1stQUARTER HEALTH POLICY UPDATE
Date: January15, 2016
Committee Chair: Stacey Gates
What’s Going On at the State Level / NOTESLegislation being following: / What it does: / STATUS:
House Bill 16-1054
Concerning End-of-Life Options for Individuals with a Terminal Illness / The bill enacts the “Colorado End-of-life Options Act”, which authorizes an individual with a terminal illness to request, and the individual’s attending physician to prescribe to the individual, medication to hasten the individual’s death. The patient has to make 2 oral requests and a written request to their attending physician. 2 health care providers must determine that the individual is capable of making an informed decision. / 1/13/16 - Introduced in the House and assigned to the Judiciary Committee. / A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate as Senate Bill 16-025. It was introduced in the Senate on 1/13/16 and assigned to State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee.
Senate Bill 16-002
Concerning submission to the voters a ballot question regarding whether the Colorado Health Benefit Exchange can impose a tax to support its operations. / The bill directs the secretary of state to submit to the voters, at the November 2016 statewide election, the question of whether the Colorado health benefit exchange can impose a tax to support its ongoing operations.
In 2015, the exchange began assessing an “administrative fee” against all carriers offering health benefit plans through the exchange. The carriers than assessed that fee against the premiums for all plans offered by the carrier, regardless of whether the plan was sold through the exchange. To eliminate the fee, the exchange would like to raise this money through a tax of 3.5% on all health benefit plans sold by carriers thought the exchange. / 1/13/16 – Introduced in Senate and assigned to the Health and Human Services Committee
Senate Bill 16-006
Concerning the use of qualified insurance brokers to enroll eligible participants in health benefit plans through the Colorado Health Benefit Exchange. / The bill requires the Colorado health benefit exchange to establish a system to refer consumers to qualified insurance brokers to enroll consumers in health benefit plans. To be qualified, an insurance broker must be licensed by the commissioner of insurance and be certified by the exchange. / 1/13/16 – Introduced in Senate and assigned to the Health and Human Services Committee
Senate Bill 16-027
Concerning allowing the option for Medicaid clients to obtain prescribed drugs through the mail. / The bill allows the option to receive through the mail prescribed medications used to treat chronic medical conditions. The recipient may receive up to a certain amount of medication and shall pay the same copayment amount as recipients receiving medication through any other method. / 1/13/16 – Introduced in Senate and assigned to the Health and Human Services Committee
Senate Bill 16-033
Concerning a public health notice requirement for retail food establishments that do not provide employees with paid sick leave. / The bill requires licensees of retail food establishments to post a public health notice if they do not allow employees at least 5 days of sick leave per year. / 1/13/16 – Introduced in Senate and assigned to State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee
Amendment 69
Proposes an amendment to the Colorado Constitution to provide comprehensive healthcare benefits to the citizens of Colorado. / Comprehensive benefits must include primary and specialty care;hospitalization;prescription drugs and medical equipment; mental health and substance use services, including behavioral health treatment; emergency and urgent care; preventive and wellness services; chronic disease management; rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices; pediatric care including oral, vision and hearing services; laboratory services; maternity and newborn care; and palliative and end-of-life care. Additional benefits can be provided.
ColoradoCare replaces the medical portion of Workers’ Compensation. There will be no deductibles. Designated primary and preventive care services have no co-payments. Any other co-payments or cost-sharing must have ColoradoCare’s prior approval and can be waived to insure access to proper care. ColoradoCare will assure statewide access to emergency and trauma services. Beneficiaries will choose theirprimary careprofessionals.Beneficiaries temporarily living or traveling in another state will receive coverage. / By a Citizens’ Initiative process, Coloradans collected enough signatures to successfully qualify ColoradoCare for the November 2016 ballot as Amendment 69. / ColoradoCare is a resident-owned, non-governmental health care financing system designed to ensure comprehensive, quality, accessible, lifetime health care for every Colorado resident. The benefit package will enhance the comprehensive health care services required by Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Premiums will be collected from Coloradans based on income, securing health care regardless of financial circumstance. This efficient, universal system will operate in the interests of Coloradans. By eliminating layers of bureaucracy and reducing administrative and other nonmedical costs, ColoradoCare will cover all residents and still cost less than the current system.
For more information on any of these bills go to: then, click on Bills and Fiscal notes on the left hand side of the page.
What’s Going On Nationwide:
Vice President Biden will Head Pursuit of Cancer CurePresident Obama announced during his State of the Union Address that he’s putting Vice President Biden in charge of carrying out the “moonshot” to cure cancer that Biden called for following his son’s death. "Last month, (Biden) worked with this Congress to give scientists at the National Institutes ofHealththe strongest resources they’ve had in over a decade," Obama said. "Tonight, I’m announcing a new national effort to get it done. And because he’s gone to the mat for all of us,onso many issues over the past forty years, I’m putting Joe in charge of Mission Control. For the loved ones we’ve all lost, for the family we can still save, let’s make America the country that cures cancer once and for all."
Cancer Death Rate Continues Steady Drop, Thanks to Behavior and ScienceHow often do we get to report good news in the waroncancer? Not often, but today, there's cause for celebration. There has been a 23% drop in the cancer death rate since its peak in 1991, according to a new report< from the American Cancer Society. That drop translates into more than 1.7 million cancer deaths averted through 2012, the latest year for which comprehensive data is available.
Additional NIH Funding –In December, Congress approved a bill providing the NIH with an additional $2 billion in research dollars.
US Prices for 105 Pfizer Drugs Surge by Up to 20%, Report FindsPfizer raised US prices for 105 of its drugsonJan. 1, according to data from Wolters Kluwer and published by UBS Securities. There were no price reductions reported. Pfizer reportedly instituted a 20% price hike for the anticonvulsant Dilantin, irregular heartbeat medication Tykosyn and hormone therapy Menest, according to the UBS Securities report. Other increases, which the manufacturer confirmed, were 9.4% for its pain drug Lyrica, 12.9% for Viagra and 5% for newly launched breast cancer drug Ibrance, which previously had a monthly cost of $9,850. The company is not alone, with Amgen, Allergan, Horizon Pharma and Vanda Pharmaceuticals also getting attention for recent price increases.
Task Force: Mammograms an Option at 40, Do More Good at 50Mammograms< do the most good later in life, a government task force has declared in recommending that women get one every other year starting at age 50. It said 40-somethings should make their own choice after weighing the pros and cons. When to start routine mammograms and how frequently to get them has long been controversial. The latest guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, made publicMonday, stick with its advice that women should have one every two years between ages 50 and 74. But they also make clear that it's an option for younger women even though they're less likely to benefit.