Subcommittee advances wide slate of health bills; several tabled or postponed

The House Health and Human Resources Subcommittee took up a broad set of bills Friday afternoon, reporting a number of measures out of committee, tabling others for later consideration and approving a prescription drug affordability measure on a 5–2 roll call.

Among the bills the panel approved to be reported out of committee were HB 1609, which asks the Health Benefits Review Commission to evaluate coverage of infertility treatment for inclusion in the state’s essential health benefits benchmark (reported 7–0); HB 1617, which would waive certain fees so homeless youth can obtain vital records such as birth certificates and state identification (reported 7–0 with amendments); and HB 1804, which would add a data check to Medicaid applications to identify applicants who may already be eligible (reported 7–0).

Other measures were tabled or postponed. HB 1710, a bill directing the Department of Medical Assistance Services to convene a stakeholder work group to examine reimbursement rates for early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities, was laid on the table by a 7–0 vote. Likewise, HB 1720, a proposal to make certain violence-prevention services reimbursable through Medicaid, and HB 1723, a request to create a task force to assess hunger-program utilization, were tabled 7–0.

The subcommittee approved HB 1724, establishing a prescription drug affordability board, on a 5–2 vote; the transcript shows the…