Senate Committee on Health and Human Services (03/02/2006)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Date:	03/02/2006	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:38 PM to 02:32 PM	Johnson	*
		Mitchell	E
Place:	SCR 352	Sandoval	X
		Shaffer	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Traylor	X
	Senator Hagedorn	Hanna	X
		Hagedorn	X
This Report was prepared by
	Elizabeth Burger
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Conf 06-State Board of Human Services Conf 06-Rocky Mountain Low-level Radioactive Waste Board HB06-1177 HB06-1054 HB06-1069 HB06-1079 HB06-1265		Favorably Refer to the Full Senate Favorably Refer to the Full Senate Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to Appropriations Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to the Committee of the Whole Referred to the Committee of the Whole

01:39 PM

Gregory Etl and Jean Snoddy, candidates for appointment to the State Board of Human Services, came to the table and introduced themselves and discussed their interest in serving on the board. They responded to questions from the committee regarding the activities of the board. Copies of their resumes and applications to the board were distributed to the committee (Attachment A).


BILL:	Conf 06-State Board of Human Services
TIME:	01:48:33 PM
MOVED:	Sandoval
MOTION:	Favorably refer the names of Jean Snoddy and Gregory Etl to the full Senate for confirmation. The motion passed 6-0-1.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Johnson	Yes
	Mitchell	Excused
	Sandoval	Yes
	Shaffer	Yes
	Traylor	Yes
	Hanna	Yes
	Hagedorn	Yes
Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

01:50 PM

Howard Roitman, candidate for appointment to the Rocky Mountain Low-level Radioactive Waste Board, introduced himself and discussed his interest in serving on the board. A copy of his resume and application letter were distributed to the committee (Attachment B). He responded to questions from the committee regarding low-level radioactive waste sites in Colorado, the membership of the board, and materials disposed at hazardous waste sites in Colorado.


BILL:	Conf 06-Rocky Mountain Low-level Radioactive Waste Board
TIME:	01:59:10 PM
MOVED:	Sandoval
MOTION:	Favorably refer the name of Howard Roitman to the full Senate for confirmation. The motion passed 6-0-1.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Johnson	Yes
	Mitchell	Excused
	Sandoval	Yes
	Shaffer	Yes
	Traylor	Yes
	Hanna	Yes
	Hagedorn	Yes
Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:00 PM -- House Bill 06-1177

Senator Shaffer introduced House Bill 06-1177 which continues the Asbestos Control Program in the Department of Public Health and Environment until July 1, 2013. There were no witnesses present to testify on the bill.


BILL:	HB06-1177
TIME:	02:02:59 PM
MOVED:	Shaffer
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 06-1177 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed 6-0-1.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Johnson	Yes
	Mitchell	Excused
	Sandoval	Yes
	Shaffer	Yes
	Traylor	Yes
	Hanna	Yes
	Hagedorn	Yes
Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:03 PM

The committee recessed briefly.

02:05 PM -- House Bill 06-1054

The committee reconvened. Senator Groff introduced House Bill 06-1054. The bill requires the Colorado Advisory Council on AIDS to annually review and provide comment to the Department of Public Health and Environment regarding the department's plan to administer the federal moneys the state receives for HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment. In addition, the bill creates the Colorado HIV and AIDS Prevention Grant Program to be overseen by the advisory council.

02:07 PM -- Linda Boedeker, Southern Colorado AIDS Project and Colorado Organizations Responding to AIDS, stated that there is currently a lack of funding for HIV and AIDS prevention and testified in support of the bill. Senator Groff responded to questions from Senator Johnson regarding funding for the bill. Ms. Boedeker discussed how her organization would use the funding provided through the bill.

02:13 PM

Senator Groff gave concluding remarks regarding the bill.


BILL:	HB06-1054
TIME:	02:14:08 PM
MOVED:	Hagedorn
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 06-1054 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed 6-0-1.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Johnson	Yes
	Mitchell	Excused
	Sandoval	Yes
	Shaffer	Yes
	Traylor	Yes
	Hanna	Yes
	Hagedorn	Yes
Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:15 PM -- House Bill 06-1069

Senator Hanna introduced House Bill 06-1069. She explained that the bill permits employment of podiatrists by hospitals and other health care facilities so long as certain conditions are met. The conditions include the following: the employment relationship will not affect the podiatrist's ability to exercise independent judgement; the podiatrist's independent judgment is unaffected by the relationship; the policies of the employing entity contain a complaint procedure for podiatrists alleging a violation of the bill; the podiatrist is not required to exclusively refer a patient to a particular provider; and the podiatrist is not required to take any other action he or she determines is not in the patient's best interest.

02:17 PM -- Corky Kyle, Executive Director of Colorado Podiatric Medical Association, testified regarding the development of the bill and in support of the bill.

02:19 PM -- Jerry McElroy, Kaiser Permanente, testified in support of the bill. He responded to questions from the committee regarding how Kaiser Permanente has employed podiatrists in the past.


BILL:	HB06-1069
TIME:	02:20:29 PM
MOVED:	Hanna
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 06-1069 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed 6-0-1.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Johnson	Yes
	Mitchell	Excused
	Sandoval	Yes
	Shaffer	Yes
	Traylor	Yes
	Hanna	Yes
	Hagedorn	Yes
Final YES: 6 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:22 PM -- House Bill 06-1079

Senator Johnson introduced House Bill 06-1079. He explained that there are currently provisions in law regarding improper billing of Medicaid clients, but that the provisions do not provide penalties for violations or methods to recover improperly billed charges. The bill specifies that a provider who improperly bills a client is liable for the amount unlawfully received, statutory interest on the amount received from the date of receipt until the date of repayment, and a civil monetary penalty equal to one half of the amount unlawfully received.

02:25 PM -- Barbara Prehmus, Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, testified in support of the bill. She stated that it is currently against federal and state law for providers to balance-bill Medicaid clients, but that there is no mechanism to enforce the law short of disenrolling the provider from Medicaid.

02:27 PM -- Julie Reiskin, Colorado Cross Disability Coalition, testified in support of the bill.


BILL:	HB06-1079
TIME:	02:28:42 PM
MOVED:	Johnson
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 06-1079 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed 5-0-2.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Johnson	Yes
	Mitchell	Excused
	Sandoval	Yes
	Shaffer	Excused
	Traylor	Yes
	Hanna	Yes
	Hagedorn	Yes
Final YES: 5 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:29 PM -- House Bill 06-1265

Senator Sandoval introduced House Bill 06-1265. The bill requires each person who performs a renovation of target housing to provide a lead hazard information pamphlet to the owner of such housing prior to commencing the renovation. She responded to questions from the committee.


BILL:	HB06-1265
TIME:	02:31:42 PM
MOVED:	Sandoval
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 06-1265 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed 5-0-2.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Johnson	Yes
	Mitchell	Excused
	Sandoval	Yes
	Shaffer	Excused
	Traylor	Yes
	Hanna	Yes
	Hagedorn	Yes
Final YES: 5 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:32 PM

The committee recessed.