February 14, 2021

The second week of the legislative session was a busy one as committee work began to pick up and now the weather has it at a halt – at least for now.

Session and all committees are cancelled for Monday but the OAFP legislative team will be on calls and making preparations for when bills will be heard. It appears that some committees have been rescheduled for Friday, which is a day the legislature traditionally doesn’t work so that members can return to their districts. Here is what we expect in the coming week and highlights from the previous week.

This week:

• HB1091 – would place into law some protections for providers should managed care be implemented. The measure was scheduled for a hearing Monday and now scheduled for Friday, weather permitting.
• Copay accumulator ban bills – SB92 was scheduled for a hearing Monday and should be rescheduled. It’s twin, HB2678 is scheduled for Wednesday, weather permitting.
• Telehealth parity, SB674, was scheduled to be heard Monday. We will keep you posted on when it is rescheduled.

Last week:

• A group of medical providers filed an injunction to halt the implementation of managed care for Medicaid on the grounds that the legislature is the only entity allowed to allocate funds.
• SB128, the Seizure Safe Schools Act, which requires a person to be trained in recognizing seizure signs and administration of medication, passed through the Senate Education Committee.
• The coalition continues to work against several anti-masking and anti-vaccine measures. One example, HB2335, which would prohibit government entities from mandating vaccines, passed through committee.
• Speaker McCall’s tax credit for rural doctors, HB2089, also passed through committee.
• HB2121 which would add general surgeon to the list of primary care physicians and adds a nurse practitioner to the board, passed through committee.

Please let us know if you have any concerns or questions about any of these measures and wish us luck as we go into week three!