Bill Summary for Bill Number SB12-159

Date: 05/01/2012

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB12-159

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Moved amendment L.003 (Attachment A). The motion p Moved to refer Senate Bill 12-159, as amended, to	Pass Without Objection PASS

03:20 PM -- Senate Bill 12-159

Representative J. Kerr presented Senate Bill 12-159, concerning the evaluation of home- and community-based services for children with autism under the Medicaid waiver program. The bill clarifies the frequency and content of evaluations for children receiving Medicaid home- and community-based services through the Children with Autism Waiver Program. The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing is directed to annually review the fund balance of the Colorado Autism Treatment Fund to determine whether additional eligible children may be enrolled in the waiver program. The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing is required to submit a written program evaluation to specified legislative committees. Representative J. Kerr had amendment L.003 (Attachment A) distributed to the committee.

03:22 PM -- Kim Tenure, Autism Society of Colorado, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Tenure responded to a question about how many children are on the waiting list for the Children with Autism Waiver Program.

03:27 PM -- Carol Meredith, The Arc of Arapahoe County, testified in support of the bill. She explained the history of the Children with Autism Waiver Program and discussed the need for individual and program evaluations. Ms. Meredith responded to questions about the individual evaluation timelines that are currently in place, the costs for the evaluations, and how the bill may alter eligibility for the waiver program. Ms. Meredith continued to respond to questions about the number of children with autism in Colorado, the costs related to eligibility determination evaluations, and how the bill will benefit the autism community. She discussed progress reporting of services and the progress of her son who has autism. Ms. Meredith provide a copy of her comments to the committee (Attachment B).

03:45 PM -- George Lyford, Colorado Center on Law and Policy, testified in support of the bill. He discussed amendment L.003 (Attachment A), which creates a prioritization for children that have an imminent need for services to enter the Children with Autism Waiver Program. Mr. Lyford responded to questions about language in the bill stating that the on-going evaluations should not be used to alter a child's eligibility to participate in the waiver program.

03:49 PM -- Marijo Rymer, The Arc of Colorado, testified in support of the bill. She discussed language in the bill stating that the on-going evaluations must not be used to alter a child's eligibility for the Children with Autism Waiver Program and responded to questions about that issue. She discussed the number of children on the waiting list for the waiver program, information related to the fiscal note, and the age of children being served through the waiver program due to the waiting list.


BILL:	SB12-159
TIME:	03:58:51 PM
MOVED:	Kerr J.
MOTION:	Moved amendment L.003 (Attachment A). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Kefalas
		VOTE
	Bradford
	Brown	Excused
	Fields
	Joshi	Excused
	Kefalas
	Kerr J.
	Massey
	McCann
	Peniston
	Schafer S.
	Young
	Acree
	Summers

YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

03:59 PM

Representative J. Kerr provided closing comments on the bill.


BILL:	SB12-159
TIME:	04:00:02 PM
MOVED:	Kerr J.
MOTION:	Moved to refer Senate Bill 12-159, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 11-0, with 2 members excused.
SECONDED:	Summers
		VOTE
	Bradford	Yes
	Brown	Excused
	Fields	Yes
	Joshi	Excused
	Kefalas	Yes
	Kerr J.	Yes
	Massey	Yes
	McCann	Yes
	Peniston	Yes
	Schafer S.	Yes
	Young	Yes
	Acree	Yes
	Summers	Yes

YES: 11 NO: 0 EXC: 2 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

04:00 PM

Representative Summers announced that the committee will be hearing bills on Thursday afternoon if any bills are assigned to the committee.

04:01 PM

The committee adjourned.