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February 17, 2004 For more information contact: 404-817-6133 404-817-6247 404-817-6170 |
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February 17, 2004 Greetings from the Gold Dome! Legislators are getting closer to the halfway mark for the 2004 Session. February 17 was Albany-Dougherty County Day at the State Capitol. Here are a few things which occurred on the 19th day of the Session: Floor News House Members ended their day with a glitch – the Senate adjourned today and decided not to take up an adjournment Resolution like the House, HR 1266, and will be back in Session tomorrow, February 18, 2004 at 1:00 p.m. Thus, the House plan to take up the FY 2004 Supplemental Budget after lunch got postponed. Otherwise, the House passed seven pieces of legislation. HB 1155 passed out of the House by a vote of 122 to 5. The bill proposes to raise the fine for negligent automobile operators who, in their distraction, cause injury to pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists. The fine is currently $25.00 for a person who commits a right-of-way violation and causes injury to a pedestrian, bicyclist, or motorcyclist. This proposal raises the fine to $250.00. It also proposes a new criminal charge of "serious injury by vehicle," if a person, while violating established traffic laws, unintentionally causes serious bodily harm to another, causing disfigurement, partial or total paralysis, or serious brain damage. Rep. Channell's hotel-motel tax bill, HB 1415, cleared the House after a number of hearings on the issue in Committee. The bill deals with how local governments spend monies collected on hotel-motel taxes. Currently, Georgia's law provides that 40 percent of the proceeds from the hotel-motel tax be used to promote area tourism, conventions, and trade shows. However, a number of Legislators have received complaints that some cities and counties are attempting to raid these "tourism" monies by stretching the definition of tourism spending. Some cities and counties have apparently built arts centers or other types of venues with monies collected. The hotel and motel industry, with the support of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, feel that more oversight of these monies is needed. HB 1415 will create a Hotel Motel Tax Performance Review Board to hear disputes from citizens, hotels, motels, etc. to hear about expenditures of these monies. This Board will be composed of eleven members, and would contain one representative each from city and county governments, as well as the tourism and tourism marketing industries. The Board will investigate complaints on the expenditure of hotel-motel tax funds, and determine if the monies' uses conform to State law. Results of any investigation and Board's findings would be made available in a written report. This report would also include any of the board's evaluations, judgments, or recommendations regarding the spending of hotel-motel tax dollars. The Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs would review this report and determine if any remedial action is necessary. If action is necessary, cities/counties would have 90 days to take any required action. Failure to do so will cause such to be reported to the Department of Revenue, which would have penalty powers. Local governments which levy a hotel-motel tax will also be required to open their books to audits, and to provide a report on how the tourism portion of the tax is spent. The Speaker's bill dealing with airports, HB 886, caused some debate. The bill proposes to address situations where state money is used to finance local airports, and would make it harder for local entities to close an airport after taking state money to finance its creation or operation. HB 886 proposes to require any city, county, or private organization which is closing an airport to hold a public hearing prior to its closing. There are notice provisions included, which must run in local newspapers for 30 days prior to the meeting. To ensure state participation, the Dept. of Transportation would be required to be notified at least three weeks in advance. Finally, HB 886 proposes that any decision to close an airport must be made known for 90 days before suspending operations. The bill finally passed with a vote of 96 to 33. Another retirement bill cleared the House. HB 753 proposes that persons who previously served as county-paid Assistant District Attorneys may apply those years toward credible time served in the state Employees Retirement System, or the Judicial Retirement System. Persons eligible for this would have to purchase the time by paying actuarial costs. HB 1320, by Rep. Henson, also cleared the House. This proposes an annual report on the financial condition and any and all premium and cost-sharing proposals for the State's employee health insurance plans offered through the State Health Benefit Plan. Rep. Austin Scott rose in the Well to ask House Members to look at their health insurance cards as he has concerns on how the hospital costs are "set" – he stated that many local hospital CEOs were serving on the Board of 1st Medical Network. The Senate appeared to be a little feisty today. SR 595, which passed on Monday, was still a topic of conversation. Senators, including Sen. Steve Henson who was absent Monday due to illness, took