Bill Summary for Bill Number HB10-1103

Date: 03/10/2010

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB10-1103

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Moved amendment L.004 (Attachment D). The motion Moved amendment L.005 (Attachment E). The motion Refer House Bill 10-1103, as amended, to the Commi	PASS PASS PASS

02:22 PM -- House Bill 10-1103 - Concerning A Relief Fund for Children with Catastrophic Medical Conditions

Representative Todd, prime sponsor, explained that House Bill 10-1103 was recommended by the Interim Committee on the Developmental Disability Waiting List. She continued saying that the bill creates the Relief Fund for Children with a Catastrophic Medical Condition. The purpose of the fund is to provide financial assistance to a child who meets the following conditions:

has a chronic illness;

has medical expenses for the illness that are not covered by insurance or a state or federal program; and

has expenses for this illness that exceed 10 percent of the first $100,000 of the family's income plus 15 percent of the income over $100,000.

After a brief committee discussion, witness testimony was heard.

The following persons testified:

02:24 PM -- Ms. Sara Carrasco, Family Voices, testified in support of the legislation and distributed a packet of materials in support of the legislation (Attachment C). Ms. Carrasco discussed the costs and challenges that parents face when they raise a child with a severe disability.

Attachment C can be viewed at State Archives

The committee engaged in a discussion regarding the fiscal note. Mr. Carrasco responded to questions about the bill.

02:54 PM -- Mr. Travis Berry, Colorado Competitive Council, testified in opposition of the bill. He closed by saying that the bill will shift health care costs to small businesses thus adding to the cost of employee coverage. He asked the committee to oppose the legislation.
.
03:00 PM -- Ms. Jane Ritter, Office of Legislative Legal Services, responded to committee questions regarding impacts in the bill.

03:03 PM -- Mr. Michael Lee, representing himself, testified in support of his bill and discussed his son's fatal genetic disease.

03:10 PM -- Ms. Emily Hobbs-Wright and Mr. Mark Wright, parents representing their family, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Hobbs discussed some of the challenges in obtaining financial assistance for medical expenses for their son before his passing. Mr. Hobbs discussed the issues that challenge parents that have children with catastrophic medical conditions and noted that the total costs to society are difficult to quantify. Ms. Hobbs closed by discussing the benefits of House Bill 10-1103 as a start to address the issues of paying for care tied to catastrophic medical conditions and urged the committee to support the legislation.

03:42 PM -- Ms. Lisa Schwartz, Family Voices, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Schwartz closed by discussing the number of families that would be affected by the legislation.

03:59 PM -- Ms. Val Saiz, Colorado Respite Coalition, testified in support of the bill.

04:04 PM

Representative Todd distributed amendments L.004 and L.005 and the following actions were taken by the committee.


BILL:	HB10-1103
TIME:	04:04:43 PM
MOVED:	Kefalas
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.004 (Attachment D). The motion passed on a 5-4 vote.
SECONDED:	Benefield
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	No
	Frangas	Excused
	Gerou	No
	Kagan	Yes
	Kefalas	Yes
	Labuda	Yes
	Roberts	Excused
	Summers	No
	Swalm	No
	Benefield	Yes
	Judd	Yes

Not Final YES: 5 NO: 4 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB10-1103
TIME:	04:09:42 PM
MOVED:	Kefalas
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.005 (Attachment E). The motion passed on a 8-2.
SECONDED:	Benefield
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	Yes
	Frangas	Yes
	Gerou	No
	Kagan	Yes
	Kefalas	Yes
	Labuda	Yes
	Roberts	Excused
	Summers	Yes
	Swalm	No
	Benefield	Yes
	Judd	Yes

Not Final YES: 8 NO: 2 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB10-1103
TIME:	04:15:17 PM
MOVED:	Frangas
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 10-1103, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 6-4.
SECONDED:	Kefalas
		VOTE
	DelGrosso	No
	Frangas	Yes
	Gerou	No
	Kagan	Yes
	Kefalas	Yes
	Labuda	Yes
	Roberts	Excused
	Summers	No
	Swalm	No
	Benefield	Yes
	Judd	Yes

Final YES: 6 NO: 4 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS