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The Legislature continues to debate a number of important issues for the
state. Only eleven working days remain in this year's legislative session, which
will adjourn on April 17.
For a complete list of bills that NHA is following, check the bill summary on our
Web site.
Bills of interest to NHA members advance
The following "bills of interest" to NHA members
advanced March 25-28. Behind each bill number and description are the NHA's position and
the bill's current status.
LB 308 — Adopt the Automated Medication Systems Act
NHA position: Support Status: Select File
LB
830 — Adopt the Prescription Drug Cost Savings Act
NHA position: Monitor Status: Select File
LB 959 — Provide for deficit appropriations
NHA position: Monitor Status: Presented to the Governor
LB 960 — Appropriate funds for employee pay and benefits
NHA position: Monitor Status: Presented to the Governor
Certificate of need bill amended
The Legislature gave second-round approval March 28 to a bill that would
clarify provisions relating to certificates of need (CON) for rehabilitation and
long-term care beds in Nebraska.
Papillion Sen. Tim Gay said he introduced LB 765 to clarify differing
interpretations of current law regulating Nebraska health care facilities’
ability to add patient beds in these two categories.
Current law stipulates that a certificate of need is required before a health
care facility can increase long-term care or rehabilitation beds by more than 10
percent of total bed capacity or ten beds, whichever is less, over a two-year
period.
Gay explained that since the passage of the 1997 law regulating certificates
of need for these two categories of beds, the state Department of Health and
Human Services has interpreted the law to apply to the total long-term care bed
capacity or the total rehabilitation bed capacity, not the total bed capacity of
the entire facility. In a 2006 lawsuit, however, the court interpreted the
stipulation to mean the facility’s total bed capacity, Gay said.
An amendment offered by Bayard Sen. Philip Erdman would add an exception to
the rehabilitation bed certificate of need moratorium. Under the exception, a
CON for up to three beds could be granted if the average occupancy for all
rehabilitation beds within a health planning region exceeds 80 percent during
the three consecutive calendar quarters prior to the exception application and
no comparable services are available in the health planning region.
Erdman said that while the current standard works well in urban areas,
greater flexibility is needed in rural health regions. The amendment was adopted
27-1.
Malcolm Sen. Carol Hudkins moved to indefinitely postpone LB 765 due to
ongoing litigation. She said the Nebraska Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a
case with direct bearing on the proposed legislation.
“This litigation will resolve the questions that LB 765 presents,” Hudkins
said. “We should not interfere with that process.”
But Kearney Sen. Joel Johnson said the Legislature should not wait for others
to decide the issue. “We make the policy, not the courts,” he said. After
rejecting the Hudkins motion 4-26, senators advanced the bill to final reading
by voice vote.
— Nebraska Unicameral Update Online, March 28, 2008.
Bill allowing automated medication systems advanced
Lawmakers gave first-round approval March 27 to a bill that would allow the
use of automated medication systems under limited circumstances. Introduced by
Platte Center Sen. Arnie Stuthman, LB 308 would adopt the Automated Medication
Systems Act. Stuthman said automated medication systems can include machines
used by pharmacists to automatically count dosages and bottle and label drugs,
or systems that store medications while collecting and maintaining information
on transactions.
As amended, the bill would allow automated medication systems to be used in a
licensed pharmacy only when a pharmacist dispenses medication to patients for
self-administration pursuant to a prescription. In hospitals, an automated
medication machine could be operated only for medication administered by a
licensed health care professional pursuant to a chart order. The bill would
prohibit use of the systems in long-term care facilities.
Stuthman said health professionals have found automated systems to be a safer
and healthier means of handling medications. The bill was advanced to select
file 30-0.
— Nebraska Unicameral Update Online, March 28, 2008.
Prescription drug bill advances
Lawmakers advanced a bill March 26 intended to lower the cost of providing
Medicaid prescription drugs in Nebraska. Sponsored by Omaha Sen. Steve Lathrop,
LB 830 would establish a preferred drug list for the state’s Medicaid program.
As amended by a committee amendment, the bill would require the state Department
of Health and Human Services to create and maintain the preferred drug list and
to establish a pharmaceutical and therapeutics committee to advise the
department on all matters relating to the list. Lathrop said a preferred drug
list is a cost-cutting tool used by insurance companies.
Read more.
— Nebraska Unicameral Update Online, March 28, 2008.
Senators debate bill to expand workers’ compensation benefits for mental injuries
On March 27, senators debated LB 1082, legislation that would expand employer
health care obligations by requiring workers’ compensation coverage for mental
injury or illness suffered by employees who viewed violent acts deemed
“extraordinary or unusual” while on the job. Currently, under Nebraska Workers’
Compensation Act, mental injuries are compensable only when tied to a
compensable physical injury. LB 1082 would provide for compensability of mental
injuries unaccompanied by a physical injury for employees who are witnesses or
victims of violent criminal acts. Several senators raised concerns about how
much the proposal could cost the state and whether workers’ compensation
premiums could increase. Due to time constraints, senators did not vote on the
bill’s advancement. However, it is expected the bill will return to the
legislative agenda soon.
— Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, Legislative Report, May 28, 2008.
Nebraska senators give final OK to state budget, send to Governor
(Lincoln Journal Star & Omaha World-Herald reports) — Senators gave final
approval Friday to a $6.8 billion, two-year state budget that includes a likely
1 cent-per-gallon increase in the fuel tax. Now it’s Gov. Dave Heineman’s turn.
“The governor is going to take his whole five days and review the budget in
detail,” said Jen Rae Hein, spokeswoman for Heineman. The governor has line item
veto power, meaning he can reduce or eliminate specific budget items. The
deadline for those decisions is midnight Thursday. And the Legislature can, with
30 votes, override individual vetoes. Though Heineman has not promised any
vetoes, many senators expect he will veto the $14.5 million added to the roads
department budget, an addition likely to trigger a 1-cent per gallon increase in
the state’s fuel tax in July. This is the second year of the biennial budget, so
there are few major changes to the original budget passed last spring. The
Legislature did not dip into the state’s cash reserve fund to balance the budget
this year, said South Sioux City Sen. Pat Engel. “Hanging on to the cash reserve
is the prudent thing to do,” he said. The budget would push state general fund
spending to $3.32 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30 and $3.54 billion
for the next fiscal year. That means spending would grow an average of 4.6
percent over the two-year budget period.
— Nebraska Chamber of Commerce Daily Update, March 31, 2008.
School bus seat belts won’t be required
Concerns about cost and liability derailed a bill in the Legislature that would
have eventually required all school buses in the state to have seat belts. Six
states already require kids to be strapped in and nine others are considering
it, according to Sen. John Harms of Scottsbluff, who sponsored the Nebraska bill
(LB 1092). He backed away from it Friday after a flurry of opposition from
school administrators and efforts by senators to kill the bill.
“It looks like a nice law,’’ said Grant Norgaard, superintendent of Leigh
Community Schools, located north of Columbus. “But the issue is, does it really
increase safety? The research we looked at ... didn’t show any greater safety.
But it does cost more.’’ Just two weeks ago, the bill passed a first-round vote
by lawmakers, 33-4. But school officials in Leigh and many other communities
took notice of the proposal and told senators of their concerns, dampening
support for the bill.
Read the full article.
— Nate Jenkins, Associated Press, March 28, 2008.
For more information about health-related legislative bills or resolutions, contact: Bruce Rieker, vice president, advocacy at (402) 742-8146 or brieker@nhanet.org.
NHA Rotunda Review is published by the Nebraska Hospital Association, 3255 Salt
Creek Circle, Lincoln, NE 68504. Phone (402) 742-8140, Fax (402) 742-8191. Visit our Web site at
http://www.nhanet.org. Christy Rasmussen, editor, at
402/742-8151, or email, crasmussen@nhanet.org.
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