Transcript Highlights:

• Article 6 to 8 addresses community treatment and assertive community treatment and intensive residential
• treatment services, recordification, and also mental health terminology updates.
• ><c> of</c><00:02:47.519><c> inspector</c> human services office of inspector human services office of
• </c> community treatment and intensive community treatment and intensive residential<00:03:05.200><c>
• treatment</c><00:03:05.680><c> services</c> residential treatment services residential treatment services

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:05:09.639><c> that</c> to provide the array of services that to provide the array of services
• We are a medical service first.
• </c><00:17:17.199><c> that</c> for the the specialized services that for the the specialized services
• It interrupts treatment regimens.
• and services until they can treatments and services until they can more<01:55:44.440><c> afford</c><

Committee: Senate Health and Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• And I see now that's who I usually get my services from.
• need to help wrap these families with these services.
• necessary to undergo treatment to fight bladder cancer.
• It ensures that when a person is ready for treatment or already engaging successfully in treatment, a
• It ensures that when a person is ready for treatment or already engaging successfully in treatment, a

Committee: House House Health & Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• We’ve doubled our services again.
• , as well as the basic diagnostic and treatment services you would expect.
• Helping people end up in treatment rather than in jail is a great, great program and service.
• Again, that rate hasn't changed since residential treatment became a Medicaid service four years ago.
• Treatment.

Committee: House Legislative Health & Human Services Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:02:24.101><c> [snorts]</c> treatment programming. [snorts] treatment programming.
• So the recovery treatment needs.
• 25.199><c> um</c><00:07:25.759><c> contracting</c> re-entry service center um contracting re-entry service
• services are billed separately.
• services are billed separately.

Summary: The Public Safety and Judiciary Committee met without a quorum, so approval of the January 3, January 20, and February 3 minutes was postponed. The committee then heard an update from the Department of Corrections on halfway house and Recovery Kentucky funding and operations. Deputy Commissioner Hillary Daily said DOC contracts for up to 1,752 halfway house beds and 780 Recovery Kentucky beds, with 16 halfway houses and 13 Recovery Kentucky centers statewide. She reported 6,329 admissions in fiscal year 2025, average daily populations of 1,041 in halfway houses and 494 in Recovery Kentucky, and explained that Recovery Kentucky placements are more restrictive, generally excluding violent and sex offenders, while halfway houses serve probationers, parolees, and sex offenders who need treatment. She also described programming such as MRT, parenting, adult basic education, and trauma-focused services, and said some facilities offer supervised visitation. Daily said no new funding request was included in the current budget, though DOC has sought rate increases in prior cycles. Community Transitional Services director Barbara Stum also testified in support of halfway houses as re-entry and substance abuse treatment centers. She said CTS primarily serves men coming out of prison or returning to prison who need treatment, and that halfway houses provide security, accountability, treatment, employment support, and help with home placement. Stum said the state moved substance abuse treatment into the community in 2010 to avoid sending people back to prison for treatment, and argued halfway houses are the least expensive form of incarceration. She cited daily rates of $33.61 for CTS beds and DOC figures of $37.33 to $44.33 per day, compared with higher prison and jail costs, and said reimbursement has not kept pace with inflation since the last increase in 2019. She said staffing and supplies are the main pressure points, with counselor pay below market rates, and noted two counselor vacancies. A former resident, Michael Bird, testified that CTS helped him recover and re-enter the community successfully. The committee also received an update from the Administrative Office of the Courts on implementation of the video arraignment/video conferencing system. AOC officials Zach Ramsey and Charles Buyers said the system is now fully implemented in all courtrooms and is used for video arraignments and other Zoom-based court proceedings. Buyers described the pandemic-era transition from older, inconsistent equipment to improvised laptop/webcam setups, then to a more integrated vendor-supported system with touchscreen controls and a judicial support specialist position for training and operation. He said 324 courtrooms are already up to the current standard, with 128 remaining on an older bundle, and that there are no technical barriers to continued use. AOC said it is seeking $3.8 million in recurring annual funding to keep the systems upgraded and current, and plans to upgrade 46 systems in fiscal year 2026 across 15 counties.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> to those who actually receive services. to those who actually receive services.
• So they've they've Human Services.
• </c> programs, wavered services. So, Mr. programs, wavered services. So, Mr.
• of providing services.
• . services. services.

Transcript Highlights:

• The Committee on Health and Human Services is called to order.
• I'm kind of involved in residential treatment.
• go for treatment?
• are paid using the schedule and not be for service schedule. service schedule.
• The rate study focused on the fee-for-service rates.

