Bill Summary for Bill Number HB09-1012

Date: 02/26/2009

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB09-1012

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Adopt prepared amendment L.011 (Attachment G). Th Adopt prepared amendment L.013 (Attachment H). T Adopt severed section 1 of amendment L.014. Severe Adopt severed section 2 of amendment L.014. Sever Adopt severed section 3 of amendment L.014. Sever Refer House Bill 09-1012, as amended, to the Commi	Pass Without Objection Pass Without Objection PASS PASS Pass Without Objection PASS

04:19 PM -- House Bill 09-1012

Senator Mitchell and Senator Newell introduced House Bill 09-1012. The bill authorizes individual and group health insurance plans in the state to offer incentives for covered persons and groups to participate in wellness and prevention programs. Two amendments were distributed to the committee L.011 and L.013 (Attachments G and H). Senator Newell stated that wellness and prevention programs are valuable for employers. Senator Mitchell responded to questions from Senator Schultheis regarding why legislation was necessary to implement the bill's provisions, stating that right now it is illegal for insurers to grant discounts for healthy behavior. Senator Mitchell and Senator Schultheis further discussed why legislation was necessary to implement the bill's provisions. Senator Mitchell responded to comments from Senator Carroll regarding the bill's interaction with House Bill 07-1355, which prohibited rate banding in the small group market. Senator Mitchell and Senator Carroll discussed privacy protections for employees who participate in wellness programs. Senator Newell emphasized that the programs are voluntary. Senator Schultheis commented on the amendments to the bill added in the House of Representatives, which require the Division of Insurance to collect and maintain data on wellness programs.

04:43 PM -- Cindy Sovine Miller, Colorado State Association of Health Underwriters, distributed a handout regarding the bill (Attachments I). She stated that the bill creates an incentive for employers to offer programs that ultimately lower health insurance costs. Ms. Sovine Miller responded to questions from Senator Carroll regarding how the incentives are triggered, and Senator Mitchell stated that the bill is purposely silent on that issue and that those levels will be determined by insurers and employers.

04:50 PM -- Dr. Steve Summey, testified in support of the bill. He stated the bill will help motivate people to make changes towards health and wellness. The committee discussed whether or not employees could be required to participate in the wellness programs as a condition of employment.

04:57 PM -- Colleen Reilly, President, Total Well Being, testified in support of the bill. She testified that she has seen that the use of wellness programs reduces health care costs. She discussed a study that showed that 50 percent of a person's health care costs are driven by behavior. She stated that allowing employers to receive health insurance discounts will motivate employers to offer the programs.

05:00 PM -- Steve Bieringer, American Diabetes Association, testified in support of the bill.

05:02 PM -- Fofi Mendez, Colorado Association of Family Physicians, testified in support of the bill. She spoke in support of amendment L.013 (Attachment H), which concerns patient-centered medical homes.

05:04 PM -- Dr. David Tinkelman, National Jewish Health, testified regarding wellness programs on smoking cessation and weight management that he has helped establish.

05:09 PM -- Sue Hrenko, Quest Diagnostics, testified regarding wellness incentive programs offered by her company, stating that participation in the programs doubled when participation in the program was tied to discounted health insurance premiums. A handout was distributed to the committee (Attachment J). She described the confidentiality protections in place for the program.

05:12 PM -- Shayne Madsen, Quest Diagnosis, testified in support of the bill. She stated that employers receive aggregated data on employee results in the wellness program. Ms. Hrenko responded to questions from Senator Boyd regarding how employees are notified if their medical tests are found to be abnormal. Senator Mitchell and Senator Newell offered additional clarification.

05:14 PM -- Jerry McElroy, Kaiser Permanente, testified regarding clarifications his organization is seeking to the bill. He asked that the bill be amended to specify that it applies to the small, rather than the large, group market. Additionally, he requested a change to terminology regarding the data that is shared with the employer. Finally, he requested that the bill be amended to ensure that the list of wellness programs that may be offered is not exhaustive. An additional amendment, L.014, was distributed to the committee (Attachment K).

05:17 PM

Senator Newell described the amendments. Amendment L.011 (Attachment G) clarifies the bill's interaction with the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Amendment L.013 (Attachment H) adds patient-centered medical home programs to the list of wellness and prevention programs authorized by the bill. Amendment L.014 (Attachment K) specifies that the bill applies to the small group market, that the list of wellness and prevention programs authorized by the bill is not exhaustive, and specifies that individually identifiable data is not shared with an employer.


BILL:	HB09-1012
TIME:	05:17:45 PM
MOVED:	Newell
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.011 (Attachment G). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Carroll M.
	Lundberg
	Mitchell
	Morse
	Newell
	Schultheis
	Tochtrop
	Boyd

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB09-1012
TIME:	05:19:49 PM
MOVED:	Newell
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.013 (Attachment H). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Carroll M.
	Lundberg
	Mitchell
	Morse
	Newell
	Schultheis
	Tochtrop
	Boyd

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection

05:22 PM

Senator Carroll requested that amendment L.014 (Attachment K) be severed. The amendment was severed into three sections, with severed section 1 consisting of line 10 of the amendment, severed section 2 consisting of lines 13 and 14 of the amendment, and severed section 3 consisting of the remainder of the amendment.


BILL:	HB09-1012
TIME:	05:22:01 PM
MOVED:	Mitchell
MOTION:	Adopt severed section 1 of amendment L.014. Severed section 1 consists of line 10 of the amendment. The motion passed on a 6-1 roll call vote, with one member excused.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Carroll M.	No
	Lundberg	Yes
	Mitchell	Yes
	Morse	Yes
	Newell	Yes
	Schultheis	Yes
	Tochtrop	Excused
	Boyd	Yes

Not Final YES: 6 NO: 1 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB09-1012
TIME:	05:27:51 PM
MOVED:	Mitchell
MOTION:	Adopt severed section 2 of amendment L.014. Severed section 2 consists of lines 13 and 14 of the amendment. The motion passed on a 6-1 roll call vote, with one member excused.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Carroll M.	No
	Lundberg	Yes
	Mitchell	Yes
	Morse	Yes
	Newell	Yes
	Schultheis	Yes
	Tochtrop	Excused
	Boyd	Yes

Not Final YES: 6 NO: 1 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB09-1012
TIME:	05:28:28 PM
MOVED:	Mitchell
MOTION:	Adopt severed section 3 of amendment L.014. Severed section 3 consists of the entirety of amendment L.014 with the exception of lines 10, 13, and 14. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Carroll M.
	Lundberg
	Mitchell
	Morse
	Newell
	Schultheis
	Tochtrop	Excused
	Boyd

Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB09-1012
TIME:	05:28:38 PM
MOVED:	Newell
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 09-1012, as amended, to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 7-0 roll call vote, with one member excused.
SECONDED:
		VOTE
	Carroll M.	Yes
	Lundberg	Yes
	Mitchell	Yes
	Morse	Yes
	Newell	Yes
	Schultheis	Yes
	Tochtrop	Excused
	Boyd	Yes

Final YES: 7 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS