Bill Summary for Bill Number SB13-225

Date: 05/02/2013

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB13-225

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, INSURANCE & ENVIRONMENT

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Refer Senate Bill 13-225 to the Committee on Appro	PASS

01:52 PM -- Senate Bill 13-225

Representative Ginal and Representative Primavera presented Senate Bill 13-225 concerning the development of a system to improve quality of care to patients suffering specified acute incidents. The bill creates the STEMI Task Force and the Stroke Advisory Board in the Department of Public Health and Environment.

The STEMI Task Force will consist of 15 members appointed by the Governor. The task force is required to study and make recommendations for developing a statewide plan to improve quality of care to STEMI heart attack patients, including:

the creation of a state database or registry consisting of data on STEMI care that mirrors data hospitals submit to nationally recognized organizations;
developing access to aggregated STEMI data;
a plan that encourages hospitals to coordinate services for the referral of patients requiring STEMI care; and
criteria used by nationally recognized bodies for designating a hospital in STEMI care, and whether such designation is appropriate or needed in Colorado.

The term STEMI is defined as ST-elevation myocardial infarction, a severe heart attack caused by a prolonged period of blocked blood supply that affects a large area of the heart.

The Stroke Advisory Board is comprised of 18 members appointed by the Governor. The purpose of the advisory board is to evaluate potential strategies for stroke prevention and treatment and develop a statewide plan to improve quality of care for stroke patients. The advisory board is to explore:

creation of a database or registry consisting of data on stroke care that mirrors the data hospitals submit to nationally recognized organizations;
access to aggregated stroke data;
currently available stroke treatments and the development of ways to improve stroke prevention and treatment;
a plan for hospitals to coordinate services for the referral of patients requiring stroke care in the state; and
criteria used by nationally recognized bodies for designating a hospital in stroke care, and whether such designation is appropriate or needed in Colorado.

The task force and advisory board have certain reporting requirements. The bill provides for a process for the Department of Public Health and Environment to make information publicly available about a hospital's accreditation, certification, or designation in stroke or STEMI care from a nationally recognized accrediting body.

Representative Ginal provided two handouts (Attachments F and G) to the committee.

130502 AttachF.pdf

130502 AttachG.pdf

01:56 PM -- Dr. Dave Ross, Colorado Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Cardiology, and Colorado Medical Society, testified in opposition to the bill. He discussed the need to address the issues through professional research rather than legislation and the possibility of increased health care costs. He discussed the task force and the voluntary reporting of national certification included in the bill. Dr. Ross responded to questions about the certification process, how it is decided where a patient will be transported, and the costs related to the certification. The committee discussed whether the bill creates a database.

02:18 PM

Dr. Ross continued to respond to questions about how the bill could increase costs for hospitals, marketing efforts by hospitals, and whether hospitals would be pressured to seek certain certifications.

02:23 PM

Doug Dunsavage, American Heart Association, testified in support of the bill. He discussed various national certifications and accreditations. Mr. Dunsavage responded to questions about how the designations would be publicized, the costs related to hospital accreditations and certifications, and the impact of the bill on rural hospitals.

02:37 PM -- Dr. Jeb Burchenal, South Denver Cardiology, testified in support of the bill. He discussed the lack of uniformity in STEMI and stroke care and the level of rigor for various national certifications. Dr. Burchenal discussed the All-Payer Claims Database and rural hospitals.

02:46 PM -- Janet Stephens, Colorado Hospital Association, testified in support of the bill. She discussed the task forces created by the bill. Ms. Stephens responded to a question from Representative Stephens about the cost of the joint commission accreditation process.

02:51 PM -- Mary Ann Orr, representing herself, testified in support of the bill. She discussed her experience having a stroke. Ms. Orr responded to a question about how a statewide plan could have helped her while she was experiencing a stroke.

02:59 PM

The committee dialogued about the bill.


BILL:	SB13-225
TIME:	03:01:14 PM
MOVED:	Primavera
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 13-225 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 6-5.
SECONDED:	Ginal
		VOTE
	Conti	No
	Fields	Yes
	Ginal	Yes
	Humphrey	No
	Joshi	No
	Primavera	Yes
	Stephens	No
	Swalm	No
	Young	Yes
	Schafer	Yes
	McCann	Yes

Final YES: 6 NO: 5 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:02 PM

The committee took a brief recess.