House Committee on Public Health Care & Human Services (04/22/2014)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC HEALTH CARE & HUMAN SERVICES

Date:	04/22/2014	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:37 PM to 04:05 PM	Conti	X
		Everett	X
Place:	HCR 0107	Ginal	X
		Joshi	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Landgraf	X
	Representative Primavera	McCann	*
		Schafer	X
This Report was prepared by		Singer	X
	Elizabeth Burger	Stephens	X
		Tyler	X
		Wilson	X
		Young	X
		Primavera	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
SB14-130 HB14-1369 HB14-1372 SB14-144		Referred to Appropriations Amended, Referred to Finance Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to Appropriations

01:37 PM -- SB14-130

Representative Primavera introduced Senate Bill 14-130. The bill increases the personal needs allowance for nursing facility residents from $50 to $75, and on January 1, 2015, the basic minimum amount is increased by the same percentage increase as the nursing facility provider reimbursement rate. She stated that the bill is important for clients of nursing facilities and regional centers. She responded to questions from the committee regarding funding source for the bill.

01:43 PM -- Alex Schatz, Legislative Council Staff, responded to questions from the committee regarding the Nursing Facility Provider Fee and the bill's fiscal note.

01:49 PM -- Amy Ballard, representing herself, testified in support of the bill. She stated that the current personal needs allowance of $50 is not enough to support her personal needs.

01:51 PM -- Sydney Gardiner, representing herself, testified regarding her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis and discussed the personal needs allowance. She spoke in support of the bill and responded to questions from the committee.

01:57 PM -- Anne Meier, State Long-term Care Ombudsman, described the role of the state long-term care ombudsman and spoke in support of the bill. She stated that the personal needs allowance hasn't increased since 1999, and noted that nursing facilities do not provide such things as haircuts, snacks, clothing, or gifts, all of which must be paid from the personal needs allowance. Representative Primavera responded to questions from the committee regarding the bill.

02:01 PM -- Arlene Miles, Colorado Health Care Association, responded to committee questions regarding familial contributions to the cost of care in nursing facilities and how those contributions affect the personal needs allowance. She further responded to questions regarding federal Medicaid matching funds, regulations regard Medicaid reimbursement, and whether family members can buy nursing home residents clothing and gifts.

02:13 PM

Alex Schatz, Legislative Council Staff, returned to the table to respond to committee questions regarding the bill's fiscal note. He confirmed that the federal government will contribute approximately 50 percent of the bill's costs.

02:20 PM

Representative Primavera gave concluding remarks regarding the bill.


BILL:	SB14-130
TIME:	02:23:48 PM
MOVED:	Primavera
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 14-130 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 12-1.
SECONDED:	Young
		VOTE
	Conti	Yes
	Everett	No
	Ginal	Yes
	Joshi	Yes
	Landgraf	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Schafer	Yes
	Singer	Yes
	Stephens	Yes
	Tyler	Yes
	Wilson	Yes
	Young	Yes
	Primavera	Yes

Final YES: 12 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:27 PM -- HB14-1369

Representative Young introduced House Bill 14-1369. The bill requires durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers that bill Medicare to be licensed with the Secretary of State. To receive a license, a DME supplier must meet various requirements, including having one or more physical locations within the state or within 50 miles of the state border in a neighboring state. DME suppliers must pay an annual fee not to exceed $500 and licenses must be posted in a visible location at each business location. Representative Young distributed amendments L.001 and L.002 and a handout regarding the bill (Attachments A through C).

14HsePHS0422AttachA.pdf

14HsePHS0422AttachB.pdf

14HsePHS0422AttachC.pdf

02:31 PM -- Doug Coleman, Colorado Association for Medical Equipment Services, testified in support of the bill. He discussed the importance of having regional equipment suppliers for Medicare contracts. He responded to questions from the committee regarding the bill's requirements for licensure, and stated that they are very simple. He continued to respond to questions from the committee regarding the Medicare competitive bidding process and the lack of available DME providers in the Medicare program. Representative Young discussed amendment L.002's provisions regarding complaints against DME providers. Representative Young and Mr. Coleman continued to respond to questions from the committee regarding how licensing DME providers will address issues with the Medicare competitive bidding process and the number of DME providers in the state. Mr. Coleman discussed how providers will prove that they are located in the state and have sufficient inventory to do business in the state.

02:55 PM -- Edie Busam, Colorado Association for Medical Equipment Services, responded to questions from the committee regarding how it will be determined that DME providers have sufficient inventory in the state in order to be licensed, and the bill's language allowing providers in other states within 50 miles of the state's border to be licensed in Colorado. Mr. Coleman continued to respond to committee questions regarding the Medicare competitive bidding process, Medicare accreditation, and the state licensing fees. Mr. Coleman explained why various providers who where awarded Medicare DME contracts are not servicing their contracts in Colorado.


