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April 16, 2018
Good morning, Healthcare Council. Tomorrow is tax day (today is Emancipation Day in the District of Columbia) - get those returns in. Committee deadline is now behind us, and we are just two weeks away from the third reading deadline in both chambers. Mental health bills are the biggest tranche of legislation still alive post committee deadline that we are tracking. On to the update!
Last Week in Review
A few items of note in the healthcare space during last week's legislative session.
The Chamber testified against HB68 Amendment 3 in the House Mental Health Committee last Thursday. The amendment expands on the problematic nature of House Amendment 1 (which among other things creates a private right of action to sue to enforce mental health insurance parity laws). Of particular concern is language that would prohibit prior authorization and require that all drugs used to treat substance use disorders be placed on the lowest tier of a drug formulary. The amendment passed out of committee on a near party-line vote. The Chamber will participate in further talks regarding this legislation.
Rep. Manley's HB4656 failed in House Insurance: Health and Life and has been referred to the Rules Committee. The legislation would have required health plans to cover hearing aids for individuals 65 years and older (Medicare does not cover hearing aids). The Chamber opposed.
Rep. Fine's HB4146 got out of House Insurance: Health and Life, but only on the grounds that an amendment returns to committee prior to floor action. This is legislation that would prohibit changes to a health insurance drug formulary mid plan year. The Chamber participated in a brief television interview regarding the legislation - watch it here. Draft amendments have been circulated by both proponents and opponents and we'll continue to stay engaged - it's our hope that a negotiated resolution can be reached.
HB4821
passed out of House Insurance: Health and Life on an 11-1 vote. It requires health insurance that cover the treatment of stage 4 advanced, metastatic cancer shall not limit or exclude coverage for a drug by mandating that the insured shall first be required to fail to successfully respond to a different drug or prove a history of failure of the drug unless the use of the drug is consistent with best practices for the treatment of stage 4 advanced, metastatic cancer and is supported by peer-reviewed medical literature. The Chamber is neutral.
SB2334, Sen. Murphy's legislation that would require metal detectors at all hospital entrances was not called in Senate Public Health, although its committee deadline was extended until April 27. The Chamber is opposed.
HB3223, an insurance mandate to cover unlimited physical therapy treatments for multiple sclerosis, passed out of Senate Insurance with an amendment that removed opposition.
Also, last week a federal appeals court struck down a Maryland law similar to HB4900 which would prevent generic pharmaceutical "price gouging." The court found that the state law violated the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution - a similar argument opponents used in committee earlier this session. The Chamber remains opposed to this legislation as the free market should dictate pricing for pharmaceuticals.
Committee Hearings Scheduled for Next Week
House Mental Health has HB5109 posted (the
Community Behavioral Health Care Professional Loan Repayment Act).
On the Senate side, Senate Human Services has posted
SB3075, which concerns reporting requirements for state-run facilities regarding assaults or threats against employees. Senate Appropriations I has a subject matter regarding budget requests from Aging, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission, Council on Developmental Disabilities, IDPH, IL Coroner Training Board and DFPR. Finally, Senate Insurance only has
SB2444, which would exclude
short-term travel, disability income, long-term care, accident only, or limited or specified disease policies from general insurance code mandates.
Of course, we will continue to monitor any new amendments that might move with the one-hour posting notice.
Got something simmering for the last six weeks of session? Just let me know.
Federal Healthcare Update at Illinois Chamber Day
We had a great turnout for the Chamber's advocacy day last Wednesday. In addition to hearing from the two nominees for Attorney General (Kwame Raoul and Erika Harold), Gov. Rauner and tax experts discussing the recently passed federal tax law, we also were pleased to host Jeff Lungren, the U.S. Chamber's chief lobbyist for healthcare and immigration. Your trusty Healthcare Council Executive Director interviewed Jeff following his remarks - click here to watch the short video summarizing his update.
JCAR Update
Just a few new proposed rulemakings since our last update.
DPH proposed amendments to Emergency Medical Services, Trauma Center, Comprehensive Stroke Center, Primary Stroke Center and Acute Stroke Ready Hospital Code (77 IAC 515; 42 Ill Reg 6024) implementing the following Public Acts: PA 96- 1469, which authorizes DPH to adopt minimum standards in rule for critical care providers; PA 98- 973, which adopts new national EMS education standards and creates the Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (A-EMT) category in addition to the existing categories (EMT, EMT-Intermediate and Paramedic); PA 99-319, which replaces the advance directive term DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) with POLST (Practitioner Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment, which reflect an individual's wishes regarding CPR and other medical interventions); and PA 99-661, which amends several definitions.
DPH also proposed amendments to Sexual Assault Survivors Emergency Treatment Code (77 IAC 545; 42 Ill Reg 6577) implementing two Public Acts concerning collection and handling of sexual assault evidence kits. PA 99-801 directs hospitals to complete evidence collection kits for any sexual assault survivor who presents for emergency services within 7 days after the assault. The rulemaking also implements PA 99-173, which removes a requirement that advanced practice nurses and physician assistants who examine and treat sexual assault survivors must have collaborative agreements with a physician (in addition to clinical privileges at the treating hospital).
DHS proposed amendments to Illinois Center for Rehabilitation and Education/ Community Residential Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired (89 IAC 730; 42 Ill Reg 6551) updating the Part to conform with federal laws and to eliminate obsolete services no longer offered at ICRE-Wood, Chicago (a short-term DHS residential facility for adults who have recently become blind or visually impaired).
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