A publication of the Council on Dental Legislation and K-D-PAC

This Week in the Legislature

Both the House and Senate discussed and debated bills in committee on Monday and Tuesday in preparation of three full days on the House and Senate floor debating bills to meet Saturday’s deadline for bills to be passed out of their “House of Origin.”  Bills that are not passed by their House of Origin are now considered dead.  There are exceptions, therefore check each bill to see if they continue to have life this session.  The Legislature has a two-day recess planned on Monday and Tuesday next week before resuming their work on Wednesday.

Dental Prompt Pay Bill Advances

The hearing was held on SB 273 this past week in the Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance.  The bill would add dental insurance to the state’s “prompt pay act.”  This would require insurance carriers to pay within 30 days of receipt of “clean” insurance statements from dental providers and/or their enrollees.  The KDA testified in support of the bill during hearing and it was passed by the Senate later in the week. 

Hearing on Assignment of Benefit Bill Held

The Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance held a hearing this past week on the SB 175 which would require insurance carriers to include assignment of benefit rights for their insureds in enrollee contracts.  Various provider organizations and specialty hospitals supported the bill while insurance carriers opposed it.  A representative for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas testified that denying assignment rights resulted in healthcare savings of $790 million in 2005.  According to BCBS, this savings translates into a 56% savings off insurance premiums.  KDA Executive Director Kevin Robertson testified in support of the bill saying, in part

“The KDA has difficulty following the logic that giving insureds the right to assign their insurance benefits will reduce provider networks and increase the cost of healthcare.  Insurance carriers will maintain significant leverage over providers and their insureds to stay “in-network” as their insureds who acquire healthcare services from “out-of-network providers” will still be required to pay the full cost of the treatment with usually a lesser reimbursement for the same services rendered.” 

Dr. Bert Oettmeier also provided written testimony to the Committee on behalf of the KDA.  The bill was not acted on by the legislature this past week, but it remains “alive” as it was introduced by an exempt committee. 

Oral Health Summit

Earlier today about 110 oral health advocates, including about a dozen dentists, participated in a day-long oral health planning summit coordinated by the Kansas Office of Oral Health.  The participants discussed various goals and strategies in small groups designed to improve access to oral health care in the state.  The strategies were then ranked in priority order.  The Office of Oral Health will finalize the notes and discussions of today’s meeting and distribute it at a later time.  KDA President Dr. Kevin Cassidy as well as KDA President-elect Dr. Glenn Hemberger attended the health care summit.  

Board of Delegates to Meet

Board delegates and alternate delegates should mark the KDA Board of Delegates meeting on their calendars for Thursday, March 15.  The meeting will be held in conjunction with the UMKC’s Midwest Dental Conference in the Hyatt’s Empire C room starting at 1:30 P.M.  Look for other KDA Council/Committees to be held on Thursday, March 15 as well.

Dental Issues Status

The 2007 Legislative Session begins a new two-year session.  All Senate Bills (SB) will be new beginning with SB 1.  All House Bills (HB) will begin with HB 2001.

Dental Practice

SB 82 does not apply directly to dentistry, but the KDA is monitoring it very closely as it would allow would allow school of chiropractic medicine and osteopathy an exemption from the corporate practice prohibition in the healing arts act.  The bill was modified in the Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare and has been passed by the full Senate.  It is now assigned to the House Committee on Health and Human Services. 

SB 176 is the bill that amends the dental hygienist Extended Care Permit (ECP) provisions passed in 2002.  The bill reduces the amount clinical experience hours to qualify for an ECP I from 1,800 to 1,200 hours; creates a method for previously qualified dental hygienists’ to qualify if they have been in a non-clinical or not practicing in the previous five years; modifies the practice settings to better identify underserved populations, and; allows ECP dental hygienists to apply topical anesthetic.  The KDA Board of Delegates reviewed and approved the proposed bill at its November meeting.  The Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare amended the bill at the suggestion of the KDA to allow dental hygienists to apply topical anesthesia under general supervision.  It was then passed by the full Senate and is now assigned to the House Committee on Health and Human Services.

HB 2214 would authorize the Kansas Dental Board (KDB) to deny, revoke suspend or limit a dentist’s sedation permit.  This is current practice, however, the KDB’s recent review of the sedation and anesthesia rules and regulations brought into question its authority to do so.  A hearing was held in the House Committee on Health and Human Services this past week and HB 2215 was amended into it.  The full House passed HB 2214 yesterday. 

HB 2215 would establish a maximum fee of $200 for the Kansas Dental Board (KDB) to charge for certain permits.  The KDB currently charges licensee for sedation and other permits, however, HB 2215 will validate that practice.  The provisions of HB 2215 were amended into HB 2214 by the House Committee on Health and Human Services.

HB 2216 is the Dental Board’s bill that will change the biennial licensure schedule of dentists and dental hygienists.  Currently, all dentists renew their license in odd years and dental hygienists renew in even years.  The new method will mix dentist and dental hygienist licensure renewal based on the licensee’s license number.  As a result, about half of the dental hygienists and dentists that renew in 2008 and 2009 respectively will have a one-time one year renewal. A hearing was held in the House Committee on Health and Human Services this past week.  The full House passed HB 2214 yesterday. 

