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April 1, 2019 ToolsPrint-Friendly Article
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State House Highlights of the Week: HCIFS Committee Hears Bills on Insurance Coverage for Abortion, Prudent Layperson Standard, Lead
Last week, the Health Coverage, Insurance & Financial Services Committee held public hearings on insurance coverage for abortion services (L.D. 820) and updating the "prudent layperson" standard in Maine's health insurance laws, among others. Physician turnout for these bills was excellent. Norma Dreyfus, M.D., Jay Naliboff, M.D., and Connie Adler, M.D. testified in favor of L.D. 820 with Dr. Dreyfus speaking on behalf of MMA at the hearing last Wednesday. You can find Dr. Dreyfus' testimony on the MMA web site here. Last Thursday afternoon, House Speaker Sara Gideon sponsored a bill to update and clarify Maine's "prudent layperson" standard for coverage of emergency services (L.D. 1155). MMA Legislative Committee Co-Chair Jay Mullen, M.D., M.B.A., a constituent of the Speaker's, had worked for months on this bill on behalf of the Maine Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). He presented testimony in favor of the bill on behalf of Maine ACEP and the MMA. Dr. Mullen's emergency medicine colleagues, Tom Dancoes, M.D. and Charles Pattavina, M.D., also spoke in favor of L.D. 1155. The Maine Hospital Association and Consumers for Affordable Health Care also testified in favor of the bill. The HCIFS Committee is expected to convene a stakeholders working group under the leadership of Senator Geoffrey Gratwick, M.D. to look for common ground on the "clinical peer" and "prior authorization" issues in L.D. 249 and L.D. 705. The Health & Human Services Committee focused on radon and lead, with several bills relating to lead testing in
children. It also heard a bill Sponsored by Rep. Jay McCreight, LD 78, to establish presumptive eligibility for the family planning benefit under MaineCare. Another bill sponsored by Rep. Lori Gramlich would establish in-state mental health treatment facilities for children to avoid their having to be sent to other states. This (Monday) afternoon the Committee focused on opioids, hearing testimony on several bills relating to MAT in correctional facilities (LD 46), overdose prevention sites (LD 949), and one bill (LD 80) to create an entirely new cabinet level department dedicated to substance use disorder. [ return to top ] |
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