the Well on the Resolution. Sen. Henson stated that if he had been present that he too would have voted in opposition to the Resolution. Sen. Nadine Thomas is also proposing a Resolution which would allow Senators to be expelled if they commit adultery while serving as a legislator. The Senate passed SB 480, proposing the "Forest Heritage Trust Act of 2004," presented by Sen. Gillis, and SB 419, presented by Sen. Tanksley. SB 419 specifically would do the following to O.C.G.A. § 17-14-10.1: A person convicted of a crime which resulted in physical or emotional injury to the victim shall be ordered to pay restitution to the victim for all reasonable and necessary medical expenses incurred by the victim and which reasonably will be incurred by the victim for treatment of the physical and emotional injuries caused by the person in perpetrating the crime against the victim, including expenses related to psychological counseling and treatment by a provider licensed pursuant to Title 43. The court shall hold a hearing to determine the amount of such expenses as required by law. This Code section shall not apply to misdemeanor traffic offenses, except those serious traffic offenses in Article 15 of Chapter 6 of Title 40. With regard to convictions for such misdemeanor traffic offenses, except those serious traffic offenses in Article 15 of Chapter 6 of Title 40, the sentencing court may, in its discretion, consider restitution under this Code section as a part of any sentence imposed, but shall not be required to do so. It also passed out SB 485 which amends O.C.G.A. § 20-15-3 concerning the Georgia Medical Center Authority. This bill places the Authority under the Dept. of Community Affairs for administrative purposes. New Legislation SR 774 – Sen. Tolleson has proposed this Resolution commending Habitat for Humanity and its affiliates in Georgia. SR 780 – Sens. Don Thomas and others have proposed commending the Partnership for Health and Accountability, established in January 2000, to bring together hospitals, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, pharmaceutical manufacturers, the business community, policy leaders, and consumers to share information, data, resources, and expertise to help ensure quality care and patient safety. HB 1492 – Reps. Channell, O'Neal, Childers, Parrish, and Shaw have proposed an amendment to Chapter 8 of Title 31 to enact the "Health Share Volunteers in Medicine Act." This is to help address the numbers of Georgians who are uninsured or Medicaid recipients who are unable to access needed health care because health care providers fear the increased risk of medical negligence liability. This proposes to provide governmental protection to healthcare providers who offer free quality medical services to underserved populations in the State. Such persons would be under "government contract." To contract, the healthcare provider would have to have a current valid Georgia health professional license; not be under investigation, probation, or suspension for the applicable licensing board or sanctioned by HDFA/CMS or have Medicare violations; and submit to a credentialing process to determine acceptability of participation. For purposes of this bill, it defines the following healthcare providers: ambulatory surgery centers; hospitals; physicians or physician's assistants; osteopaths or osteopathic physician's assistant; chiropractor; podiatrist; registered nurses, midwives, LPNs, APRNs; HMOs; healthcare professional association and employees; medical facilities which provide diagnostic services; dentists or dental hygienists; or other healthcare professional, practitioner, provider or facility. This applies to any non-profit corporation which delivers healthcare services provided by licensed professionals, federally qualified community health centers, and volunteer corporation or volunteer healthcare provider delivering healthcare services. Low income is defined as: (A) A person who
is Medicaid eligible under the laws of this state; Such providers could execute contracts with a governmental entity to deliver services on or after July 1, 2004 and would then be considered a state officer or employee, while acting within the scope of duties per the contract. A healthcare provider would not be able to be named as a defendant in any action arising out of the medical care or treatment provided on or after July 1, 2004 per terms of the contract. The bill outlines requirements for the contract including right of dismissal or termination; access to patient records; adverse incidents and information on treatment outcomes; patient selection and initial referrals; emergency care; patient follow-up care; etc. There are notice provisions so that a governmental contractor must provide notice to each patient, and obtain an acknowledgement from the patient, that he or she knows that the provider is an agent of the governmental contractor and what rights the person has. The bill also proposes to allow these governmental contractors to recruit, train and accept the services of volunteers. The healthcare providers will be required to comply with applicable department or agency rules and regulations. They will be covered by workers' compensation. An annual report on statistics and claims would be required to be compiled and that information would be reported to the General Assembly. HB 1496 – Rep. Tommy Smith and others have proposed amending O.C.G.A. § 31-12-12 relating to the sale or dispensing of contact lenses. It will require that such be sold by licensed providers (under Chapters 29, 30, or 34 of Title 43) and that failure to do so resulting in a conviction may be guilty of a felony and punished by imprisonment and/or fines. Among the provisions are also clarifications to conform with federal laws: "all sales of and prescriptions for contact lenses in this state shall conform to the federal Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act, P.L. 108-164, 15 U.S.C.A. Section 7601, et seq. The provisions of this Code section shall be construed in aid of and in conformity with said federal act." HB 1497 – Rep. Broome and others have proposed amending O.C.G.A. § 33-34-10 to require a motor vehicle liability insurer to contact its insured and all persons who may have claims under the motor vehicle liability insurance policy issued by the insurer within three business days following the determination of liability by the insurer for an incident covered by such insurance policy. Failure of the insurer to contact timely its insured or a potential claimant known to the insurer or if the insurer fails to provide the information required, the liability limits of such policy shall be waived as to each such person. HB 1499 – Reps. Keen, Dodson, and Harper have proposed amending O.C.G.A. § 33-34-3(a)(4)(A) to reduce the amount of advance payment for coverage for motor vehicle liability insurance from the first 60 days of coverage to the first 30 days of coverage. This will only apply to personal automobile or family-type automobile liability insurance policies. HB 1500 – Rep. Henson and others have proposed amending O.C.G.A. § 49-4-152.5 to prohibit prior authorization or other restrictions on medications prescribed for patients receiving treatment for certain medical conditions under a Medicaid or any State-funded healthcare program: For patients who are enrolled in a Medicaid or any state funded health care program, no prior authorizations or other restrictions may be required for medications prescribed for the treatment of organ or tissue transplantation, cancer, convulsive disorders, Hepatitis-C, or HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome or for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depressive disorders, as defined by the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatry Association. The bill has been referred to the House Industrial Relations Committee. HR 1331 – Rep. David Graves has authored this Resolution commending Habitat for Humanity and its affiliates in Georgia. Committee News The House Insurance Subcommittee on HB 843 met this morning to hear more on the submission of electronic versus paper claims for healthcare reimbursement. The bill, as written, applies to hospitals and ambulance services providers and no other healthcare providers. Also, as it is written, it changes provisions relating to how the Dept. of Insurance may review an insurer's records. Currently, records are submitted on a quarterly basis to the Dept. of Insurance by the health plans so that they may determine how claims are being paid, denied or pended. This proposal proposes that such information be submitted annually. Kirk McGhee, with the Georgia Association of Health Plans, spoke in favor of the bill's provisions extending the time for paper claims to be paid (current law allows insurers 15 days to pay claims; this would extend the time to 30 days). Mr. McGhee stated that hospitals should be encouraged to submit claims electronically and allowing electronic claims (those submitted by the hospitals) to be paid within 15 business days was a good incentive and extending the time to 30 days would follow what HIPAA accepts on payment of claims. Rep. Dodson inquired about a "clean claim" definition; Mr. McGhee stated that the Georgia Hospital Association and the Georgia Association of Health Plans had spent hours on trying to come to an agreement on a definition for "clean claim" but no consensus could be reached. Tarry Mills Hodges, with the Georgia Hospital Association, spoke in opposition to the bill. She stated that on average it takes a hospital 70 days to get a claim paid. Extending the time could be a serious problem. GHA also has concerns that every insurer could have a separate form or format to use in order to submit such claims. Alan Hayes with the Dept. of Insurance stated that the Department was opposed to the bill. It does not like the changes proposed for the Department's ability to review for compliance and fine insurers who are not operating in accordance to current law. Wayne Oliver with the Georgia Pharmacy Association stated that this bill on "prompt pay" would only apply to hospitals and ambulance service providers; he asked that it be extended to all providers. Also, there are no provisions in the bill on the numbers of times an insurer could ask for the information to support a claim. The bill was held in order that a substitute could be drawn to work out some of these issues. The House Human Relations and Aging Committee met and assigned HB 1466 to a Subcommittee to be chaired by Rep. Hinson Mosley. HB 1466 is the bill proposing "Assisted Living Facilities." Additionally, HB 1417 was to be taken up but a fiscal note is needed on the bill so it was held.
A Subcommittee of the House
Human Relations and Aging Committee met on HB 357. This Subcommittee, chaired
by Rep. Able Mable Thomas, held HB 357 which proposes to notify coroners of
suspicious deaths of persons. The bill states that: "When
any person dies in any county in this state: (1) As a result of violence; (2) By
suicide or casualty; (3) Suddenly when in apparent good health; (4) When
unattended by a physician; (5) In any suspicious or unusual manner, with
particular attention to those persons 16 years of age and under; (6) After birth
but before seven years of age if the death is unexpected or unexplained; (7) As
a result of an execution carried out pursuant to the imposition of the death
penalty under Article 2 of Chapter 10 of Title 17; (8) When an inmate of a state
hospital or a state, county, or city penal institution; (9) After having been
admitted to a hospital in an unconscious state and without regaining
consciousness within 24 hours of admission; or (10) While receiving compensated
care or within 30 days of having received such care, whether attended by a
physician or not, Senior advocates are very much in favor of this legislation. The Council on Aging as well as the Long Term Care Ombudsman testified in support of the bill. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation also supports the bill. They cited similar legislation which was passed in Arkansas. Gayle Sexton, with the Georgia Nursing Home Association, testified that her members were very much opposed to the legislation as it was already one of the most regulated businesses. Nursing home administrators already have to report suspicious deaths. Further, these coroner costs will only increase counties' costs (testimony was provided that such costs were around $125.00 for every coroner visit). Ms. Sexton claimed that the bill feeds at the trough of the trial lawyers and she cited that nursing homes already had a number of "slipshod trial lawyers" at its doors. Senior advocates claimed that the trial lawyers had nothing to do with the bill. Meanwhile, Allison Kelly, with Georgia Watch, a consumer interest group apparently funded by the trial lawyers, spoke in favor of the bill. She claimed that it would provide further accountability of healthcare providers; increases in reviews will only foster better nursing home care and sort out the "bad apples"; it will also strip away conflicts of interest; etc. The Georgia Hospital Association and Medical Association of Georgia also brought up concerns with the legislation. HB 357 was held in order that language could be added to address concerns raised by interested parties. The House Insurance Committee met this afternoon. It assigned HB 1478, the bill allowing a health maintenance organization which operates a pharmacy to mail prescription drug refills to its enrollees, to a Subcommittee composed of Reps. Greene-Johnson; Maddox; and Watson. The Senate Banks and Banking Committee met this afternoon on the Secretary of State's bill conforming Georgia's laws with federal provisions on securities; correct gender terms; address grammatical corrections; address accounting terms; and address the Uniform Securities Act of 2002. Wayne Howell, the Securities Division Director, presented SB 488 to the Committee explaining the various portions of the lengthy bill. It makes no changes to corporate governance. SB 488, which amends the Georgia Securities Act of 1972, was held in Committee in order for the Committee to get its questions answered and work out any necessary changes. It is likely that the bill will be heard either later this week or next week. If you have any questions regarding this Report, please contact Stanley S. Jones, Jr., Jeffrey C. Baxter, or Helen Sloat. |
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