BILL:	HB14-1369
TIME:	03:17:48 PM
MOVED:	Young
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.001 (Attachment A). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Singer
		VOTE
	Conti
	Everett
	Ginal
	Joshi
	Landgraf
	McCann
	Schafer
	Singer
	Stephens
	Tyler
	Wilson
	Young
	Primavera

YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB14-1369
TIME:	03:18:27 PM
MOVED:	Young
MOTION:	Adopt amendment L.002 (Attachment B). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Schafer
		VOTE
	Conti
	Everett
	Ginal
	Joshi
	Landgraf
	McCann
	Schafer
	Singer
	Stephens
	Tyler
	Wilson
	Young
	Primavera

YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

03:19 PM

Representative Young gave concluding remarks regarding the bill.


BILL:	HB14-1369
TIME:	03:20:41 PM
MOVED:	Young
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 14-1369, as amended, to the Committee on Finance. The motion passed on a vote of 10-3.
SECONDED:	Schafer
		VOTE
	Conti	Yes
	Everett	No
	Ginal	Yes
	Joshi	No
	Landgraf	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Schafer	Yes
	Singer	Yes
	Stephens	Yes
	Tyler	Yes
	Wilson	No
	Young	Yes
	Primavera	Yes

Final YES: 10 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:22 PM -- HB14-1372

Representatives Conti and McCann introduced House Bill 14-1372. The bill prohibits advertising through a public medium for one of the following purposes:

to find a child to adopt or to otherwise take permanent physical custody of a child;
to find an adoptive home or any other permanent physical placement for a child or to arrange for or assist in the adoption, adoptive placement, or any other permanent physical placement of a child; or
to offer to place a child for adoption or in any other permanent physical placement with another person.

Representatives Conti and McCann explained the relationship of the bill to other bills considered during the legislative session. Representative McCann responded to questions from Representative Stephens regarding whether the bill encompasses the infertility community.

03:30 PM -- Carla Bennett, League of Women Voters of Colorado, testified in support of the bill. She discussed the potential harms that could result from advertising a child for adoption without the vetting or oversight of an adoption agency.


BILL:	HB14-1372
TIME:	03:33:26 PM
MOVED:	Conti
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 14-1372 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 12-0, with one member excused.
SECONDED:	McCann
		VOTE
	Conti	Yes
	Everett	Yes
	Ginal	Yes
	Joshi	Excused
	Landgraf	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Schafer	Yes
	Singer	Yes
	Stephens	Yes
	Tyler	Yes
	Wilson	Yes
	Young	Yes
	Primavera	Yes

Final YES: 12 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

03:34 PM -- SB14-144

Representative Ginal introduced Senate Bill 14-144. The bill makes several changes to the Commission on Family Medicine, including:

extending the scope of the commission to include the support and maintenance of family medicine residency programs in rural and other underserved areas of the state;
removing the 2016 repeal date for the commission's duties relating to support and maintenance of residency programs in rural and underserved areas;
requiring the commission to conduct a study of family medicine residency programs and how these programs will meet the primary care workforce needs of rural and underserved areas of the state;
specifying that the required report must be submitted by March 1, 2015; and
requiring the commission to report in November 2014, and each November thereafter, on its work to support and develop rural family medicine residency programs.

03:40 PM -- Dr. Kim Marvel, Commission on Family Medicine, testified in support of the bill and distributed a handout to the committee (Attachment D). He described the family medicine residency program, and noted that, despite the residency program, there is still a shortage of family medicine physicians in rural areas of the state. He explained that there is federal funding for only 68 residency positions, but there are opportunities to fund rural training tracks in Wray, Fort Morgan, Sterling, and Alamosa. He discussed the benefits of rural training tracks in retaining residents after they graduate.

14HsePHS0422AttachD.pdf

03:46 PM -- Dr. Tom Told, Rocky Vista University, testified in support of the bill and discussed his efforts to develop a rural training track at Rocky Vista University. He stated that establishing graduate medical education training programs will be important in retaining students who are interested in working in rural area of the state. Dr. Marvel responded to comments from the committee regarding alignment of education programs for students in rural areas in the state and the potential funding to expand residency placements and training tracks.

03:57 PM -- Aubrey Hill, Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved, testified in support of the bill. She stated that access to primary care services is critical to maintaining one's health, yet many Coloradoans live in areas where primary care is not available.

04:01 PM

Representative Ginal gave concluding remarks regarding the bill.


BILL:	SB14-144
TIME:	04:04:18 PM
MOVED:	Ginal
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 14-144 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 12-1.
SECONDED:	Young
		VOTE
	Conti	Yes
	Everett	No
	Ginal	Yes
	Joshi	Yes
	Landgraf	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Schafer	Yes
	Singer	Yes
	Stephens	Yes
	Tyler	Yes
	Wilson	Yes
	Young	Yes
	Primavera	Yes

Final YES: 12 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

04:05 PM

The committee adjourned.