Committee: Senate Senate Health and Human Services COR

Summary: The committee continued its fourth hearing on fraud, waste, and abuse involving Arizona’s Medicaid and behavioral health systems, with a major focus on Access/ALTCS eligibility, behavioral health licensing, and payment delays. Senator Shamp presented findings alleging large gaps in ABD Medicaid asset verification, including that only a portion of enrollees were checked and that many with substantial liquid assets remained on the program. She argued the state’s waiver and lack of asset limits created a compliance and fiscal risk, and urged referrals to law enforcement, tighter verification, and broader reforms. Heather Dukes, representing behavioral health and sober living operators, testified that ADHS and Access have become overly punitive toward licensed providers, often sending technical paperwork violations straight to enforcement instead of allowing correction plans, and that zoning and licensing delays are harming legitimate businesses. Reva Stewart testified that patient brokering and fraudulent recruitment of vulnerable people into behavioral health and sober living settings remain ongoing, especially through social media, and called for stronger accountability and enforcement against bad actors. ADHS Deputy Assistant Director Tiffany Slater said the department has received more than a thousand complaints about unlicensed sober living operations, which has diverted staff from routine oversight of licensed facilities. She said ADHS has expanded enforcement tools for sober living homes, is using a new licensing system to flag repeat bad actors, and is trying to make the application process easier, while acknowledging that inspections can tip off unlicensed operators. Access Director Virginia Roundtree described steps the agency has taken since the prior hearing, including daily staff huddles, live dashboards, added project management support, an external claims vendor, and an independent review of the Division of Fee-for-Service Management. She said Access is trying to balance fraud prevention with support for legitimate providers, and committed to follow up on a specific provider payment dispute by early the next week. Committee members repeatedly pressed Access and ADHS on delayed claims processing, prepayment review, and whether the current system is driving providers out of business. Roundtable testimony from Access staff described the new Provider Resolution Roundtables, which are intended to work with a small number of providers facing the most claims and authorization problems. Members questioned why claims are being denied or held for long periods, why some providers are still waiting on payments from 2023 and 2024, and whether the agency’s actions are sustainable. Access also explained the Targeted Investment Program, saying it is a federally approved Medicaid initiative with large dollar amounts still being paid out on a delayed schedule, and agreed to provide more information on provider participation and payment timing. No formal votes or committee actions were taken in the portion provided, but the chair indicated the committee would continue reviewing the issue and requested additional reports and follow-up information from Access and ADHS.

Transcript Highlights:

• , some of which have good treatment, and all of which we want to cure.
• Some of which have very poor treatment, some of which have good treatment, and all of which we want to
• I'm working as an integrative medicine assistant at Northeast Medical Services.
• Patients wait in pain, and treatment is delayed.
• And she looked for months for treatment that would work.

Committee: Senate Health

Summary: The Senate Health Committee heard several bills focused on health care access, research funding, consumer protection, and insurance administration. SB 895 by Sen. Wiener would create the California Foundation for Science and Health Research and place a bond measure on the November 2026 ballot to support scientific and health research in California; supporters from UC, labor, and patient groups said it would protect jobs, public health, and the state’s research leadership amid federal funding cuts, while the committee later voted 6-0 to pass it as amended and re-refer it to Natural Resources and Water. SB 944 would make acupuncture a permanent Medi-Cal benefit regardless of federal matching funds; acupuncture providers, patients, health systems, and API community advocates testified in strong support, and the committee voted 6-0 to pass it as amended and re-refer it to Appropriations. The committee also considered SB 987, which would create a California Health Access Fund to capture state savings if federal Medicaid changes under H.R. 1 reduce Medi-Cal enrollment and redirect those funds to care for people who lose coverage and to reimburse safety-net providers. Support came from disability, consumer, family physician, emergency physician, hospital, and reproductive health groups; members discussed prioritizing indigent care, prevention, and safety-net needs, and the bill was moved on a unanimous vote to Appropriations. SB 964 would let a licensed provider adjust the dose or frequency of an already covered medication up to two times without prior authorization when clinically appropriate, with Crohn’s and Colitis advocates describing delays that harmed patients and insurers warning about safety and cost concerns; after committee discussion about off-label use and clinical safeguards, the bill passed 11-0 and was sent to Appropriations. Later, SB 1099 clarified local governments’ authority to provide state or local public benefits to all residents under PRWORA, with city and county counsel and local officials saying it would preserve flexibility for homeless outreach, street medicine, crisis lines, and other low-barrier services; it passed 11-0 and was re-referred to Human Services. SB 1033 would require protein product manufacturers to test for heavy metals and disclose results, prompted by Consumer Reports findings and supported by consumer, health, and women’s health groups; industry witnesses asked for narrower scope and source-level testing, and the committee voted 11-0 to pass it as amended and send it to Environmental Quality. The committee then began SB 1049, which would give providers a 90-day window after a plan’s latest action to correct certain claim errors and prevent denials based solely on missed filing deadlines; the author said it would address honest billing mistakes and recoupments, and the bill was introduced with support from medical groups and ongoing discussions with health plans.

Transcript Highlights:

• The Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services will now come to order.
• , and housing services for children in these areas.
• Treatment delayed. Dignity denied. This is not an isolated experience.
• Treatment delayed. Dignity denied. Dignity denied. labeled a drug-seeking. Treatment delayed.
• The bill addresses these inefficiencies to ensure timely treatment and clearer standards.

Bills: S0006 , S0036 , S0560 , S0778 , S0844 , S0864 , S1002 , S1016 , S1022 , S1030 , S1630

Committee: Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services

Summary: The Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services heard and advanced a series of health, child welfare, aging, disability, and public records bills. CS/SB 1002, on child welfare and parental substance abuse, was described as clarifying that acute or chronic parental drug abuse can constitute harm or neglect when it creates an ongoing risk to a child; it passed after limited questions and supportive testimony from Florida Smart Justice Alliance. CS/SB 1630, a broad aging and long-term care modernization bill, would streamline eligibility screenings, allow temporary DOEA services during emergencies or lead agency failures, tighten oversight of area agencies on aging, permanently establish the Florida Alzheimer’s Care Center of Excellence, and expand guardianship training and enforcement tools; it drew support from AARP, area agencies, and the Alzheimer’s Association and was reported favorably. The committee also approved SB 1022 to add Bay County and Pompano to the Florida Children’s Initiatives, and CS/SB 1030, via strike-all amendment, to streamline regulation of substance abuse and behavioral health providers and clarify background screening and privacy rules. Several bills focused on health care practice and patient access. CS/SB 36, with an amendment, allows nurses with doctoral degrees to use appropriate titles while requiring clear identification as nurses and making misuse grounds for discipline; nursing organizations supported it and it passed. CS/SB 844 requires physicians and nurses to complete a one-time, board-approved continuing education course on sickle cell disease care management, with multiple patients and advocates testifying about delayed care, bias, and the need for better provider education; the bill was reported favorably after an amendment aligning it with the House version. CS/SB 560 streamlines procedures for psychotropic medication for children in DCF custody by reducing duplicative reports, clarifying evaluator qualifications, limiting repeated background checks, and simplifying consent documentation; an amendment removed postsecondary education language, and the bill passed. The committee also approved a public records exemption bill for a uterine fibroids research database (CS/SB 864). The committee also advanced measures affecting disability services and forensic care. SB 6, a claims bill, would pay $3.8 million to a trust for a child who suffered severe abuse-related injuries after DCF involvement; it passed without opposition. SB 778 updates the definition of forensic clients so certain individuals with intellectual disabilities or autism found incompetent to proceed can be housed in the same secure forensic setting, reducing duplicative staffing and space needs; it was reported favorably. CS/SB 1016 codifies the Working People with Disabilities Program, allowing eligible developmentally disabled adults to work while retaining Medicaid waiver benefits and requiring notice to enrollees; advocates described the bill as essential to employment and independence, and it passed. Throughout the meeting, most bills received supportive public testimony, few questions, and unanimous or near-unanimous favorable votes.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm the executive medical director at the Department of Human Services, Direct Care and Treatment.
• Last year, we admitted 424, so it really shows the demand on the services for direct care and treatment
• "I'm Dan Starkamp, Director of Operations Services for Direct Care and Treatment. And, uh, Mr.
• For the record, I'm Dan Starkamp, Director of Operations Services for Direct Care and Treatment.
• </c><01:10:36.679><c> Services</c> intensive Residential Treatment Services intensive Residential Treatment

Committee: Senate Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• B-A-R-E, it's done by the Forest Service.
• For a temporary water treatment system, which is actually at the treatment plant, that was specifically
• Treatment plants were spared, but that doesn't mean that those treatment plants weren't impacted by the
• facility and a pre-treatment facility.
• plant. or a new water treatment plant.

