Bill Summary for Bill Number HB09-1020

Date: 01/26/2009

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB09-1020

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Moved to refer House Bill 09-1020 to the Committee	PASS

06:28 PM -- House Bill 09-1020

Representative Riesberg provided a handout to the committee for the committee's Health Care Resource Notebook that is a list of acronyms provided by Aponte and Busam (Attachment G).

06:32 PM

Representative Acree presented House Bill 09-1020 which directs the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (DHCPF) to establish a process for reenrollment in Medicaid and the Children's Basic Health Plan both over the phone and the internet. Representative Acree stated that she is well aware of the financial situation in Colorado. She stated that the funds allocated in the fiscal note have already been appropriated to this project. She spoke to the benefits of implementing this process.

06:39 PM

Representative Riesberg stated that the department has no position on the bill, however the money that was appropriated for this process is part of what the department is planning on proposing as a budget cut. There was some discussion among the committee members regarding the fiscal note and the potential funding of the process. Representative Acree reiterated the benefits of the process and stated she was unaware that the department was planning on cutting the money from their portion of the budget. There was some discussion about the Colorado Benefits Management System (CBMS). Representative Riesberg stated that he has heard from several counties that are not on board with this process as of right now.

06:48 PM

Representative Riesberg noted that the debate is not centered around the benefits of eligibility modernization, but rather the fiscal situation. Representative McGihon asked if anyone could speak to the economic stimulus package with regard to Medicaid funding.

06:50 PM -- Tara Trujillo, Colorado Children's Campaign, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Trujillo explained the difference between the department's project and this bill. Ms. Trujillo spoke to the on-line eligibility piece which is about reenrollment. She noted that the General Assembly passed a bill last session which allows the DHCPF to verify a candidate's eligibility status. Ms. Trujillo stated that money was appropriated to fund this project, but that it is taking longer to organize the project. She noted that through the economic stimulus package a great deal of money was allocated for health information technology.

06:59 PM -- Deborah Colburn, Executive Director, Colorado Coalition of the Medically Underserved, testified in support of the bill. She stated that the state needs to keep moving forward and that modernization eligibility is extremely important. She provided a handout to the committee (Attachment H).

07:01 PM -- Stephanie Benintendi, Director, The Children's Hospital, testified in support of the bill. She stated her office helps individuals enroll in Medicaid and that this bill will help cut the amount of administrative cost in half.

07:05 PM -- Marijo Rymer, The Arc of Colorado, testified in support of the bill. She encouraged the committee to pass the bill out of committee until more information can be learned about the economic stimulus package.

07:14 PM

Jean Nofles, member of AARP, written comments were provided to the committee (Attachment I).

07:15 PM -- Toni Panetta, NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado, testified in support of the bill.

07:22 PM

Representative Acree provided a wrap-up to the bill. She asked the committee to pass the bill forward and allow time for the details of the federal stimulus package to emerge.


BILL:	HB09-1020
TIME:	07:27:25 PM
MOVED:	Acree
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 09-1020 to the Committee on Appropriations. Several members expressed their concern with the fiscal note, but stated that they would like some time to review what may happen with the economic stimulus package. Other members expressed concern over spending more money on CBMS which has not shown to be effective. Representative Primavera stated she is very concerned that the DHCPF nor any county representative was available to communicate to the committee their position on the bill. She stated that they may be impacted the most by this bill. The motion passed on a 8-2 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	McGihon
		VOTE
	Acree	Yes
	Gerou	Yes
	Green	Excused
	Kefalas	Yes
	Kerr J.	Yes
	McGihon	Yes
	Nikkel	Yes
	Primavera	No
	Swalm	Yes
	Gagliardi	Yes
	Riesberg	No

Final YES: 8 NO: 2 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

07:34 PM

The committee adjourned.