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House accepts conference committee changes to health‑care reform bill; HB226 passes
Summary
The House adopted the conference committee report for substitute House Bill 226 (health-care reform), resolving membership and database-identifier language disputes, and recorded final passage 52–10.
The House considered the conference committee report for substitute House Bill 226, a health‑care reform package. The Senate had amended membership and privacy language; the conference committee proposed a compromise that reduced overall membership and clarified that the new restriction on personal identifiers would not apply to an existing protected database.
Representative Harwood, moving the adoption, said the compromise included a membership of 13 (six legislators, six governor‑appointed public members and the governor) and clarified privacy language so that the personal‑identifier restriction would not affect an already existing database.
Several members objected to the membership change as diminishing bipartisan balance on the options commission; Representative Atkinson and others urged rejection. Supporters argued the compromise would preserve public input and keep the process workable. "If we can accept this and try it and move forward, it's equally balanced between the legislature and the public," a sponsor said.
The House voted to accept the conference committee report and then voted on final passage. House records show House Bill 226 passed final passage with a recorded vote of 52 affirmative to 10 negative. The bill will be returned to the Senate for signatures and further action.