Committee: House Water & Natural Resources Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> being built out by a new youth services being built out by a new youth services coordinating<00:
• </c> appropriate placement and treatment appropriate placement and treatment options<00:11:57.760><c>
• And the reason is this service.
• </c> with the service with the service requirements<01:04:44.720><c> at</c><01:04:45.039><c> the</c><
• </c> of 1.5 would maintain current service of 1.5 would maintain current service levels.<01:15:20.480

Committee: Senate Health and Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• They're full because they're not getting paid by Access for the services and treatment that they are
• Services.
• That stabilizes and maintains the crisis services and outpatient treatment.
• Number one, an increase in services for those needing treatment.
• Number one, an increase in services for those needing treatment.

Committee: Senate Senate Health and Human Services COR

Summary: The committee first approved the February 4 minutes, then heard Senate Bill 1086, which would require AHCCCS contractors to reimburse non-contracting providers for certain lab services when a member was referred by a contracting provider and would bar prior authorization for diagnostic services. The sponsor said the bill was intended to address unpaid claims and improve access, while Access testified neutral but warned the prior-authorization ban could increase utilization and create a fiscal impact. The committee adopted the Warner amendment limiting non-contracting reimbursement rates to no more than contracting rates, then passed SB 1086 as amended on a 4-2 vote. The committee then took up Senate Bill 1611, an emergency measure to require Access to contract with an administrative services organization for the American Indian Health Plan, while keeping Access ultimately responsible for administration. The chair’s amendment expanded ASO duties to include provider support, quality improvement, and data analytics, removed Access claims-payment authority, added tribal observers to the selection committee, and exempted IHS and tribal-facility services. The sponsor and tribal witnesses described the bill as a response to fraud, provider nonpayment, and harm to Native communities, while Access raised concerns about the fast timeline, tribal consultation requirements, possible duplication of program-integrity functions, and fiscal uncertainty. After debate over the emergency clause and tribal consultation, the committee adopted the amendment and passed SB 1611 as amended on a 5-2 vote. The committee also heard Senate Bill 1630, which would direct Access to seek federal approval for a Medicaid home- and community-based services program for adults with serious mental illness. Supporters said the bill would create a long-term community-care option for the sickest SMI members, reduce cycling through hospitals, jails, and homelessness, and potentially save state general fund dollars; family members and advocates testified in support. Access was neutral and said it was finalizing a fiscal estimate. The Angus amendment narrowed eligibility to long-term SMI, reduced the enrollment cap from 500 to 250, changed reporting to semiannual, and removed priority-order language; the committee adopted the amendment and passed SB 1630 as amended unanimously. Later, the committee passed Senate Bill 1193, which protects emergency medical care technicians’ personal identifying information from sale or disclosure by the Department of Health Services, after adopting a clarifying amendment expanding the protected information and addressing commercial requests. It then heard Senate Bill 1318, which repeals the state’s separate dense-breast notification requirement so Arizona law aligns with the FDA’s newer mammography notice standard; the sponsor and DHS said the change would reduce confusion from duplicate, slightly different notices, and the bill was moving forward with discussion of possible future amendment language.

Transcript Highlights:

• Treatment is a central mechanism for reducing risk, and therefore treatment completion is all the more
• It's about the treatment component.
• It's about the treatment component.
• I oversee our Juvenile Hall and Juvenile Services. After 37 years of service, I will...
• Public service is built on trust.

Summary: The committee began without a quorum and heard several bills in subcommittee format. AB 1546, which would increase penalties for repeat DUI offenders by allowing a third DUI within 10 years to be charged as a wobbler, requiring a fifth DUI to be a felony, and lengthening ignition interlock and license revocation periods, drew strong support from law enforcement and district attorney groups and opposition from public defenders and reform advocates who argued the bill would further criminalize substance use and mental health issues. No vote was taken because there was no quorum at the time. AB 1595, aimed at standardizing post-conviction procedures for wrongful conviction claims and clarifying courts’ authority to consider new evidence, was supported by innocence and public defender organizations and opposed by district attorneys, who said existing habeas law is already clear and that the bill would add complexity and burden courts. AB 292, which would impose mandatory jail time for repeat felony domestic violence offenders within seven years, was supported by sheriffs, prosecutors, probation officers, and local governments, but opposed by domestic violence survivor advocates and public defender groups who warned it would not deter abuse and could criminalize survivors and divert resources from services. AB 1816, allowing courts to extend probation up to one additional year for sex offenders who have not completed required treatment, drew support from probation and law enforcement groups and opposition from public defenders and civil liberties advocates concerned about longer supervision, technical violations, and barriers such as poverty and treatment access; the committee later took a roll call and passed the bill 3-1, with one member not voting, sending it to Appropriations. After quorum was established, the committee also passed AB 1627, which would bar people with misconduct in immigration enforcement from becoming California peace officers, and AB 1927, which would create a misdemeanor for falsely impersonating a bail agent to solicit bail, both on due pass motions to Judiciary/Appropriations as amended. AB 1854, a shield-law measure expanding protections for reproductive and gender-affirming health care providers, patients, and related businesses from out-of-state legal process, was supported by the Attorney General’s office and reproductive rights groups and opposed by anti-abortion and family policy organizations; it was moved on a due pass motion to Judiciary. The committee then heard AB 1872, which would make repeat adult swatting offenses a felony/wobbler and require restitution for property damage, with support from law enforcement, prosecutors, and civil liberties advocates and opposition from public defenders and justice reform groups who argued the bill would not deter conduct and could disproportionately affect people with mental illness or undocumented status. A motion to advance AB 1872 was made, but the transcript cuts off before any final vote on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• to provide those treatment services as part of that deflection program as well.
• You're asking for $750,000, but that will go to DHS for the actual treatment services. Mr.
• services.
• Connect them to behavioral health and treatment services.
• With treatment and other services, rather than putting them in jail.

