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Gov. Andy Beshear signs more than 35 bills into law amid the coronavirus pandemic, many of them related to health - Health News
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By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
The Kentucky legislature continues to pass bills despite Gov. Andy Beshear's urging to simply pass a budget and anything related to the coronavirus, due to the social distancing needed to thwart it. He announced Saturday that he had signed more than 35 bills into law, many of them related to health.
“While all of us should be focused on responding to the coronavirus as the number of cases grows in Kentucky, I will continue to evaluate the dozens of bills lawmakers are passing and sign those I believe will benefit the people of the commonwealth,” he said in a news release. “While all of these issues could be addressed after we defeat the coronavirus, my staff and I will continue to look out for the best interests of all Kentuckians in deciding which bills should become law.”
Beshear, a Democrat, earlier rebuffed the request of Republican legislative leaders to call a special session after the threat abates if they adjourned early. He said it might not be safe to call them back in time to pass a budget, which must be done by June 30.
Here are some of the health-related bills Beshear signed:
Senate Bill 56, sponsored by Sen. Ralph Alvarado, R-Winchester, brings Kentucky law in line with the new federal law raising the legal age to purchase tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes, from 18 to 21. It also removes status offenses for youth who "purchase, use or possess" tobacco products, which are often called PUP laws. The bill allows the products to be confiscated and shifts the penalty to retailers who fail to adequately check buyers' identifications. The bill had an emergency clause so it became law immediately upon Beshear's signature.
House Bill 135, sponsored by Rep. Steve Sheldon, R-Bowling Green, allows physician assistants "modified prescriptive authority" for controlled substances in federal Schedules III, IV and V after the PAs have practiced for a year. Sheldon has said that 49 states allow full prescriptive authority for PAs and Kentucky will become the sixth state to place restrictions on Schedule II drugs, which includes a long list of narcotics used for pain management as well as several psycho-stimulants that are used treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.
SB 42, sponsored by Sen. Denise Harper Angel, D-Louisville requires any student identification badge issued to a public middle or high school student to contain the contact information for national crisis hotlines specializing in domestic violence, sexual assault and suicide. This contact information must also be on all IDs issued by public or private postsecondary education establishments. This information must be included on the IDs beginning Aug. 1, 2020.
SB 60, sponsored by Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, adds spinal muscular atrophy, also referred to as SMA, to the list of required tests run on infants for heritable disorders. Early diagnosis of this genetic disease helps babies receive treatment when it is most effective. Including SMA, Kentucky will now do 60 newborn screenings. Alvarado said at the bill's Jan. 29th committee hearing that this condition affects about 5-6 Kentucky babies each year.
SB 82, sponsored by Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, establishes the Kentucky Eating Disorder Council in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The council will oversee the development and implementation of eating disorder awareness, education and prevention programs. It will also identify strategies for improving access to adequate diagnosis and treatment services and make recommendations on legislative and regulatory changes. Adams has said that 900,000 Kentuckians, including nearly 30,000 children, have been diagnosed with an eating disorder and that there are no acute care programs, residential or partial hospitalization programs for eating disorders in Kentucky.
SB 134, sponsored by Sen. David Givens, R-Greensburg, establishes the Optometry Scholarship Program. The bill also creates a trust fund that will consist of state general fund appropriations, which is determined with each biennial budget, gifts and grants from public and private sources, and federal funds. A minimum of one-third of the amount appropriated for scholarships must be awarded to eligible students attending an in-state institution. At this time the Kentucky College of Optometry at the University of Pikeville is the only optometry school in the state.
SB 125, sponsored by Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville, allows the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure to determine the allowable scope of practice for athletic trainers in Kentucky, particularly related to their training. This bill has been in the works for about 10 years.
HB 153, sponsored by Rep. Kim Moser, R-Taylor-Mill, establishes the Kentucky Mental Health First Aid Training Program or similar program to be administered by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. This program will train people in how to best address the needs of someone experiencing mental-health or substance-use crisis. Funding for the program will come through a trust, funded with state and federal appropriations, grants and private donations. The hope is that this training will become as common as CPR.
SB 50, sponsored by Sen. Max Wise, R-Campbellsville, requires the Department for Medicaid Services to hire a single pharmacy benefit manager to manage Kentucky Medicaid's $1.7 billion-a-year prescription drug business. This bill is designed to address many of the billing practices between pharmacy benefit managers and pharmacists, which pharmacists have long said are so unfair that they are putting some of them out of business.
Beshear had already signed several other health-related bills into law, including:
HB 99, sponsored by Speaker of the House David Osborne, R-Louisville, authorizes a $35 million state loan to the University of Louisville to support its recent acquisition of Jewish Hospital and other Louisville-based health care facilities.
SB 122, sponsored by Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, modifies Tim's Law of 2017, which allows judges to order assisted outpatient treatment for people who have been involuntarily hospitalized at least twice int he past 12 months. SB 122 would extend the period to 24 months.The goal of Tim's Law is to stop the revolving door of these individuals in and out of the the state psychiatric hospital and in and out of the state's jails. This modification will allow for more participants. The law is named for Tim Morton, a Lexington man who was hospitalized involuntarily for psychiatric treatment 37 times by his mother because this was the only way she could get him the treatment he needed. Morton died in 2014.
HB 129, sponsored by Rep. Kim Moser, R-Taylor Mill, will overhaul the state public-health system, including how health departments are funded and how they prioritize their resources. It is called the public health transformation bill. This bill has been fully funded in the House budget and the governor's budget proposals, but falls about $9.4 million short in the Senate's proposal, according to Randy Gooch, director of the Jessamine County Public Health Department. HB 129 is part of a three-phase approach submitted in the state House to create a sustainable solution to local health departments' pension-driven financial crisis.
House Concurrent Resolution 5,sponsored by Rep. Danny Bentley, R-Russell, asks the federal government to expedite research on the safety and efficacy of medical marijuana.
Kentucky Health News
The Kentucky legislature continues to pass bills despite Gov. Andy Beshear's urging to simply pass a budget and anything related to the coronavirus, due to the social distancing needed to thwart it. He announced Saturday that he had signed more than 35 bills into law, many of them related to health.
“While all of us should be focused on responding to the coronavirus as the number of cases grows in Kentucky, I will continue to evaluate the dozens of bills lawmakers are passing and sign those I believe will benefit the people of the commonwealth,” he said in a news release. “While all of these issues could be addressed after we defeat the coronavirus, my staff and I will continue to look out for the best interests of all Kentuckians in deciding which bills should become law.”
Beshear, a Democrat, earlier rebuffed the request of Republican legislative leaders to call a special session after the threat abates if they adjourned early. He said it might not be safe to call them back in time to pass a budget, which must be done by June 30.
Here are some of the health-related bills Beshear signed:
Senate Bill 56, sponsored by Sen. Ralph Alvarado, R-Winchester, brings Kentucky law in line with the new federal law raising the legal age to purchase tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes, from 18 to 21. It also removes status offenses for youth who "purchase, use or possess" tobacco products, which are often called PUP laws. The bill allows the products to be confiscated and shifts the penalty to retailers who fail to adequately check buyers' identifications. The bill had an emergency clause so it became law immediately upon Beshear's signature.
House Bill 135, sponsored by Rep. Steve Sheldon, R-Bowling Green, allows physician assistants "modified prescriptive authority" for controlled substances in federal Schedules III, IV and V after the PAs have practiced for a year. Sheldon has said that 49 states allow full prescriptive authority for PAs and Kentucky will become the sixth state to place restrictions on Schedule II drugs, which includes a long list of narcotics used for pain management as well as several psycho-stimulants that are used treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.
SB 42, sponsored by Sen. Denise Harper Angel, D-Louisville requires any student identification badge issued to a public middle or high school student to contain the contact information for national crisis hotlines specializing in domestic violence, sexual assault and suicide. This contact information must also be on all IDs issued by public or private postsecondary education establishments. This information must be included on the IDs beginning Aug. 1, 2020.
SB 60, sponsored by Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, adds spinal muscular atrophy, also referred to as SMA, to the list of required tests run on infants for heritable disorders. Early diagnosis of this genetic disease helps babies receive treatment when it is most effective. Including SMA, Kentucky will now do 60 newborn screenings. Alvarado said at the bill's Jan. 29th committee hearing that this condition affects about 5-6 Kentucky babies each year.
SB 82, sponsored by Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, establishes the Kentucky Eating Disorder Council in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The council will oversee the development and implementation of eating disorder awareness, education and prevention programs. It will also identify strategies for improving access to adequate diagnosis and treatment services and make recommendations on legislative and regulatory changes. Adams has said that 900,000 Kentuckians, including nearly 30,000 children, have been diagnosed with an eating disorder and that there are no acute care programs, residential or partial hospitalization programs for eating disorders in Kentucky.
SB 134, sponsored by Sen. David Givens, R-Greensburg, establishes the Optometry Scholarship Program. The bill also creates a trust fund that will consist of state general fund appropriations, which is determined with each biennial budget, gifts and grants from public and private sources, and federal funds. A minimum of one-third of the amount appropriated for scholarships must be awarded to eligible students attending an in-state institution. At this time the Kentucky College of Optometry at the University of Pikeville is the only optometry school in the state.
SB 125, sponsored by Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville, allows the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure to determine the allowable scope of practice for athletic trainers in Kentucky, particularly related to their training. This bill has been in the works for about 10 years.
HB 153, sponsored by Rep. Kim Moser, R-Taylor-Mill, establishes the Kentucky Mental Health First Aid Training Program or similar program to be administered by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. This program will train people in how to best address the needs of someone experiencing mental-health or substance-use crisis. Funding for the program will come through a trust, funded with state and federal appropriations, grants and private donations. The hope is that this training will become as common as CPR.
SB 50, sponsored by Sen. Max Wise, R-Campbellsville, requires the Department for Medicaid Services to hire a single pharmacy benefit manager to manage Kentucky Medicaid's $1.7 billion-a-year prescription drug business. This bill is designed to address many of the billing practices between pharmacy benefit managers and pharmacists, which pharmacists have long said are so unfair that they are putting some of them out of business.
Beshear had already signed several other health-related bills into law, including:
HB 99, sponsored by Speaker of the House David Osborne, R-Louisville, authorizes a $35 million state loan to the University of Louisville to support its recent acquisition of Jewish Hospital and other Louisville-based health care facilities.
SB 122, sponsored by Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, modifies Tim's Law of 2017, which allows judges to order assisted outpatient treatment for people who have been involuntarily hospitalized at least twice int he past 12 months. SB 122 would extend the period to 24 months.The goal of Tim's Law is to stop the revolving door of these individuals in and out of the the state psychiatric hospital and in and out of the state's jails. This modification will allow for more participants. The law is named for Tim Morton, a Lexington man who was hospitalized involuntarily for psychiatric treatment 37 times by his mother because this was the only way she could get him the treatment he needed. Morton died in 2014.
HB 129, sponsored by Rep. Kim Moser, R-Taylor Mill, will overhaul the state public-health system, including how health departments are funded and how they prioritize their resources. It is called the public health transformation bill. This bill has been fully funded in the House budget and the governor's budget proposals, but falls about $9.4 million short in the Senate's proposal, according to Randy Gooch, director of the Jessamine County Public Health Department. HB 129 is part of a three-phase approach submitted in the state House to create a sustainable solution to local health departments' pension-driven financial crisis.
House Concurrent Resolution 5,sponsored by Rep. Danny Bentley, R-Russell, asks the federal government to expedite research on the safety and efficacy of medical marijuana.
from KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS https://ift.tt/3bEyeCB - Health News
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