Bill Summary for Bill Number HB06-1252

Date: 04/21/2006

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB06-1252

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Moved amendment L.025 (the amendment removes the r Refer House Bill 06-1252, as amended, to the Commi	Pass Without Objection PASS

12:06 PM -- House Bill 06-1252 - Concerning the Colorado Cares RX Program

Representative Frangas, prime sponsor, explained the provisions of the bill and the SBEC to House Bill 06-1252. The bill, as amended by the House Health and Human Services Committee, establishes the Colorado Cares RX Program and the Colorado Cares RX Clearinghouse. Representative Frangas said that the Colorado Cares RX Program provides eligible uninsured people with access to discounts on prescription drugs through a state-sponsored discount card program, and includes the following provisions:

● the state Medical Services Board and the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing are responsible for establishing rules and procedures and for administering the program;
● eligible persons include individuals over the age of 60, over the age of 55 and receiving social security disability benefits, or any age with income less than 250 percent of the federal poverty level with no employer or state provided health coverage;
● individuals seeking to participate in the program must apply to the department, but prior to enrolling the individual, the department must determine if he or she is eligible for Medicaid or any other state-funded program offering prescription drug coverage (the program is the payer of last resort);
● specifications are outlined as to the agreements between the program and pharmaceutical manufacturers, and between the program and participating pharmacies; and
● the Health and Human Services Committee of the House of Representatives and the Senate must review the program annually.

The committee engaged in a discussion on the programs that are currently availably to the uninsured and seniors under federal and state law.

The following persons testified:

12:19 PM -- Mr. A.D. Schnellbacher Jr., AARP, testified in opposition toward the bill, Mr. Schnellbacher said that the cost of the bill is not worth the benefit and distributed a fact sheet on the administrative cost factors on House Bill 06-1252 (Attachment D). Mr. Schnellbacher said that there are better ways to achieve the goals of the bill that would have less administrative costs and distributed an news article from the Rocky Mountain News entitled "Drug discount plan not worth the cost" dated April 21, 2006 (Attachment E).

12:28 PM -- Ms. Susan Cox, Kaiser Permanente, testified in opposition toward the bill and commented on the bill's potential to require Kaiser to disclose proprietary drug discounts to other health care providers. Ms. Cox maintained that the legislation could result in prescription drugs costing more as the bill may hamper Kaiser's ability to negotiate lower prices.

2:40 PM -- Mr. Brad Young, Rx Plus Pharmacies, testified in opposition toward the bill. Mr. Young discussed the Ohio study and the reimbursement rates that drug manufacturers give to pharmacists. Mr. Young said that ultimately, under this legislation, pharmacists will be paying more.

12:56 PM -- Mr. Chris Howes, Colorado Retail Council, testified in opposition toward the bill. Mr. Howes said that the state start-up costs for the program are significant. He pointed out that pharmacists need to be paid on a timely basis and this bill would delay payments that may or may not be in the form of a manufacturer's rebate.

01:06 PM -- Mr. Mark Kinny, briefly testified in opposition toward the bill.

01:08 PM -- Mr. Rob Hernandez, Colorado NAMI, testified in support of the legislation.

01:10 PM -- Mr. Chris Habgood, Mental Health Association of Colorado, testified in support of the legislation. This bill is a benefit for mental health consumers who do not have Medicaid coverage. Mr. Habgood said that the legislation offers a great solution to a significant state problem.

01:13 PM -- Mr. Chris Lepore, PHARMA, testified in support of the legislation. This bill establishes a significant public-private partnership that will work together to solve the problems of funding mental health in Colorado.

01:22 PM -- Mr. Steve Adams, AFLCIO, testified in support of the legislation and said that it will help many working families address the issues associated with mental illness.

Representative Vigil, Chairman distributed amendment L.025 (Attachment F) and said that it removes the role of the CBMS in the application process. The motion passed without objection by those members present (see following votes).


BILL:	HB06-1252
TIME:	01:26:29 PM
MOVED:	Vigil
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.025 (the amendment removes the role of the CBMS in the application process). The motion passed without objection by those members present.
SECONDED:	Cloer
		VOTE
	Benefield
	Cloer
	Crane
	Frangas
	Garcia
	Harvey
	Jahn
	Kerr
	Marshall
	Massey
	McCluskey
	Judd
	Vigil
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB06-1252
TIME:	01:28:29 PM
MOVED:	Frangas
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 06-1252, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 9-4-0 vote.
SECONDED:	Cloer
		VOTE
	Benefield	Yes
	Cloer	Yes
	Crane	Yes
	Frangas	Yes
	Garcia	No
	Harvey	No
	Jahn	No
	Kerr	Yes
	Marshall	Yes
	Massey	Yes
	McCluskey	No
	Judd	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
Final YES: 9 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:38 PM

Adjourn.