House Committee on Health, Insurance, & Environment (04/21/2015)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, INSURANCE, & ENVIRONMENT

Date:	04/21/2015	ATTENDANCE

Time:	11:17 AM to 12:02 PM	Brown	X
		Esgar	*
Place:	HCR 0107	Humphrey	X
		Joshi	*
This Meeting was called to order by		Klingenschmitt	X
	Representative McCann	Landgraf	*
		Lontine	X
This Report was prepared by		Mitsch Bush	X
	Amanda King	Primavera	X
		Ransom	*
		Ryden	X
		Ginal	X
		McCann	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
SB15-256 HB15-1352		Referred to Legislative Council Referred to the Committee of the Whole

11:19 AM -- SB 15-256

Representative McCann presented Senate Bill 15-256. Under current law, the Legislative Health Benefit Exchange Implementation Review Committee (committee) is required to meet between two and five times per calendar year. The bill makes several changes to the committee, including:

• allowing the committee to meet an unlimited number of times during the legislative session at the call of the chair;
• allowing the committee to meet up to ten times per year outside of the session;
• increasing the bills that may be referred by the committee from five bills per year to eight bills per year; and
• changing the name of the committee to the Colorado Health Insurance Exchange Oversight Committee.

11:21 AM

Representative McCann answered questions about the committee and the bill's fiscal note. No witnesses testified on the bill.


BILL:	SB15-256
TIME:	11:22:09 AM
MOVED:	McCann
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 15-256 to the Legislative Council Committee. The motion passed on a vote of 12-0, with one member excused.
SECONDED:	Landgraf
		VOTE
	Brown	Yes
	Esgar	Yes
	Humphrey	Yes
	Joshi	Yes
	Klingenschmitt	Yes
	Landgraf	Yes
	Lontine	Yes
	Mitsch Bush	Yes
	Primavera	Yes
	Ransom	Excused
	Ryden	Yes
	Ginal	Yes
	McCann	Yes

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

11:23 AM -- HB 15-1352

Representative Ginal and Representative Conti presented House Bill 15-1352. The bill expands the authority of registered naturopathic doctors in a variety of ways, including the ability to obtain medication from a registered or licensed drug outlet, administer medication, and dispense medication to patients. Specifically, the expanded authority applies to the following:

• obtaining and administering saline, sterile water, topical antiseptics, and local anesthetics with epinephrine in connection with minor office procedures;
• obtaining and administering oxygen in emergency situations, vitamins B6 and B12, and immunizations to persons over the age of 18; and
• obtaining, administering, and dispensing FDA-regulated substances that do not require a prescription.

11:27 AM

Representative Ginal answered questions from the committee members. A fact sheet (Attachment A) was distributed to the committee members.

150421 AttachA.pdf

11:34 AM -- Chris Gassen, Department of Regulatory Agencies, testified on the bill. He explained why the word obtaining is used in the bill versus prescribing. He answered questions about B6 and B12 injections.

11:40 AM -- Christy Chase, Office of Legislative Legal Services, answered questions about the use of term "obtaining" in the bill.

11:44 AM -- Larry Sarner, Colorado Citizens for Science in Medicine, testified in opposition to the bill. He discussed the sunset process and the bill. He provided a handout (Attachment B) that contains suggested language that could be added to the bill to address some of his concerns. Mr. Sarner answered questions from the committee about the bill and the scope of practice of other health care providers.

150421 AttachB.pdf

11:52 AM

Representative Ginal answered questions about naturopathic doctors and health insurance coverage.

11:55 AM -- Dr. Mark Cooper, Colorado Association of Naturopathic Doctors, testified in support of the bill. He discussed how the bill will allow naturopathic doctors to provide appropriate care in certain situations.

11:59 AM

Representative Ginal and Representative Conti provided closing remarks about the bill. Representative Klingenschmitt commented on the bill.


BILL:	HB15-1352
TIME:	12:01:38 PM
MOVED:	Ginal
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 15-1352 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 10-3.
SECONDED:	McCann
		VOTE
	Brown	Yes
	Esgar	Yes
	Humphrey	No
	Joshi	No
	Klingenschmitt	Yes
	Landgraf	Yes
	Lontine	No
	Mitsch Bush	Yes
	Primavera	Yes
	Ransom	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Ginal	Yes
	McCann	Yes

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

12:02 PM

The committee adjourned.