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

This Week in the Legislature

Another legislative deadline is looming next week, as a result, the legislature is working late hours trying to pass bills out of their “opposite house” (Senate Bills passed by the House and House Bills passed by the Senate) by Wed., March 28.  The House and Senate will be debating bills on the floor full time early next week, while they are also beginning to piece together the final budget bills that will be considered at the end of the session.  Casino gaming has been a major issue this week as the House is reviewing a number of different proposals  Current plans are for the legislature to work through April 3^rd before their traditional First Adjournment.  The week-long “Veto” or “Wrap Up” session is set to begin on Wed., April 25.

KDA Annual Meeting

It’s time to register for the KDA Annual Meeting April 19-21, 2007 in Manhattan.  The newly renovated Holiday Inn at the Campus and the KSU Alumni Center is the location for the meeting.  We are especially excited to have the “voice of the Chiefs,” Mitch Holthus, provide our opening Keynote Address on Friday morning.  The KDA has also booked Colbert Hills Golf Course for a scramble format golf tournament on the afternoon of Thursday, April 19 with “shotgun” start at 12:30 P.M.  Start putting together your golf teams and plan to join us!  To register or to get more information on the KDA Annual Meeting goto the KDA Annual Meeting link at KDA Online- www.ksdental.org.  The agenda for the Annual Meeting is below

2007 KDA Annual Meeting - April 19-21, 2007

Thursday, April 19  - K-State Alumni Center

               9:00 am to Noon      Board of Delegates

              12:30 -5:30 pm        Golf at Colbert Hills

              4:30 – 6:00 pm        Welcome Social in Exhibit Hall

              7:30 pm                  Aggieville Olympics

Friday, April 20

              7:00 – 8:00 am        Past Presidents’ Breakfast

              8:00 – 9:00 am        Keynote Address by Mitch Holthus

              9:00 am – noon        Dr. Charles Blair (Practice Management)

                                           Dr. Johnathan Ferencz (Sponsored by Nobel Biocare)

                                           Dr. Paul Belvedere (Esthetics)

              Noon – 1:30 pm       Lunch

              1:30 – 4:30 pm        Dr. Charles Blair (Practice Management)

                                           Dr. Johnathan Ferencz (Sponsored by Nobel Biocare)

                                           Dr. Paul Belvedere (Esthetics)

               6:00 – 6:45 pm        President’s Cocktail Reception

               6:45 – 9:00 pm        President’s Dinner Party

Saturday, April 21  - Holiday Inn at the Campus

              7:30 – 9:00 am        New Members Orientation Breakfast

              9:00 – noon             Dr. Dale Cipra (Prosthodontics)

                                           Lt. David Weed, Drug Program from KHPl

              Noon – 1:30 pm       K-D-PAC Luncheon (Congressman Jerry Moran Invited)

              1:30 – 4:30 pm        KDA Annual Business Meeting followed by Board of Delegates

Dental Board to Hold Meeting in Conjunction with KDA

The Kansas Dental Board has scheduled its regular meeting to be held in conjunction with the KDA Annual Meeting on Friday, April 20 in the State Room of the Holiday Inn at the Campus in Manhattan.  The meeting is open to the public and KDA members are encouraged to attend to see what the Dental Board is all about.

KDA Board of Delegates Meets

The KDA Board of Delegates met last week and, among other things, recommended passage of the 2007-08 KDA Budget, voted to forward a KDA Bylaw amendment on ethics to the General Membership and chose to discontinue the KDA’s current endorsement agreement with Goodman Gravley Insurance Source at the end of our existing agreement on April 30.  The Board of Delegates is scheduled to meet next on Thursday, April 19 at the KSU Alumni Center in Manhattan at 9:00 A.M. in conjunction with the KDA Annual Meeting. 

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 has been passed by the Senate and House and is now awaiting the Governor’s signature. 

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.  The bill has been passed by the full Senate and the House Committee on Health and Human Services has recommended it favorably for passage.  

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.  The bill has been passed by the full House and Senate with different provisions.  HB 2214 is assigned to a conference committee.  The provisions of HB 2215 are now in this bill.

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.  The bill has been passed by the Senate and House and is now awaiting the Governor’s signature. 

HB 2530 would explicitly exempt healthcare providers from the Kansas Consumer Protection Act (KCPA) 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.  The House Committee on Judiciary amended HB 2530 to clarify that healthcare providers were exempt from the KCPA for matters concerning “professional judgment”, but not front office practices such as billing and advertising. The bill has been passed by the House and the Senate Committee on Judiciary held a hearing on the bill this past week.  The KDA provided written testimony in support of the bill in both the House and Senate.  

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.  The Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare held hearing on SB 1 this past week.  No action is expected.

HB 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 House has passed the bill and a hearing was held this morning in the Senate 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”.

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 and House Committees on Financial Institutions and Insurance.  The Senate and House have passed the bill.  The bill was amended into SB 239.

Public Health

SB 37 would prohibit tobacco smoking in all indoor public places except a “cigar-tobacco bar.”  The Senate Committee on Judiciary advanced the bill to the full Senate without a recommendation.  SB 37 is exempt from the “House of Origin” deadline and, therefore, remains “alive”, but it no action is expected this year as a summer “Interim Study” is likely on this bill.

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.  SB 302 was passed by the full Senate and has been recommend favorably by the House Committee on Appropriations.   

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.  The KDA has joined on a letter supporting SB 318. 

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 support of HB 2102 in the House Committee on Taxation No action is expected on HB 2102 as many other professions asked to be added to the bill causing significant confusion and frustration for the Committee.

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”.

HB 2548 would require applicants for licenses, certifications, registrations, or renewals with state boards to provide their social security number (SSN) or tax identification number (TIN).  The Department of Revenue states that this information is critical to the Department’s Discovery Matching Licensing Program. The program researches the tax records of applicants for licenses, certifications, registrations, or renewals with state boards to identify and locate persons who are not current in their Kansas tax liabilities.  The House Committee on Taxation has held a hearing on the bill. 

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