Date: 02/08/2006

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB06-101

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Refer Senate Bill 06-101 to the Committee on Appro
Reverse the previous roll call vote and postpone i		FAIL
PASS


09:36 AM -- Senate Bill 06-101

Senator Teck introduced Senate Bill 06-101, which specifies that a Colorado resident shall not receive publicly-funded treatment services for tobacco-related cancer. Persons can receive a percentage of treatment depending on the year in which the person began smoking or using tobacco products. He stated that many years have passed since the surgeon general's warning about smoking, and if people choose to smoke in spite of the dangers, the state should not pay for the consequences of the person's conscious decision to smoke. He said that the legislature needs to have a discussion of how limited health dollars will be spent. Senator Teck responded to questions from Senator Sandoval regarding if the bill addresses other behaviors that are unhealthy, stating that publicly-funded health care cannot be all things to all people. Senator Hanna asked whether denying public-funding for care will shift the costs of the treatment to hospital emergency rooms. The committee discussed the complexity in determining which illnesses would be subject to the provisions of the bill.

09:52 AM -- Pat Ratliff, Colorado Counties Inc., testified in opposition to the bill. She stated that the private insurance industry often follows governmental health programs, and as a result of the bill, insurance companies might choose to drop coverage for smoking-related illnesses, marginalizing care for smokers.


09:54 AM

Senator Teck gave concluding remarks regarding the bill. Various members of the committee commented on the bill.
BILL:SB06-101
TIME: 10:00:32 AM
MOVED:Hagedorn
MOTION:Refer Senate Bill 06-101 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion failed 1-6.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Johnson
Yes
Mitchell
No
Sandoval
No
Shaffer
No
Traylor
No
Hanna
No
Hagedorn
No
Not Final YES: 1 NO: 6 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL
BILL:SB06-101
TIME: 10:01:07 AM
MOVED:Hanna
MOTION:Reverse the previous roll call vote and postpone indefinitely Senate Bill 06-101. The motion passed 6-1.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Johnson
No
Mitchell
Yes
Sandoval
Yes
Shaffer
Yes
Traylor
Yes
Hanna
Yes
Hagedorn
Yes
Final YES: 6 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS