Bill Summary for Bill Number SB06-141

Date: 04/26/2006

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB06-141

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
After Representative Garcia's substitute motion wa L.009 exempts out public hospitals concerns about Moved a substitute motion to amendment L.007; Pag Moved amendment L.007 (the amendment would repeal Moved amendment L.008 (the amendment removes the r Moved L.006 as a substitute motion (the amendment Refer Senate Bill 06-141, as amended, to the Commi	FAIL PASS TIE TIE Pass Without Objection PASS PASS

02:00 PM -- Senate Bill 06-141 - Concerning the Creation of the Health Care Transparency Act

Representative Riesberg, prime sponsor, briefly explained that Senate Bill 06-141 establishes the Health Care Transparency Act. He discussed some of the annual reporting requirements for hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers under the bill and commented that the legislation is aimed at making the system more accountability. Representative Vigil, Chairman, moved to the testimony phase of the hearing.

The following persons testified:

02:11 PM -- Ms. Colleen Goode, University of Colorado Hospital, testified in opposition toward the bill. Ms. Goode commented that the legislation will result in a financial burden for hospitals to comply with. Ms. Goode closed by saying that the bill is not needed and explained that if passed, the bill would result in a cost shift to those patients who have health insurance.

02:20 PM -- Mr. Peter Freytag, Colorado Hospital Association Coalition, distributed a packet of materials in opposition to Senate Bill 06-141 (Attachment D) including a flow chart entitled "Who Regulates and Requires Information From Hospitals", and testified in opposition toward the legislation. Mr. Freytag said that this bill will divert money from patient care to pay for more administrative costs. The 19 pages of reporting requirements in the bill will impose a significant cost on hospitals. Mr. Freytag pointed out that the majority of the reporting requirements are financial in nature and may not make health care costs more affordable. He closed by pointing out that the financial reporting requirements in the bill are financial in nature and do not address quality issues.

02:30 PM -- Ms. Holly Fedak, Exempla St. Joseph Hospital, testified in opposition toward the bill. Mr. Fedak commented on the financial reporting issues in the bill and said that the most important concern should be reporting requirements that keep patients safe. The reporting requirements in the bill do not accomplish this.

02:34 PM -- Ms. Peg Burnette and Ms. Darlene Ebert, Denver Health, testified in opposition toward the bill. Ms. Burnette commented that the bill will add more administrative costs to the high costs that hospitals already pay. These additional costs will ultimately be shifted to patients. This bill will require 18 separate annual reports and include about 525 data reporting items. Ms. Burnette closed by saying that the bill will not have the intended impact of reducing health care costs.

02:45 PM -- Ms. Patricia Geiger, representing self, testified in support of the bill and said that the requirements in the bill are not burdensome and can result in an overall improvement in the quality of health care. Ms. Geiger commented on the programs that could benefit from the bill and urged the committee to vote for the measure.

03:00 PM -- Mr. Tim Markham, testified in support of the legislation and commented on the benefits of a more transparent health care system.

03:09 PM -- Ms. Carrie Curtiss, CCHI, testified in support of the bill and said the bill will enable consumers to make more well-informed decisions about choosing health care providers.

The committee discussed the reporting requirements in the bill and the potential administrative costs tied to the bill. In response to some of the financial reporting requirements in the bill, Representative Jahn moved amendment L.008 (Attachment E). The amendment removes the requirement that contractual rates for services, prescription drug pricing and other proprietary information be part of the reporting requirements under the legislation. The motion passed without objection by those members present.

Representative Cloer moved amendment L.007 (Attachment F). The amendment would repeal the legislation if the costs exceed the amount specified in the fiscal note. Prior to the vote, Representative Judd moved a substitute motion to adopt amendment L.006 (Attachment G). The amendment authorizes a fee increase while Referendum C is in place. The motion passed on a 7-5-1 vote.

Representative Cloer moved amendment L.009 (Attachment H). The amendment exempts certain state hospitals or other government hospitals from the reporting requirements in the legislation. Prior to the vote on amendment L.009, Representative Garcia moved a substitute motion to amendment L.009 on page 6 that would amend lines 15 through 19. After a brief committee discussion, the substitute motion was withdrawn. Next, Representative Harvey moved a substitute motion to amendment L.009 on page 6 that would strike lines 15 through 19. The motion failed on a 8-4-1 vote. After the motion failed, amendment L.009 was back on the table and it was adopted on a 8-4-1 vote. For final action, Representative Judd moved to refer Senate Bill 06-141, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 7-5-1 vote.


BILL:	SB06-141
TIME:	03:31:07 PM
MOVED:	Jahn
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.008 (the amendment removes the requirement that contractual rates for services, prescription drug pricing and other proprietary information be part of the reporting requirements under the legislation). The motion passed without objection by those members present.
SECONDED:	Marshall
		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:	SB06-141
TIME:	03:32:41 PM
MOVED:	Cloer
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.007 (the amendment would repeal the legislation if the costs exceed the amount specified in the fiscal note). Representative Judd moved the following substitute motion to adopt amendment L.006 (the amendment authorizes a fee increase while Referendum C is in place). The motion passed on a 7-5-1 vote.
SECONDED:	Crane
		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: TIE


BILL:	SB06-141
TIME:	03:36:16 PM
MOVED:	Judd
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.006 as a substitute motion to amendment L.007 (the amendment authorizes a fee increase while Referendum C is in place). The motion passed on a 7-5-1 vote.
SECONDED:	Garcia
		VOTE
	Benefield	Yes
	Cloer	No
	Crane	No
	Frangas	Yes
	Garcia	Yes
	Harvey	No
	Jahn	Yes
	Kerr	No
	Marshall	Yes
	Massey	No
	McCluskey	Excused
	Judd	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
Not Final YES: 7 NO: 5 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	SB06-141
TIME:	03:46:27 PM
MOVED:	Cloer
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.009 (the amendment exempts certain state hospitals or other government hospitals from the reporting requirements in the legislation). The following two substitute motions by Representative Garcia (motion withdrawn) and Representative Harvey (motion failed) were made to amendment L.009 before the committee adopted L.009 on a 8-4-1 vote.
SECONDED:	Harvey
		VOTE
	Benefield	No
	Cloer	Yes
	Crane	Yes
	Frangas	No
	Garcia	Yes
	Harvey	Yes
	Jahn	No
	Kerr	Yes
	Marshall	Yes
	Massey	No
	McCluskey	Excused
	Judd	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
Not Final YES: 8 NO: 4 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	SB06-141
TIME:	03:52:26 PM
MOVED:	Garcia
MOTION:	Moved a substitute motion (first) to amendment L.009; Page 6, amend lines 15 through 19. After a brief committee discussion, the substitute motion was withdrawn.
SECONDED:
		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: TIE


BILL:	SB06-141
TIME:	03:53:47 PM
MOVED:	Harvey
MOTION:	After Representative Garcia's substitute motion was withdrawn, Representative Harvey moved a second substitute motion to amendment L.007; Page 6, strike lines 15 through 19. The motion failed on a 8-4-1 vote.
SECONDED:	Crane
		VOTE
	Benefield	No
	Cloer	Yes
	Crane	Yes
	Frangas	No
	Garcia	No
	Harvey	Yes
	Jahn	No
	Kerr	Yes
	Marshall	No
	Massey	No
	McCluskey	Excused
	Judd	No
	Vigil	No
Not Final YES: 4 NO: 8 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: FAIL


BILL:	SB06-141
TIME:	04:06:02 PM
MOVED:	Judd
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 06-141, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a 7-5-1 vote.
SECONDED:	Frangas
		VOTE
	Benefield	Yes
	Cloer	No
	Crane	No
	Frangas	Yes
	Garcia	Yes
	Harvey	No
	Jahn	Yes
	Kerr	No
	Marshall	Yes
	Massey	No
	McCluskey	Excused
	Judd	Yes
	Vigil	Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 5 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS