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Health and Human Services Interim Committee
MINUTES OF THE
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES INTERIM COMMITTEE
August 20, 1997 - 9:00 a.m. -- Room 405 State Capitol
Members Present:
Sen. Nathan C. Tanner, Senate Chair
Rep. Nora B. Stephens, House Chair
Sen. Robert F. Montgomery
Sen. Millie M. Peterson
Sen. Pete Suazo
Rep. Loretta Baca
Rep. Mary Carlson
Rep. Gene Davis
Rep. Margaret Dayton
Rep. J. W. "Bill" Hickman
Rep. Bryan D. Holladay
Rep. Robert H.M. Killpack
Rep. Carl R. Saunders
Rep. Raymond W. Short
Staff Present:
Mr. Mark D. Andrews
Research Analyst
Ms. Janetha W. Hancock
Associate General Counsel
Mr. R. Chet Loftis
Associate General Counsel
Ms. L. Kaye Clark
Secretary
Note: A list of others present and a copy of materials distributed in the meeting are on file in the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.
1. Call to Order and Approval of Minutes
Chair Tanner called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m. and welcomed members of the
committee.
MOTION: Rep. Dayton moved to approve the minutes of the July 16, 1997 meeting. The motion passed unanimously. Sens. Montgomery, Suazo, Taylor, and Reps. Baca, Carlson,
Davis, and Short were absent for the vote.
2. Student Safety: Emergency Injections at Schools for Anaphylactic Shock
Rep. Dayton presented the draft legislation
Emergency Injections at Schools for Anaphylactic Shock
to the committee. She said the purpose of this bill is to insure the safety of children in our schools. This bill would permit schools to have personnel trained to administer
epinephrine through an auto-injector to a person suffering a potentially life-threatening
anaphylactic reaction. It provides teachers and schools immunity from liability and gives them
the option of participating in this program. Rep. Dayton then demonstrated the procedure of
giving an injection.
Rep. Dayton distributed a letter from Brian E. Shiozawa, M. D., President of the Utah
Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians, supporting this bill.
Dr. Joseph K. Miner, M. D., Executive Director, Utah County Health Department, said
this program has been implemented in all three school districts in Utah county. He said that
since most schools already have staff responsible for first aid, it is not burdensome for schools to
add this program.
Sen. Montgomery asked about contraindications of this drug. Dr. Miner said that even if
the drug were administered unnecessarily, the child would be unharmed. He said the training
covers such concerns as when to administer epinephrine. Sen. Tanner remarked that epinephrine
is adrenalin, which the body also produces naturally
.
Dr. Henry Yates, M.D., said an anaphylactic reaction can occur within minutes.
Therefore, the ability to respond quickly may save a child's life.
.
Rep. Stephens
asked about the fiscal note on this bill. Dr. Miner said the schools in Utah County needed no new funding to implement this program. The cost is $30 per injector and
comes out of general first aid funds.
Val Bateman, Utah Medical Association, said the Utah Medical Association has worked
closely with Rep. Dayton in drafting this legislation. He added that there is always a risk;
however, in this case the benefit outweighs the risk.
Robin Call, Utah PTA, said the PTA supports this legislation.
MOTION: Rep. Hickman moved that the proposed legislation
Emergency Injections at Schools for Anaphylactic Shock
be adopted as a committee bill. The motion passed unanimously. Sen. Suazo and Rep. Baca were absent for the vote.
3. Children in the Custody of the Division of Child and Family Services, Department of Human Services
a. Tax incentives for adoption (H.B. 303 (1997), Tax Incentive for Adoption and Guardianship)
Rep. J. Brent Haymond presented a draft bill, Tax Incentive for Adoption and Guardianship,
to the committee. He said the bill provides an incentive for families to adopt children from the Division of Child and Family Services. These children have special needs that
may create a financial burden on the adoptive parents.
Rep. Haymond distributed a handout titled "Adoption Expenses: Individual Income Tax
Provisions." He said that because these issues need further study, it is proposed that the program
be in place for 2 years and a review of the results be made by this committee before deciding if it
will become permanent policy.
Rep. Carlson said that given the goal of placing children with special needs
, she felt the income limit of $75,000 was unnecessary.
MOTION: Rep. Killpack moved that the proposed legislation Tax Incentive for Adoption and Guardianship
be adopted as a committee bill.
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: Rep. Carlson moved that the bill be amended to delete the language qualifying the income level. The motion passed with Reps. Stephens and Saunders
voting in opposition. Sen. Suazo and Reps. Baca, Davis, Hickman, and Short were absent for the
vote.
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: Rep. Saunders moved that the language in the original bill be changed, making the gross income cap $100,000. Reps. Carlson and Killpack, and Sens. Taylor
and Tanner spoke against the motion. The motion failed with Sens. Tanner, Montgomery, and
Taylor, and Reps. Stephens, Carlson, Dayton, Holladay, and Killpack voting in opposition. Sen.
Suazo and Reps. Baca, Davis, Hickman, and Short were absent for the vote.
MOTION: Rep. Killpack moved that the proposed legislation Tax Incentive for Adoption and Guardianship, as amended,
be adopted as a committee bill.
The motion passed unanimously. Sen. Suazo and Reps. Baca, Davis, Hickman, and Short were absent for the vote.
b. Cost of living increases for private providers within DCFS and the Division of Youth Corrections (H.B. 388 (1997), Governor's Budget Requirements)
Mr. Loftis said that the draft legislation, Governor's Budget Requirements,
amends the Budgetary Procedures Act. He referred to the handout, COLAs to DCFS and Youth Correction Providers. He said that currently the statute states that the Governor "shall consider" a separate budget recommendation for private providers. Changes made by the draft legislation include: (1)
adding DCFS and Youth Corrections to the Division of Services for People With Disabilities
subsection and reflecting COLAs in the fee rates, (2) allowing for-profit corporations to receive
COLAs, and (3) limiting COLAs to providers of direct services.
Eric W. Bjorklund, President, Utah Youth Private Providers' Network, reviewed the handouts Pressures on Providers and Private Provider Rates. He said that the current process for funding is too complicated and must be renegotiated every year. He feels that the same fee
schedule should apply to private providers as it does for state agencies and that funding needs to
respond to the increasing cost of providing required services.
Vaughn Emett, Department of Human Services, distributed a handout, Human Services Provider COLA, which shows the cost to increase provider rates by one percent. He said that DHS calculates rate maximums and the divisions negotiate the actual rate of payment.
Rep. Stephens said that this draft bill is an improved version of H.B. 388 (1997). The
language has been tightened to insure that the increase would go directly to the employees that
provide the services to the children. She said that since these providers are taking care of
children that are in the custody of the state, they should be given the same increase that is given
to state employees.
Rep. Carlson expressed concern that foster care providers are not included in this bill.
She would like to see foster care included in future legislation.
Stephen Jardine, Governor's Office of Planning and Budget, said that his office does not
support this bill. He said it binds future elected officials.
Brian Curry, Centro de la Familia, said that he loses employees to the state because his
organization cannot compete with state pay raises. He supports this bill.
MOTION: Rep. Carlson moved that the proposed legislation Governor's Budget Requirements
be adopted as a committee bill.
Rep. Saunders and Sens. Montgomery and Peterson spoke against the bill. The motion failed with Sens. Peterson, Tanner, Montgomery,
and Taylor, and Reps. Dayton and Saunders voting against. Reps. Davis, Short, and Hickman
were absent for the vote.
c. Termination of parental rights _ Use of mediation in Child Welfare Proceedings
Patricia Worthington, Foster Care Citizen Review Board Project Coordinator, distributed
the following handouts: Family and Conciliation Courts Review, Dependency Mediation Program/Utah Juvenile Court, Family Conference Model, and Alternatives To Contested Litigation In Child Abuse And Neglect Cases. She said that mediation involves the intervention of a skilled and credible neutral (the mediator) to assist families, agencies, and attorneys in
negotiating a mutually acceptable settlement of the issues regarding child welfare and placement.
The mediation session attempts to resolve the issues before the case comes before a judge. She
outlined the benefits of a court-based mediation program.
Sen. Tanner thanked Ms. Worthington for this information and asked her to keep the
committee apprised of new findings in this area.
4. National Conference of State Legislatures Annual Meeting: Briefing on Health and Human Services Issues
Mr. Andrews reported on the NCSL annual meeting regarding children's health issues.
He briefed the committee
on a new federal program, the Children's Health Insurance Program. This program is federally funded at $25 million annually and requires a $6 million match
from
the state. The funds are provided to states to initiate and expand health care coverage to low-
income children. Targeted low-income children are under the age of 19 whose family income is
equal to or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. He said the federal cigarette tax
increase is the revenue source for this program.
Mr. Andrews referred to the documents included in the handouts: A Legislators Guide To: State Children's Health Insurance Program
, State Children's Health Insurance Program: 1997 Budget Agreement Provisions,
and Background Material for New Program on Children's Health Insurance
. He said these materials provide summaries of this program.
Patrick Johnson, Executive Director, Utah Health Policy Commission, discussed the
Governor's charge to the Commission to develop a recommendation within six months for
implementing the Children's Health Insurance Program. He said it is a ten year program and
funds will be available on October 1, 1997. This program will provide care for approximately 30,000 children and does not need to be tied to Medicaid..
Sen. Tanner requested that the Health Policy Commission provide draft legislation for the
committee to review at the October interim meeting. Mr. Johnson agreed to do so.
6. Other Business
The next interim committee meeting will be a series of meetings in the Uintah Basin
September 17-18, 1997.
7. Adjournment
MOTION: Rep. Carlson moved to adjourn the meeting at 11:45 a.m. The motion passed unanimously. Sen. Montgomery and Reps. Davis and Hickman were absent for the vote.
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