House Health and Welfare Committee sends five bills to the House floor

At its 9 a.m. meeting, the House Health and Welfare Committee voted to send five bills to the House floor, approving due-pass recommendations for House Bill 199 (medical assistance for refugees), House Bill 91 (code clean-up), House Bill 110 (provider scope and Medicaid), House Bill 198 (laboratory rules moved into statute) and House Bill 133 (tobacco/clean air rule codification).

The recommendations move each measure to the full House for further consideration. Sponsors and committee members framed most bills as administrative or technical cleanups; one bill on provider scope prompted questions about how Medicaid interacts with professional licensing boards.

Representative John Vandewada, District 22, said of House Bill 199, which moves existing rules into statute for refugee medical assistance, "House Bill 199 basically takes the section of rules and puts them into statues in regards to the refugee Medicaid, medical assistance act and then deletes the rules out of the rule section and puts it into statute and also determines their eligibility." The committee approved a motion to send HB199 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation; committee discussion included a note that one virtual testimony slot had been reserved but no witness appeared. During the roll call on the motion, two members were recorded as voting no: Bell and Egbert; the motion nevertheless carried.

House Bill 91, which Representative Jordan Redmond described as a code-repeal…