House Committee on Health and Human Services (03/18/2010)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Date:	03/18/2010	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:31 PM to 02:09 PM	Acree	X
		Apuan	X
Place:	LSB A	Gerou	*
		Kefalas	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Kerr J.	X
	Representative Riesberg	Primavera	*
		Roberts	X
This Report was prepared by		Swalm	X
	Kelly Stapleton	Tyler	*
		Gagliardi	X
		Riesberg	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Health Advocates Alliance HB10-1355		- Referred to the Committee of the Whole

01:31 PM -- Health Advocates Alliance

Gretchen Hammer, Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved (CCMU), introduced herself to the committee. Ms. Hammer described the creation of the Health Advocates Alliance (HAA) to the committee. She stated that the alliance was established during the Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform and represents a myriad group of stakeholders. She stated that the group has remained intact even after the Blue Ribbon Commission issued its report to the General Assembly. Two handouts describing the group's composition and agenda were provided to the committee (Attachments A and B).

01:37 PM

Mr. Hammer spoke to the uninsured in Colorado. She relayed a story of a woman who is uninsured in Colorado, not eligible for Medicaid and in need of a medical procedure to remove a tumor in her abdomen.

01:39 PM

Dr. Lynn Parry, former president of Colorado Medical Society and practicing physician, introduced herself to the committee. She stated that HAA has assessed how to move Colorado forward with regard to health care reform. She stated the group has discussed how to improve access to health care. She stated the group addresses three main aspects of health care: access to care, quality of care, and cost containment. She spoke to some of the barriers to accessing health care. She described several pieces of legislation that have decreased some of these barriers such as legislation creating an on-line application for Medicaid or the bill that allows for the repayment of school loans for health care providers that provide care in underserved areas. She stated that it is important to increase transparency in health care and spoke to the current piece of legislation regarding the all-payer claims database.

01:46 PM

Tara Trujillo, Healthy Families Initiative, Colorado Children's Campaign, introduced herself to the committee. She spoke to the need for preventative care and the benefits of a high functioning health care system. She described several statistics regarding the cost of health care in Colorado. She stated that Colorado is ranked 49th in Medicaid spending and first in the number of children in poverty. She stated that this indicates that several individuals do very well in Colorado and others do very poorly, and that there is a considerable gap between the two groups. She stated that the system is not flexible in helping individuals gain self-sufficiency or to remain self-sufficient. She referred to the points Dr. Perry brought up in her testimony. She stated that as the committee goes forward, the committee members should keep in mind how to increase access to care, protect vulnerable populations, improve quality of care, and contain costs. In response to Representative Primavera's question regarding Colorado's definition of public health, Ms. Trujillo stated that Colorado should take a broad approach in defining public health.

01:56 PM -- House Bill 10-1355

Representative Gagliardi presented House Bill 10-1355 which prohibits a health benefit plan from limiting or excluding coverage for a drug that is approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of one specific type of cancer on the basis that the drug has not been approved for another specific type of cancer. She stated that the drug must be recognized for treatment for that cancer in the reference compendia as identified by the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Representative Gagliardi explained that an off-label drug means using a drug to treat a symptom or condition that the prescription medication was not approved by the FDA for that specific condition. A handout depicting how many states have adopted legislation on the issue was distributed to the committee (Attachment C).

01:59 PM -- Dr. Alex Menter, Rocky Mountain Oncology Society, spoke in favor of the bill. He stated that several of his patients fall into a category where a cancer drug would be beneficial for the patient, but the drug has not been approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration for treatment of that particular cancer. He explained instances where a pharmaceutical company would choose not to ask the FDA to approve the drug for a different use due to the financial burden.

02:04 PM -- Debbie Hayes, Sanofi-Aventis, spoke in favor of the bill. She stated that bills have passed in other states and that there has been little controversy because Medicare covers the prescriptions.

02:05 PM -- Dana Dzwonkowski, American Cancer Society, spoke in support of the bill.


BILL:	HB10-1355
TIME:	02:07:03 PM
MOVED:	Gagliardi
MOTION:	Moved to refer House Bill 10-1355 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 11-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Kerr J.
		VOTE
	Acree	Yes
	Apuan	Yes
	Gerou	Yes
	Kefalas	Yes
	Kerr J.	Yes
	Primavera	Yes
	Roberts	Yes
	Swalm	Yes
	Tyler	Yes
	Gagliardi	Yes
	Riesberg	Yes

Final YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:08 PM

The chair spoke to the upcoming schedule. The committee adjourned.