorai

Third Party Payer Representative
Molina Health Plans

Terri Nehorai is the AVP of Health Plan Operations for Molina HealthCare of Utah and Idaho. She earned a BS in Business Management with an emphasis in finance from Brigham Young University (BYU). Terri has over 30 years of healthcare experience, spanning across Molina, Regence BlueCross BlueShield, Humana, HealthHelp (radiology management), United Healthcare, and Columbia HCA St. Mark’s Hospital. She is a member of the Utah All Payer Claims Database (APCD) Task Force Committee Member. Terri’s areas of focus include leadership, operations, business development, risk adjustment, CMS Stars Improvement, Value Based contract development and contracting, alternative payment models, Fee-for-Service contracting, and Provider Services. Terri served as a committee member for the Utah All Payer Claims Database (APCD) Task Force.

Curtis Newman

Large Business Representative
Iron Road Healthcare

Curtis Newman is an experienced professional in health care law, risk management, health plan operations and health care operations. He has gained his experience through employment with several health care organizations, including University of Utah Health, where he worked in various positions for over 25 years. A highlight during his tenure was participating in the changeover from paper medical records to electronic medical records and sitting on several advisory committees whose purpose it was to expand the availability of health information while protecting anonymity.

Currently, Mr. Newman is the Director of Medical and Legal Services for Union Pacific Railroad Employees Health System where he oversees plan benefits and regulatory and legal compliance. Mr. Newman started his career as a pediatric nurse caring for premature infants. He has not forgotten his nursing roots even after pursing an MBA from BYU and graduating with a Juris Doctor for the University of Idaho School of Law. Mr. Newman has served as an adjunct clinical professor at Brigham Young University College of Nursing since 2011. He has lectured on the American health care system and electronic medical records while on assignments in Finland and Russia.

Mr. Newman believes in giving back to his community through service in various organizations. He has served for nearly fifteen years as the Board of Trustees Chair for Itineris Early College High School an award-winning, nationally recognized charter school in West Jordan, Utah. He also serves as the Chair of the Alumni Board of the College of Nursing at Brigham Young University. As a member of the Utah State Bar, he generously donates his time and legal expertise to those in need.

Tanji Northrup

Insurance Department Designee
Utah Insurance Department

Tanji Northrup has over 30 years of experience working in health insurance in both the public and private sector. She has served at the Utah Insurance Department for 25 years in various positions, but most recently as Deputy Commissioner. Ms. Northrup is responsible for the implementation state and federal health care insurance reform efforts, regulation of health, life and annuity products and oversees the administrative division which includes contracting and budgeting. She represents the Department on legislative issues, task forces, and committees, in addition to health insurance committees at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Ms. Northrup is a key advisor to the Governor’s Office, the Insurance Commissioner, as well as members of the Utah Legislature regarding life and health insurance related issues. Ms. Northrup received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management with an emphasis in finance at Westminster College.

Alan Ormsby

Consumer Advocate Representative
AARP

Alan Ormsby leads AARP Utah with a strong background in advocacy for Utah’s older adults and people with disabilities. His education is in law, with a focus on health care law, long-term care, home and community-based services, HIPAA, Medicare and Medicaid. Immediately prior to joining AARP in 2011, Alan served as the Director of the Division of Services for People with Disabilities (DSPD) leading Utah’s efforts to provide the best possible services for people with disabilities. Before serving as the DSPD Director, Alan was the Director of Aging and Adult Services at the State of Utah, and in this role was responsible for statewide home- and community-based services for Utahns 60 and over. In addition, he worked with the local Area Agencies on Aging, and was instrumental in drafting legislation to initiate Utah’s Commission on Aging. Alan is currently a member of the Commission on Aging and is on the Alzheimer’s Association’s Board. Alan received his undergraduate degree from the University of Utah and law degree from Quinnipiac University.

Laura Summers

Public Health Representative
Kem C. Gardner Institute

Laura Summers serves as the senior health care analyst at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, conducting research on health care data, policies, and impacts to the Utah health care sector. Summers has expertise in health care, economics, and public policy. Her professional experience includes research for the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. In health care, Summers’ research focus is state-level health reform, with a particular focus in Medicaid, public health, and health insurance markets. Prior to joining the Institute, Summers was the senior director of state intelligence at Leavitt Partners, where she prepared detailed studies of state-by-state comparative data and analyzed national and state health care programs, policies, and trends. In addition to providing research and consulting services to payers, providers, and other health care companies, Summers led health care reform initiatives in states such as Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, and Washington State. Summers also oversaw the Leavitt Partners teams in designing, managing, and facilitating stakeholder engagement processes for state government projects. Summers previously served as the research director of the Utah Foundation – a nonprofit research firm that publishes reports on issues affecting government policies. Summers received her master of public policy with an emphasis in public economics from Brigham Young University and her bachelor’s degree in economics from Westminster College.

Susan Longfield

Large Business Representative
Intellimed

VP Growth Strategy and Development at Intellimed

Susan Longfield is an accomplished healthcare leader and strategist with over 25 years of experience transforming data into actionable intelligence. Susan has worked directly with healthcare data her entire career and is a passionate advocate for improving data quality and accessibility to improve outcomes and reduce costs. Susan currently serves as the Vice President of Growth Strategy and Development at Intellimed, a healthcare data analytics company. Before joining Intellimed and moving to Utah, Susan worked in various health system strategy and finance roles in Michigan and Arizona, most recently as the Director of Strategic Planning for Northern Arizona Healthcare. Skilled at connecting data to strategy and bridging the gap between thought and action, Susan continues to look for ways data can better support and inform decisions. During her tenure at Intellimed, she has used her expertise to launch new products that help providers improve access to care in their markets and has championed getting healthcare data in the hands of rural and critical access hospitals. Susan has a Bachelor of Science in Education with a composite in Business Administration from Brigham Young University and is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Society for Healthcare Strategy and the Market Development and Healthcare Financial Management Association. When not working, Susan enjoys being active and spending time with her family.

Russell Trujillo

Payer Representative

MotivHealth
 

 

Vacant

Physician Representative