Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Insurance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee gives favorable report to SB 190 on prostate cancer coverage; HB 515 carried over for broader negotiations
Summary
A legislative committee gave SB 190 a favorable report after a brief presentation and voice vote, and agreed to carry over HB 515 at the sponsor's request while encouraging off-season talks with insurers and health associations to combine several related measures into a single bill.
A legislative committee gave SB 190 a favorable report after a brief presentation and voice vote and agreed to carry over HB 515 for further negotiation and a public hearing.
Senator Livingston, who presented SB 190, said the bill "deals with prostate cancer" and "basically expands the insurance plan and coverage for gentlemen that are at higher risk of prostate cancer." A motion for a favorable report received a second from Blackshear and, after no discussion was offered, members responded by voice vote in favor; the clerk recorded no roll-call tally in the transcript.
Committee leadership said HB 515 will be carried over at the sponsor's request and scheduled for a public hearing. The presiding representative encouraged off-season discussions among stakeholders, explicitly naming the medical association, Blue Cross, the hospital association and asking that the Department of Insurance be included. The chair also asked that conversation incorporate Datcher's Utilization Review bill so the parties could "get all those hammered out into hopefully 1 bill that'll accomplish that," according to remarks on the record.
The committee distinguished formal action from further work: SB 190 received a favorable report (a formal committee action), while HB 515 was postponed/carryover at the sponsor's request pending stakeholder negotiations and a public hearing. The transcript shows these items were handled with brief remarks and no extended debate recorded.
Direction to convene off-season negotiations and to involve the Department of Insurance and named industry groups was stated verbally on the record; the transcript does not specify dates, meeting locations, or whether any formal interagency or stakeholder working group will be formed. The transcript also does not supply legislative text details, fiscal impacts, or a roll-call vote tally for SB 190.
A follow-up public hearing for HB 515 and additional inter-party discussions on insurance coverage and utilization review were announced, with the expectation expressed on the record that the parties could draft a single bill encompassing the related items prior to the next session.