HB 2417 is a bill introduced by KDHA that would change the makeup of the dental board to four dentists, four dental hygienists and one public member.  Currently there are six dentists, two dental hygienists and one public member.  No hearing is scheduled in the House Committee on Health and Human Services.  Not having met the “House of Origin” deadline, HB 2417 is now “dead.”

HB 2530 would explicitly exempt healthcare providers from the Kansas Consumer Protection Act statute.  This corrects the problem recently created by a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that held that healthcare providers are included in the provisions that were meant to cover deceptive practices concerning retail transactions.  A group of healthcare provider organizations (including the KDA), led by the Kansas Medical Society, are teaming up to push for HB 2530.  HB 2530 is an exempt bill and a hearing is scheduled in the House Committee on Judiciary on Thursday, March 1.  

Mercury

SB 1 is similar to bills that the KDA has monitored in past years that would prohibit mercury-based thimerosol in vaccines.  Unlike past bills, SB 1 provides that the Secretary of Health may exempt a vaccine containing thimerosol if there is a vaccine shortage, epidemic, bioterrorist incident, etc.  SB 1 was introduced by Senate minority leader Anthony Hensley and Senator Dennis Wilson.  No hearing is scheduled in the Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare.  SB 1 is exempt from the “House of Origin” deadline and, therefore, remains “alive”.

SB 2526 would create a statewide atmospheric mercury deposition monitoring network to measure the deposition of mercury in Kansas.  The data collected will be made available to Kansas-based research institutes and scientists for exploration of the impact of mercury on Kansas flora, fauna and human population.  HB 2526 has been introduced to monitor atmospheric mercury created by coal-fire electric generating plants, but could impact dentistry.  The bill is an exempt bill and a hearing is scheduled on Thursday, March 1 in the House Committee on Utilities.  

Insurance

SB 175 would require all insurance policies to contain a provision to allow for the assignment of benefits directly to a provider of the care. The KDA testified in support of the bill at a hearing in Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance this past week.  SB 175 is exempt from the “House of Origin” deadline and, therefore, remains “alive”.  (See page 1 for more information).  

SB 273 would add dentistry to the “healthcare prompt payment act.”  This would require a dental insurance carrier to pay a clean dental claim within 30 days of receipt.  The KDA testified in support of the bill at a hearing on the bill in the Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance.  The full Senate passed the bill and it is now assigned to the House Committee on Insurance and Financial Institutions. 

HB 2272 is the “health care price transparency act.”  It would require each health insurance carrier and health provider to publicly disclose their rates for certain and common health or medical services.  Dentistry is not included in the bill.  The bill has been assigned to the House Committee on Insurance and Financial Institutions.  Not having met the “House of Origin” deadline, HB 2272 is now “dead.”

HB 2273 is similar to SB 175 as it would require all insurance policies to contain a provision to allow for the assignment of benefits directly to a provider of the care. The bill has been assigned to the House Committee on Insurance.  Not having met the “House of Origin” deadline, HB 2273 is now “dead.”

Public Health

SB 37 would prohibit tobacco smoking in all indoor public places except a “cigar-tobacco bar.”  The Senate Committee on Judiciary has advanced the bill to the full Senate without a recommendation.  SB 37 is exempt from the “House of Origin” deadline and, therefore, remains “alive”.

SB 170 would establish criteria for the types of beverages that are available in elementary and junior high/middles schools.  Permissible beverages are defined….not to include carbonated and high sugar drinks.  The bill is assigned to the Senate Committee on Education where the KDA testified during a hearing.  Not having met the “House of Origin” deadline, SB 170 is now “dead.”

SB 302 would create the “controlled substance monitoring task force” that would implement a program to monitor controlled substances.  The task force would be made up of 11 members including a person appointed by the Kansas Dental Association.  A hearing was held in the Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare and passed by the full Senate.  

SB 318 would direct the State of Kansas to use the tobacco settlement money for tobacco cessation and prevention activities.  The bill is exempt and assigned to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. 

HB 2243 would prohibit the use of tobacco within or on the property of a medical care facility (this does not include a dental office).  The bill is assigned to the House Committee on Health and Human Services.  Not having met the “House of Origin” deadline, HB 2243 is now “dead.”

Charitable Work

HB 2102 would allow healthcare professionals who donate their time to indigent patients at significantly reduced or no cost to apply through a nonprofit community service organization to apply for a tax credit at the rate of $50/hour.  The tax credit would cap at $3,000/year/ taxpayer.  The KDA presented testimony in the House Committee on Taxation, but no action has been taken at this time.   

Government Administrative

SB 16 would authorize the Joint Committee on Children’s Issues to introduce legislation.  This Committee has been in existence since 1999 usually meets during the Legislative Interim.  This bill would provide the Committee with more power to carry outs it legislative charge.  SB 16 is assigned to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means where a hearing has been held.  SB 16 is exempt from the “House of Origin” deadline and, therefore, remains “alive”.

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