Committee: Senate Appropriations - Education and Environment Division

Summary: The committee met to review fiscal aspects of House Bills 1417 and 1425, both part of a broader criminal justice reentry package. HB 1417 would eliminate the $35 public defender application fee and end court-ordered reimbursement of indigent defense costs, while also removing the $55 monthly community supervision fee. Testimony from the Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents and the Department of Corrections said the bill would replace lost revenue with general fund appropriations of about $310,000 for indigent defense and $1.5 million for supervision fees, and that the fees are rarely collected and can hinder reentry. Representative Clemene said the bill is intended to reduce barriers to successful community reintegration and improve data and supervision practices. HB 1425 would create and fund front-end diversion, deflection, and pretrial services programs. Supporters described it as allowing prosecutors and local jurisdictions to divert appropriate low-level offenders from prosecution, establish deflection programs for people with behavioral health needs, and expand pretrial services. The bill includes a pilot program in three counties, a $1 million appropriation to DOCR for one FTE and contracts with local providers, $750,000 to DHS for treatment services, and $55,000 for a study of pretrial services cost savings. Committee members asked several questions about how the pilot counties would be chosen, how the consultant study would be procured, and what services the DHS funds would cover. The committee also heard House Bill 1603, which would provide a $500,000 matching grant for Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act compliance, with $100,000 available to each of North Dakota’s five tribes if matched. Sponsor testimony said the funds would support a Historical Society NAGPRA compliance committee and help catalog and repatriate human remains and cultural items in coordination with tribes. After questions about the federal mandate and the difficulty of identifying artifacts, the committee voted 4-0 to give HB 1603 a do-pass recommendation, with Senator Meyer assigned to carry it forward.

Transcript Highlights:

• So on the fee for service side, you have an up or payment limit.
• and other long-term care services.
• Predicting a response to treatment.
• and are also receiving inpatient treatment in a hospital.
• And with that representative treatment moves that we adjourn

Transcript Highlights:

• auxiliary services for the aftereffects.
• and in need of other health services.
• women who are dealing with the after effects. of cancer treatment.
• It specifically covers a list of services that are commonly needed after. cancer treatment.
• and medical equipment needed for patients to live fuller lives after cancer treatment.

Bills: HB2140 , HB2610 , HB3121 , HB3339

Committee: House S/C on Disease Prevention & Women's & Children's Health

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:54:40.960><c> More</c> years after a single treatment. More years after a single treatment.
• </c> that enter into substance use treatment that enter into substance use treatment which<01:00:36.960
• So a person who would undergo ibogaine treatment would need to get a pre-treatment EKG to make sure they
• A person who would undergo ibogaine treatment would need to get a pre-treatment EKG to make sure they
• required followup treatment or is there required followup treatment or is it<01:04:02.960><c> how</c

Committee: Joint Public Health and Welfare

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> already started on medical treatment already started on medical treatment whether<00:05:12.080><
• We have a shared ambulance service with another town.
• </c> provided psychiatric emergency services provided psychiatric emergency services uh<01:17:09.639>
• Life-threatening is not the same as... investigative treatment description investigative treatment description
• </c><02:21:34.280><c> Beyond</c> related or Supportive Services Beyond related or Supportive Services

Committee: House Health, Human Services & Elderly Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> treatment plans. treatment plans.
• It's called membrane treatment, and it's the highest treatment basically you can get in the wastewater
• membrane treatment and it's the<00:11:28.880><c> highest</c><00:11:29.200><c> treatment</c><00:11:29.600
• >> Um, that's really up to the Public Service Commission.
• My understanding is service commission.

Committee: House Madison County Legislation