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Committee inserts four House Medicaid bills into SB126, adds mid-level providers to newborn screening rules
Summary
The House Health and Human Services Committee voted to insert the contents of four House bills worked previously into Senate Bill 126, adopted an amendment to explicitly include mid-level providers in newborn screening provisions, and passed the house substitute out of committee.
The Committee on House Health and Human Services voted to replace the contents of Senate Bill 126 with four House bills the committee worked on previously and approved a targeted amendment that expands who may perform newborn screening tasks.
Committee staff Carly summarized the procedural change: the committee removed the original contents of Senate Bill 126 and "insert[ed] the contents of House Bill 2386, House Bill 20250, House Bill 203907 and House Bill 2399 that we worked yesterday," according to the transcript notation (numbers read in committee as "23 86," "20 2 50," "20 3 90 7," and "23 99"). The chair then moved to work the bills and later to approve the house substitute for Senate Bill 126 as amended.
A substantive amendment attached to the House Bill 2399 portion added mid-level practitioners to the statute’s definitions so they are explicitly authorized to perform newborn screening-related tasks such as drawing blood. A Representative who introduced the amendment told the committee it would "make sure that we include mid level providers, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and nurse midwives to ensure that we're all on the same page when they are distributing out this type of funding and potential feedings for the screenings of these babies." Carly read the statutory references for the mid-level practitioner definition, describing it to members as including certified nurse midwives practicing under the Independent Practice of Midwifery Act, advanced practice registered nurses with prescribing authority under KSA 65-11-30 and related statutes, and physician assistants licensed under the Physician Assistant Licensure Act.
Representative members asked for clarification about which practitioners are included and whether the change expands scope of practice. Committee members were told the amendment "is a broader term for allowing them to do what they've already been doing" and that it was intended to codify existing practice rather than create new authorities.
The amendment received a motion and second, passed on an audible voice vote, and the committee then voted to pass the house substitute for Senate Bill 126 as amended. The committee record shows voice votes with chairs announcing "aye" and that "motion carries."
The committee also discussed the presence of related Senate language and confirmed there is a Senate version of the measures; staff said funding details for specific tele-mental-health procurement tied to other bills had been handled in appropriations and were not contained in the statutory language inserted.
Because the inserted bills are a package of Medicaid-related provisions the committee said it will continue to work through the combined text as the house substitute moves forward. The committee did not provide a roll-call tally in the transcript; actions were recorded by voice vote and chair announcements.
