Optumas algorithms
It is a clone of this request.
| Submitted | Jan. 27, 2022 |
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Communications
From: Todd Feathers
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Iowa Open Records Law, I hereby request the following records:
1) All contracts, including statements of work and/or scope of services documents, between the department and Optumas.
2) Documentation of any algorithms—such as actuarial algorithms, predictive algorithms, machine learning algorithms, etc.—designed for the department by Optumas. This should include project plan/overview documents, final implementation reports, validation studies, disparate impact studies, list(s) of variables fed into the algorithms (including how those variables are weighted, if available), and descriptions of any statistical or machine learning techniques employed.
I ask that all fees be waived as I am a journalist and intend to use the requested records to publish articles in the public interest. In the event you choose to impose fees, I request a detailed breakdown of the fees, including the hourly wage of each employee involved and an explanation justifying the employee hours required to fulfill the request.
Should you choose to reject this request or redact portions of it, I ask that you provide a detailed breakdown of the statutory exemptions and associated case law underlying your decision to withhold each/any portions from public review.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Todd Feathers
From: Department of Health and Human Services
Dear Mr. Feathers,
The Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) has received your records request. Should we have any questions related to your request or should a fee be required, I will contact you before proceeding. You may view the Department's open record policy here<http://dhs.iowa.gov/open-records>.
Iowa DHS attempts to provide the requested records within 10 business days, but it may take longer based on the complexity of your request or workload and staffing issues. I'll do my best to keep you updated if we will require more time on this request.
Alex Carfrae
Public Information Officer
Department of Human Services
515-281-4848 office
515-630-9342 mobile
acarfra@dhs.state.ia.us
[dhslogo]<https://dhs.iowa.gov/>
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From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Iowa Open Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 27, 2022. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of Health and Human Services
Mr. Feathers,
Please see the attachments containing Iowa DHS' response to your recent open records inquiry.
Best,
Alex Carfrae
Public Information Officer
Department of Human Services
515-281-4848 office
515-630-9342 mobile
acarfra@dhs.state.ia.us
[dhslogo]<https://dhs.iowa.gov/>
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image001
