House lawmakers have voted to decrease the time Missourians must wait for some medical procedures, increase quality of and access to healthcare, and decrease costs.
Insurance entities require health care providers to seek prior authorization before performing some procedures before they will agree to cover those procedures. If House Bill 1976 becomes law, health care providers who reach a 90 percent approval rate for a given procedure over a six month period will then not have to seek prior authorization for the following six months.
Representative Melanie Stinnett (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Representative Jo Doll (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Health care industry workers and those patients who know of the prior authorization process view it as little more than “red tape” that drives up costs and slows care, and Representative Patty Lewis (D-Kansas City) agrees, and said some doctors report that the delays it causes lead to worse outcomes and even deaths.
The legislation made its way to the House after being approved by the Committee on Healthcare Reform. Chairman Kent Haden (R-Mexico) noted that panel gave it a bipartisan, unanimous vote.
Stinnett told her fellows the prior authorization process gives power to insurance companies and leaves providers fighting to get the best care and outcomes for their patients. Her legislation aims to change that, and to allow providers to focus more on patients’ needs rather than what insurers will allow.
Legislation that stems from the tragic death of a boy in Harlem in 2017 is back before the Missouri House.
Elijah-Alavi Silvera (Photo courtesy of Thomas Silvera)
Though the operators of 3-year-old Elijah-Alavi Silvera’s daycare had been told he had a severe dairy allergy, he was given a grilled cheese sandwich. He went into severe anaphylactic shock and died. His death prompted his father to spearhead an effort that became known as “Elijah’s Law,” which was passed in the State of New York in 2019.
Since then it has also become law in Illinois and Virginia and as an ordinance in Kansas City. Missouri is one of five states in which it is proposed this year.
It is found in House Bill 2552, which would allow doctors to prescribe epinephrine auto-injectors, more commonly known as “epi-pens,” to childcare facilities. It would also require licensed childcare providers to adopt a policy on allergy prevention and response, with a special emphasis on deadly food-borne allergies.
There are some concerns among lawmakers, including a question of cost. Epi-pens are expensive, and the bill does not address how the cost for them might be covered. Schulte said grant programs are available and could apply.
Legislators also questioned a provision that would have the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education develop a model policy for allergy prevention and response and a guide for childcare providers. Some legislators suggest that would be better handled by a different agency.
Also sponsoring the same language is Representative Emily Weber (D-Kansas City), who said regardless of whether this bill becomes law, she hopes it raises awareness among the state’s childcare facilities.
Representative Emily Weber (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Similar proposals were filed by Weber and Ealy last year but neither was the subject of a hearing. Both say they are just glad to see the language getting traction, with Schulte’s version.
The Healthcare Reform Committee has not voted on Schulte’s bill. Weber’s version is House Bill 2036, and Ealy’s version is House Bill 2364.
Radio stations note: “Alavi” in Elijah-Alavi Silverais pronounced like “Allah-vee”
Note to reporters: though sometimes reported otherwise, Elijah-Alavi Silvera had an allergy to dairy, not peanuts. This was confirmed by his father, Thomas.
Two House lawmakers say there are too many dead deer on the state’s roads and it’s hurting economic development and tourism. They say it’s time the legislature steps in and gets the Departments of Conservation and Transportation to do something about it.
Representative Paula Brown (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Hazelwood Democrat Paula Brown and Mexico Republican Kent Haden have each filed identical legislation that would require the Department of Transportation to move dead deer from roadways and bury them at least three feet deep on Conservation land, and would have the Department of Conservation pay for that removal and burial.
The issue came before a House transportation committee four years ago when its then-chairman, former representative Tim Remole (R-Excello), said he counted 75 deer on Highway 63 in the roughly 30 mile distance between Moberly and Columbia. Remole filed legislation about the problem then, and Haden said the committee was told by the Departments of Conservation and Transportation that they would work something out and a legislative solution would not be needed.
The Departments told lawmakers a combination of things has led to the large number of dead deer remaining along the state’s byways. One of those has been staffing.
Department of Transportation Legislative Liaison Jay Wunderlich said the Department is down about 300 maintenance workers. Also gone are hundreds of incarcerated individuals who, pre-COVID, helped remove carcasses and trash along highways.
“ … right now what we’ve been asked to do is just turn the deer around and to leave it on highway right-of-way … ”
Another factor has been chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal neurological disease in deer and other cervids. Department of Conservation Deputy Director of Resource Management Jason Sumners said the Department is concerned about the movement and disposal of deer carcasses in relation to controlling the spread of that disease.
Representative Kent Haden (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
“ … somebody’s going to have to say, ‘What’s good for the State of Missouri and who’s going to do it?’”
Haden and Brown insist, though, that the current situation needs to be addressed. They said in addition to being eyesores, sources of odor, and potential road hazards, the carcasses are threats to economic development and tourism.
The committee took in the concerns of the two departments but most members commented that something different needs to start happening. Representative Rudy Veit (R-Wardsville) said he doesn’t think the legislature should be having to deal with this.