NHHA LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
January 8, 2008
Legislature Reconvenes
The New Hampshire General Court returned to Concord on
January 2 to begin the 2008 legislative session. Hearings on
bills are now well under way. NHHA is following dozens of
bills, a sampling of which follows. More information on
these bills, including NHHA’s positions, will be
forthcoming. Our list of bills to watch is available
HERE.
Uninsured
HB 1195, relative to health care
provider reimbursement for services provided to uninsured
patients. Requires providers to accept from uninsured
patients as payment in full an amount equivalent to, or less
than, the average insurance payment.
Community Benefits
SB 426, establishing a committee to study the term
“community benefit” applicable to nonprofit health care
providers
Insurance
HB 1296, repeal of health insurance coverage in the event
of divorce or legal separation. Repeals legislation
recently enacted to continue health coverage for divorced
families.
HB 1602: repeal of dependent health insurance coverage.
Repeals legislation enacted in 2007 to cover dependent
adults through age 25.
Privacy/Health Information
HB 1587, relative to patient health care information.
This bill would require New Hampshire health care providers
to adhere to a more restrictive privacy standard than HIPAA.
SB 425, relative to data collection practices of health
care providers. This bill requires that the State’s
Uniform Health Data Discharge Set (UHDDS) be expanded to
include charity care.
SB 433, relative to confidential communications between a
physician and patient. This bill excludes the release of
the results of laboratory tests for drugs from the law
regarding confidential communications between a physician
and a patient.
Public Health
HB 1422, establishing a commission on the prevention of
childhood obesity
Quality/Patient Safety
HB 1503, making an appropriation to fund the reporting of
hospital infections. Provides funding for the current
requirement that the State enact a system for hospitals to
report certain infections to the Department of Health &
Human Services.
Workforce
SB 420, relative to criminal background checks of health
care facilities. Requires every applicant applying for a
license to operate a health care facility to submit the
results of a criminal records check.
OTHER LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY
Certificate of Need
In 2007, SB 114 was introduced to allow an exemption for
surgicenters from CON review. The Senate held the bill for
further consideration early in 2008. The Senate HHS
Committee has recommended to kill SB 114, while the bill’s
sponsor, Senator Betsi DeVries (D-Manchester), prepares to
introduce a new bill to address changes to the CON statute.
NHHA will be working with Senator DeVries and Senator Kathy
Sgambati (D-Tilton), along with other provider
representative, to craft the new bill.
STATUS OF BILLS HELD OVER FROM 2007
HB 455, Repealing the law on screening panels for medical
injury claims
The House Judiciary Committee recommends this bill be
studied further in 2008.
HB 563, Obtaining birth certificates for stillborn
children
The House passed this bill allowing individuals to request a
certificate of stillbirth to be issued by the State Division
of Vital Records. HB 563 moves on to the Senate.
HB 858, Discount medical plans.
The House voted to place all discount medical plans under
the jurisdiction of the Insurance Department and to adopt
regulations regarding disclosure and notification to inform
consumers that discount plans are not insurance products. HB
858 will be sent to the Senate.
Go to
http://www.nhha.org/nhha/state_law/bills.php to view the
list of bills NHHA is tracking.
