Bill Summary for Bill Number HB06-1278

Date: 02/22/2006

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB06-1278

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Adopt L.001 (Attachment D). The motion passed wit Refer the bill, as amended, to the Committee on Fi	Pass Without Objection PASS

10:46 AM -- House Bill 06-1278

Representative Weissmann, sponsor, presented the bill requiring hospitals to report certain data. He distributed amendment L.001 (Attachment D).

The following persons testified.

10:47 AM -- Scott Wasserman, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), stated concerns with the bill. He described consolidation of hospital systems in Denver. He stated that despite promises of lower costs through consolidation, these systems have profit margins that are higher than the national average. He stated his support for greater transparency into the hospital industry. He answered questions about his position on the bill.

10:52 AM -- Carrie Curtiss, Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, spoke in support of the bill. She described the importance of transparency to consumers. She stated CCHI advocates greater transparency for such things as hospital collection practices and charity care. Representative Weissmann answered questions about requiring hospitals to report specific data.

10:58 AM -- Jeff Selberg, Exempla Health Care and Colorado Health and Hospital Association (CHA), stated his support for the bill is due to a number of reasons, including the information collected will be standardized and relevant to decision makers. He stated the bill will build upon work and data collection already done by the CHA hospitals. He answered questions about the commission established in the bill and how the bill's data requirements differ from data already collected and published by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). He stated federal HHS data is restricted to "federally sponsored patients."

11:06 AM -- Beryl Vallejo, Centura Health, spoke in support of the bill. She stated Colorado was the first state to publish hospital mortality data. She stated use of evidence-based medicine has improved patient outcomes.

11:09 AM -- Errol Snider, Family Health West, spoke in support of the bill. He stated he has seen the benefits of data collection and use. The bill helps consumers to know how well hospitals take care of their patients.

11:12 AM

Representative Weissmann discussed L.001.


BILL:	HB06-1278
TIME:	11:14:32 AM
MOVED:	Weissmann
MOTION:	Adopt L.001 (Attachment D). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Boyd
		VOTE
	Berens
	Cloer
	Green
	Kerr
	Lundberg
	McGihon
	Riesberg
	Soper
	Stafford
	Sullivan
	Weissmann
	Frangas
	Boyd
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

11:15 AM

Committee members commented on the bill. Representative Weissmann answered questions about the bill's fiscal note.


BILL:	HB06-1278
TIME:	11:20:03 AM
MOVED:	Weissmann
MOTION:	Refer the bill, as amended, to the Committee on Finance. The bill passed 12-1.
SECONDED:	Frangas
		VOTE
	Berens	Yes
	Cloer	Yes
	Green	Yes
	Kerr	Yes
	Lundberg	No
	McGihon	Yes
	Riesberg	Yes
	Soper	Yes
	Stafford	Yes
	Sullivan	Yes
	Weissmann	Yes
	Frangas	Yes
	Boyd	Yes
Final YES: 12 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS