Representative Van Donahue wins committee approval to add disparity and reporting language to S.126

Representative Van Donahue told a legislative committee on May 20 that her amendments to S.126 aim to emphasize disparities in access and to add limited reporting for non‑hospital facilities to inform a statewide health delivery strategic plan.

"This amendment is really just about maybe clarifying the intent ... to highlight this priority issue in reducing disparities in access resulting from demographic factors or health status," Representative Van Donahue said, describing the first amendment as adding and relocating language to make reducing disparities an explicit goal of the bill’s statewide strategic plan.

She told the committee the amendment moves disparity language into the portion of the plan that defines a shared vision and goals instead of leaving it in an identification list, and that the change aligns with recommendations from the integration council. Van Donahue also urged attention to parity in reimbursement for mental health and substance use…