Monday, March 4, 2013

Legislative Update for the Week of 2/25


Budget Update

Joint Appropriations subcommittees continued to meet last week.  The Health and Human Services subcommittee focused on mental health and intellectual/developmental disabilities last week, hearing from and about MCOs for the bulk of the meetings (handouts online here). 

Bill Updates

HB 5, Temporary Funding/Group Homes and Special Care Units (Dollar, Burr).  HB 5 allows individuals in group homes and Special Care Units who are no longer eligible for Personal Care Services due to the change in law to access the $39.7 mil allocated in last year’s budget for residents of Adult Care Homes who lost Personal Care Services due to the eligibility changes.  The House concurred in the Senate substitute this week and the bill has been sent to the Governor.

SB 4, No NC Exchange/No Medicaid Expansion (Apodaca, Brown, Rucho).  SB 4 seeks to prohibit Medicaid expansion and a state-federal partnership health benefit exchange.  The House and Senate conference committees reported their compromise this week.  The new version repeals the budget provision related to the Dept of Insurance implementing a state based health exchange; repeals budget and statutory provisions regarding powers of the Insurance commissioner to implement the ACA; and provides direction to seek federal funding (with a 90/10 match) for the NC FAST system to make Medicaid eligibility determinations for the federal Health Benefits Exchange, as long as the state match is no greater than $5 mil.  The bill has been sent to the Governor.

SB 10, Boards and Commission (Apodaca, Hunt, Rabon). SB 10 has been controversial for its removal of current members of certain environmental commissions, but it also seeks to remove certain judicial appointments.  The Senate version eliminated the Special Superior Court Judges, but the House removed that provision, along with changes to several other sections.  However, the House added a provision limiting the term for Administrative Law Judges to 4 years.  SB 10 passed its first floor vote in the House and is scheduled for its final vote this evening.  The bill is likely headed to a conference committee where the Senate and the House will need to work out the differences in the two versions of the bill.

SB 45, Incapacity to Proceed Amendmenrs (Randleman).  SB 45 was discussed in the Senate Judiciary I committee last week but was not voted upon. The committee chairs, Senators Goolsby and Newton, spoke favorably and there did not appear to be any opposition to the bill. The bill is scheduled for a vote in the committee on Tuesday, March 5. 

New Legislation Filed This Week

SB 125, Public Meetings/Records Laws Violations (Goolsby, Apodaca).  SB 125 would make violations of the public records and open meetings laws a Class 3 misdemeanor. It has been referred to the Senate Judiciary I committee.

SB 137, Prohibit Waiver Co-Pay/Medicaid Providers (Tillman).  SB 137 seeks to amend NCGS 108A-63 to make it unlawful for any provider of medical assistance to waive the collection of co-payments with the intent to induce recipients to purchase, lease, or order items or services from the provider, or in return for referrals or in return for purchasing, leasing, ordering, or arranging for a good, facility or service. It is not a violation if a provider waives a co-payment after determining on an individual basis that the collection of the co‑payment amount would create a substantial financial hardship for the recipient, provided the waiver of co-payments is not a regular business practice of the provider; or if the provider makes a good faith attempt to collect the co-payment and fails. The bill has been referred to the Senate Healthcare committee.

SB 140, Financial Exploitation of Older Adults (Bingham). SB 140 makes several recommended changes to the law to increase the recognition, reporting, and prosecution of those who defraud or financially exploit older adults, and to continue the Task Force on Fraud Against Older Adults.  It has been referred to the Senate Healthcare committee.

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