Transcript Highlights:

• ALSO FOCUSING ON THE CASE 360 SUMMARY SCREEN. A ONE-STOP SHOP FOR THE WORKER.
• WE WILL HAVE SEVERAL PERTINENT INFORMATION ON ONE SCREEN.
• THE GREEN SCREEN KIND OF GIVES A CLEAR DEPICTION OF THE TECHNOLOGY ON THE WORKFORCE AND WHAT THEY ARE

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:32:17.120> required the mandated health screenings required the mandated health screenings
• I’m not sure if dentists are allowed to provide health screenings, you know?
• Um, I don’t know if podiatrists are allowed to do health screenings.
• Um, I don’t know if podiatrists are allowed to do health screenings.
• Thank you for your screening. So, Okay.

Keywords: Senate streaming session for Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 960, senate, all

Summary: The Senate convened on March 10, 2026, established a quorum, and began with an invocation by Reverend Damien Flowers, which was journalized without objection. The chamber then recognized several guests and honorees, including Dr. Courtney Glickman for being named 2025 Play Therapist of the Year, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Dr. Sonja B. Santelises for her leadership of Baltimore City Public Schools, students shadowing legislators, Navy Alliance representatives, the Maryland Alliance for Advocacy for Sickle Cell, and Ms. Kimberly Body for her lupus advocacy. The Senate also journalized prior remarks about the 6888 regiment. The Finance Committee report then moved several bills forward. Senate Bill 348 would allow hospitals and freestanding birthing centers to contact, rather than only call, patients after high-risk pregnancies; its amendments were adopted and the bill was ordered to third reading. Senate Bill 390 on Wicomico County liquor licenses was laid over under the rule. Senate Bill 492, addressing massage therapy advertising and prohibiting misleading sexual-service advertising, was amended and sent to third reading. Senate Bill 562, concerning pharmacist-prescriber agreements for opioid use disorder treatment, was amended and advanced. Senate Bill 773 would let pharmacists order certain vaccines, including intranasal flu vaccines, for self-administration and was advanced without amendment. Senate Bill 53, on Maryland Port Administration land acquisition notice in Anne Arundel County, was amended and advanced. Senate Bill 428 would bar cost-sharing for collaborative care model services under Medicaid and private coverage and was advanced without amendment. Senate Bill 473 would require human trafficking awareness training for for-hire and transportation network drivers; its amendments were adopted and it was sent to third reading. Senate Bill 585 would shift administration of the human relevant research fund from Health to Agriculture and was advanced. Senate Bill 606, the Easy Pass Commuter Fairness and Transparency Act, would require an MDTA report on commuter plans and unused trips; its amendment was moved as the transcript ended. During debate on Senate Bill 917, which would expand the definition of audiology practice to include certain screenings and non-radiographic imaging, a senator questioned whether the bill would make Maryland the only state restricting a health occupation from performing Medicare-required screenings. The floor leader said the committee had heard that claim in testimony but had not verified it, and the senator moved to special order the bill for amendment, which was granted without objection. Most other bills were reported favorably, with committee amendments adopted without objection and several bills ordered printed for third reading.

Transcript Highlights:

• Workers are not able to screen clients.
• Workers are not able to screen clients.
• Workers are not able to screen clients.
• And that can't screen them, right?
• Clients won't feel to screen clients.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And screen time is... Having committees and working groups on screen time, right?
• And that's sort of my point, is that they're like, "Oh, let's talk about screen time."
• But the issue of too many screens or too much time on the screen, that's at least a decade or 12 years
• They're doing screen time; they're having screen time conversations now, right, after a bunch of kids
• And so, yeah, we tutor a lot in our public schools on screens.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• CS for CS for CS for Hospital 1421, a bill to be entitled and act relating to improving screening for
• What background checks or screening processes are required for adults, such as parents, supervisors,
• With this webpage, people can access a checklist with details about the screening process, along with
• a catalog of positions required to undergo employment screenings.
• a catalog of positions required to undergo employment screenings.

Summary: The House opened with prayer, a moment of silence for fallen Oviedo Officer Jimmy Serrano-Torres, the Pledge of Allegiance, and recognition of Chief Joseph Tuminelli as law enforcement officer of the day. The Rules and Ethics Committee report setting the special order calendar was adopted, and the Speaker announced schedule changes for the following week, including canceling the floor session on Monday and starting Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. The main floor action centered on CS/HB 7033, the House tax package. Sponsor Rep. Duggan described broad tax changes, including reducing the state sales tax rate from 6% to 5.25%, exempting certain bullion sales, repealing the aviation fuel tax, delaying the natural gas fuel tax, changing corporate income tax treatment for charitable trusts, reducing the pari-mutuel tax on card rooms, and major changes to tourist development tax (TDT) use. The bill would redirect most TDT revenue toward property tax relief, dissolve tourist development councils, and include related property tax and local tax administration changes. Several amendments were debated: a Driscoll amendment to preserve local TDT flexibility failed; Duggan’s amendment giving local governments 25% discretion over TDT revenues was adopted; Eskamani’s combined-reporting amendment failed; and a Duggan amendment requiring audit certification of compliance with the TDT/property tax relief provisions was adopted. After debate, CS/HB 7033 passed 78-29. The House then took up CS/CS/HB 1221 on local option taxes, which was presented as a companion-style measure to give local governments more flexibility while redirecting TDT revenues toward property tax relief. Supporters argued the bill would provide immediate relief to property owners and restore accountability in local tax use, while opponents warned it would undermine tourism funding, infrastructure, and local services. An amendment allowing local governments to retain 25% of TDT revenues for general purposes was adopted, and the bill passed 62-45 after floor debate. The final item shown was the reading of CS/CS/HJR 1257, a proposed constitutional amendment related to property tax exemptions and assessment limits, but the transcript cuts off before debate or action on that measure.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:58:17.200> case provide screening and targeted case provide screening and targeted case
• The next proposal, or the next item, is a pre-admission screening grant.
• This funds costs to counties that they incur for the pre-admission screenings to nursing homes.
• incur for the pre-admission screenings incur for the pre-admission screenings to<01:03:42.960>
• the community, the OBRA 1 screening. the community, the OBRA 1 screening.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• That process is then used to collect up a set of projects that are potential candidates, and local screening
• That process is then used to collect up a set of projects that are potential candidates, and local screening
• modifications that reflect what I described for the current program, including adding the local screening
• modifications that reflect what I described for the current program, including adding the local screening
• at in the in the screening at in the in the screening process<00:36:33.280> I'm<00:36:33.400

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:09:02.280> to overlaying the MAXIS green screen to overlaying the MAXIS green screen to
• The newborn screening program is a mandated program that receives funding from fees.
• So,<00:31:15.800> the<00:31:15.920> newborn<00:31:16.360> screening<00:31:16.760
• > program<00:31:17.360> is<00:31:17.600> a So, the newborn screening program is
• a So, the newborn screening program is a mandated<00:31:18.400> program<00:31:19.280> that<

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This access will empower them to thoroughly screen potential adopters and prevent animals from being
• Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 524, a bill to be entitled an act relating to newborn screenings
• The bill would simply add Duchenne muscular dystrophy to the newborn screening test.
• She said the bill would simply add Duchenne muscular dystrophy to the newborn screening test.
• And as you all know, when a child is born, we do a routine newborn screening on that child.

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, opened with prayer and the Pledge, and heard several member introductions before moving to the special order calendar. The chamber first took up SB 200/HB 295 on a comprehensive waste reduction and recycling plan, which directs DEP to develop a statewide recycling strategy by 2026 with stakeholder input and a three-year implementation roadmap; the House bill was substituted and passed 38-0. Senators then approved CS/CS/SB 492 on mitigation banking and land development after adopting two McLean amendments, including one on out-of-service credits and another incorporating phosphate mining lands provisions; the bill passed 35-3 after debate over possible constitutional issues. CS/SB 494 on aggravated animal cruelty was also amended and substituted with the House companion to add a searchable FDLE database of convicted animal abusers and a sentencing multiplier, with an agriculture-related exemption; it passed 37-0. The Senate next passed CS/CS/SB 500/HB 711 creating the Spectrum Alert for missing children with autism, including training and coordinated alert procedures, with a House amendment to align implementation timing and funding; it passed 37-0. CS/CS/SB 524/HB 1089 added Duchenne muscular dystrophy to newborn screening tests and passed 36-0. CS/CS/SB 592/HB 393 revised the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program by lowering approval thresholds, clarifying eligibility and ownership issues, and adding sliding-door wind-driven rain mitigation devices; it passed 37-0 after discussion about funding and insurance premium credits. CS/SB 742/HB 1145 on workforce education allowed charter schools direct access to grant funding and expanded money-back guarantees for certain programs, and it passed 37-0. CS/CS/SB 822/HB 443 on charter schools generated extensive debate and multiple amendments, including a Jones amendment requiring parent acknowledgment of school rules; the bill would expand charter autonomy, reporting flexibility, enrollment capacity, and governance provisions, and it was placed on the calendar for third reading after the amendment process. Later, the Senate passed HB 827 on a statewide study of automation and workforce impact, which would examine job displacement, wages, vulnerable regions, and training needs, by a 35-0 vote. It also passed CS/CS/SB 964/HB 181 on parole guidelines, CS/SB 976/HB 901 on court-appointed psychologists, and CS/SB 1084/HB 1451 on sexual cyber harassment and digitally forged intimate images, all unanimously. CS/CS/SB 1156 on a Home Health Aid for Medically Fragile Children Program was amended to clarify training requirements and passed 37-0 after supportive debate about helping parents care for medically fragile children. Finally, CS/CS/CS/SB 1240/HB 1091 on substance abuse and mental health care was amended to allow designated facilities to retain certain stabilized patients during the 72-hour involuntary examination period and passed 37-0. Several other bills were temporarily postponed, and the chamber also recognized guests and interns throughout the session.

Transcript Highlights:

• , there's bail screen, there's offense screen, there's also all the events and the dockets.
• <01:10:36.440> there's<01:10:36.640> bail<01:10:36.960> screen<01:10:37.280>
• there's<01:10:37.440> off screen there's bail screen there's off screen there's bail screen
• there's off fence<01:10:38.000> screen<01:10:39.000> um<01:10:39.199> there's<01
• um there's also all the uh fence screen um there's also all the uh events<01:10:41.360> and<01

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The committee heard several election-related bills first. SB 51, a comprehensive public financing bill for candidates, drew strong support in testimony but also concerns from the Campaign Spending Commission that the Hawaii Election Campaign Fund has only about $2.2 million, far short of what would be needed, and that the program could not realistically start in 2026 because of staffing and system changes; the commission asked for a start date no earlier than 2028. SB 118, which would create a full-time investigator position at the Campaign Spending Commission, was supported by the commission, which said it has lacked staff growth since 1995 and that an investigator is needed to handle investigations instead of having the commission’s attorney do that work. SB 255, a housekeeping bill on excess cash campaign contributions, was supported by the commission and several county officials and would require excess cash contributions over the limit to be returned within 30 days or turned over to the Hawaii Election Campaign Fund. SB 345, which would expand the current partial public financing program, was supported by the commission but drew questions because it would still allow private fundraising; the commission said that under its assumptions the bill would provide more total public funds than SB 51, with a maximum of a little over $20 million versus a little over $15 million for SB 51. Testimony counts were reported as 125 support/48 oppose for SB 51, 26 support/0 oppose for SB 118, 30 support/49 oppose for SB 255, and 30 support/49 oppose for SB 345. The committee then discussed SB 176 on recount thresholds. The Office of Elections said it would stand on written testimony, and the East Hawaii Republican Party was listed but not present. The Office of Elections explained in response to questions that the bill’s recount trigger would be based on the final election-day count, not the early 6 a.m. tabulation, because the initial count is not complete until later in the day and cured ballots are counted later; the office said it does not want to begin recounts before all election-day ballots are counted. The reported testimony count was 4 support, 50 oppose, and 2 comments. Finally, the committee heard SB 260, the Judiciary’s biennial budget bill. Judiciary staff requested about $6.17 million in FY 2026 and $6.25 million in FY 2027 for operations, 17 permanent positions and one temporary position, plus $11.9 million for capital improvements. The Judiciary said the request would support specialty courts such as Women’s Court, Truancy Court, and DWI Court, a new Wahiawa District Court unit, an additional district court judge in Kona, cybersecurity, the Criminal Justice Research Institute, and facility projects including South Kohala design work and a Kauai chiller replacement. Civil legal services providers, including Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii, Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, the Legal Clinic, Kuikahi Mediation Center, the Domestic Violence Action Center, the Hawaii State Bar Association, and the Hawaii Access to Justice Commission, all supported the bill but asked for an additional $1 million for the civil legal services line item, saying demand is high and the funding is spread across more providers than before. The Judiciary clarified that some of its requested positions would support Wahiawa and Women’s Court, and that the civil legal services funding goes to organizations serving low-income residents on issues such as immigration, domestic violence, evictions, and foreclosures. The committee also briefly took up SB 279 on fentanyl possession thresholds, where the prosecuting attorney’s office supported the bill and said fentanyl is already driving overdose deaths and that the proposed thresholds target distribution-level quantities rather than personal use.

Transcript Highlights:

• Then the last recommendation that the team made was the use of dual-screened wells.
• Dual-screened wells. Let me just take a moment and explain what this means.
• Zonal sampling is done. following well drilling in order to inform the final placement of a screen or
• screens in the well.
• The use of dual screen wells is something we actually do not control; that's something that has to be

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Lots of states are starting to put their service catalogs behind login screens.
• So I'm going to go over, and I bet it changed on my screen, but it didn't on yours.
• So there's two screens... I know what else is.
• So there's two screens and my mouse is lost on the second one. Here we go.
• I'll see if I can get the other screen to actually come back up here.

Summary: The committee approved the March 26 minutes and then received a quarterly update on major IT projects from NDIT. Staff reported the portfolio included 116 major projects totaling about $546 million, with the overall portfolio under budget but slightly behind schedule. They reviewed projects over the 20% variance threshold, including an Industrial Commission grants management system and DOT’s roadway pre-construction replacement, and then heard startup and closeout reports from HHS, OMB, DPI, and DOT. Several previously troubled projects were closed, including HHS bed management, vital records modernization, and DOT roadway capital planning; some projects finished under budget and ahead of schedule, while others were significantly behind schedule or over budget but were now closed or being remediated. The committee also reviewed NDIT’s annual report, including service-fund financials, peer-state rate comparisons, records management, and customer satisfaction efforts. Members asked about how service-fund revenue and grant administrative charges are accounted for, how chargebacks work, and whether NDIT tracks customer satisfaction scores. NDIT said it does track CSAT-type measures in some service areas and has survey data, but it is not planning another customer survey this summer. Members encouraged more regular reporting of customer satisfaction, service-level metrics, and performance data to help guide future improvements. A major portion of the meeting focused on the state’s mainframe modernization effort. NDIT said the overall effort is still targeting about 2030, with multiple HHS and DOT projects underway and a $15 million tech-debt appropriation already removing some components. Staff described the main obstacles as data cleanup, complex integrations, limited staff capacity, retirements, and vendor constraints, and said they are seeking a vendor with modernization support in the next contract cycle. Members pressed for clearer accountability and faster progress, and NDIT and HHS emphasized that they are working jointly but need continued support and better tools. The committee then heard a cybersecurity update on NDIT’s statewide services and maturity assessments. NDIT explained that it provides vulnerability scanning, endpoint protection, security awareness training, threat briefings, and penetration testing, and that these services are tied to a cybersecurity maturity assessment based on CIS controls. Members questioned the sharp drop in participation since 2020 and whether the self-assessment should be mandatory or tied more strongly to StageNet access or insurance incentives. NDIT said participation is voluntary, but Enderf is now requiring annual assessments to keep a 4% insurance discount, and members discussed whether stronger requirements or audit authority may be needed. The meeting ended as the committee began a follow-up discussion on BEAD broadband connection costs and why some locations are much more expensive to connect than others.

Transcript Highlights:

• We had a contractor come in and do the retrofits for all of those vents and screens on those homes.
• As you can see from the screen, our knowledge and support is spreading all across the state already.
• But we could do things like venting, screening of the venting events, things like that that maybe are
• But we could do things like venting of screening of the venting. Right?
• But we could do things like venting of screening of the venting events, things like that that maybe are

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• What you see on the screen is, uh, the south facade of this 40,000 square foot facility.
• What you see<00:32:39.039> on<00:32:39.200> the<00:32:39.360> screen<00:32:39.679
• is, uh, the south see on the screen is, uh, the south facade<00:32:41.360> of<00:32:41.679>
• <00:33:56.799> Uh nothing like you see on the screen.
• Uh nothing like you see on the screen.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• have to get yourself on the list, and at times it depends, I think, on the screener whether they're screened
• in or screened out.
• in or screened out.
• in or screened out.
• in or screened out.

Bills: SB2567, SB2448, SB3046, SB2231, SB2526

Keywords: harassment, restraining order, temporary restraining order, injunction, protective order, public employer, public servant, public employee, government employee, state employee, legislator, judge, judicial branch, executive branch, local government, political subdivision, workplace violence, threats, stalking, employee safety

Transcript Highlights:

• I brought up the enrollment report on the screen here.” “On my part.
• I brought up the enrollment report on the screen here.
• So we're going to go—I’ll get to a funding screen at the end—but you can read through these screens.
• We've got two screens here. I'm going to go to this one first.
• This is a whole lot of numbers again on the screen, but people ask, how much do you get?

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The Higher Education Funding Committee met to discuss possible changes to North Dakota’s higher education funding formula, with a particular focus on separating the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences MD program from the general formula. Dr. Jenkins outlined several options for the MD program, including a fixed-funding model, a hybrid model, or keeping it in the formula, and emphasized the need to preserve strong support for medical education while making future funding clearer. He also discussed efforts to increase the share of North Dakota students in the MD program through ND85, expanded recruiting, early acceptance pathways, MCAT prep, a four-plus-one program, and the Primary Care Accelerated Track, along with future cost pressures such as AI licensing and residency growth. The committee then reviewed a simplified funding model from the University System Office that would base funding more heavily on student FTE, credentials awarded, and a few incentive factors such as small institution and research adjustments. Members questioned the use of placeholder numbers, the lack of a clear methodology for the small institution and research factors, and whether the model would adequately account for differences among institutions, high-cost programs, and graduate education. Several members raised concerns that arbitrary factors would be hard to defend politically and could distort funding or create competition between schools, while others said the exercise was useful as a starting point for discussion. Alex presented a second alternative that kept the current SIP-code structure but increased CTE weighting, added a progressive economic size factor, and separated out the MD program. His model also added an on-campus face-to-face headcount component and a credentials component, with the intent of rewarding in-person enrollment and completions. Members questioned the use of headcount instead of FTE, how hybrid, online, dual-credit, and off-campus students would be treated, and why face-to-face enrollment was weighted more heavily than completion. No formal votes or final actions were taken; the committee instead continued discussion and asked members to provide direction on which elements, if any, should be developed further.

Transcript Highlights:

• For some of these services, the law requires it, and that's newborn screening.
• So all 52,000 or so live births in the state are required to have newborn screening provided for inborn
• So all 52,000 or so live screening.
• <00:42:00.960> provided<00:42:01.280> for<00:42:01.440> inborn newborn screening
• provided for inborn newborn screening provided for inborn errors<00:42:02.160> and<00:42:02.240

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Budget Review Subcommittee on Health and Human Services met to review budget items carved out in the prior session budget, including long-term care surveyor contracts, funding for local health departments, and expansion of the central laboratory. The committee approved the June 4 minutes and then heard an update from the Office of Inspector General’s Division of Health Care on long-term care certification surveys and complaint investigations. Officials said the $1 million annual appropriation for contracted survey work, along with salary increases and other resources, helped the state reduce its backlog. They reported that Kentucky completed 101 long-term care certification surveys in fiscal year 2024, up from 28 in fiscal year 2023, and had completed 186 surveys by July 7, 2025, with a goal of 40 to 50 more before the end of fiscal year 2025. Outstanding complaints fell from 1,565 at the end of fiscal year 2024 to 695 by July 7, 2025, and outstanding priority-one or immediate-jeopardy complaints were reduced to zero. Members asked about the definition of priority-one cases, survey timing, the number of facilities still overdue, vacancy rates, federal funding reliance, and the use of contract surveyors. Officials said priority-one cases involve serious harm or high risk of harm, that surveys are required within a 12- to 15.7-month window, and that the agency now has 40 contract surveyors and an outside team option. Several members praised the progress but warned that delays in surveys can endanger residents and urged continued funding and monitoring. The committee then began hearing from Mike Tuggle of the Department of Public Health on the Public Health Transformation Initiative, with Tuggle noting the legislation’s importance to public health financing. The transcript cuts off as he began his remarks.

Transcript Highlights:

• So our referrals are screened through the hotline.
• This hotline will screen for anything that's an investigation or what's called an assessment, which we'll
• So, our referrals<00:35:38.880> are<00:35:39.200> screened<00:35:39.599> through
• <00:35:39.839> the referrals are screened through the referrals are screened through the hotline
• > that's<00:35:49.200> an screen for anything that's an screen for anything that's an investigation

Keywords: Call to Order and Roll Call – 00:00:24 Discussion of The Center for Courageous Kids – 00:02:46 Discussion of Adult Protective Services and State Guardianship Programs – 00:25:22 Discussion of Annual Report of the External Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review Panel – 01:00:34 Consideration of Referred Administrative Regulations – 01:33:41 Adjournment – 01:42:07, 958, all

Summary: The Interim Joint Committee on Families and Children opened its first meeting with roll call and a reminder about the number of children in out-of-home care with active placements, which the chair said was 8,641 as of June 1, 2025. The committee then heard a presentation from the Center for Courageous Kids, a donor-funded camp in Scottville that serves children with lifelong illnesses and disabilities at no charge. Representatives described the camp’s year-round family retreats and summer sessions, its medically safe and inclusive model, and examples of campers gaining confidence and independence. They said the camp has served more than 43,000 campers from Kentucky, other states, and other countries, and that it is seeking legislative support for two capital projects: a new art barn and a medical lodge, with a combined request of $3.2 million. Members praised the program and asked about awareness, staffing, volunteer recruitment, accreditation, and how the projects would expand capacity; the camp said the medical lodge would help increase volunteer housing and allow future growth beyond its current summer cap of 128 campers per session. The committee then moved to adult protective services and state guardianship programs. Jessica Wayne, director of the Division of Guardianship, and Cliff Bryant of DCBS explained the legal framework for guardianship and conservatorship, including state guardianship as a last-resort option when no family member or private entity is available or appropriate. They outlined the court petition process, emergency appointments, and the distinction between full and limited guardianship or conservatorship. They emphasized that guardianship is based on legal incapacity to make decisions, not simply on a medical disability diagnosis, and noted that state guardianship can be arranged for some 17-year-olds aging out of youth services. The presenters said the state currently serves 4,645 individuals under guardianship, with most cases involving developmental intellectual disabilities, supported community living waiver participants, and people in nursing homes or long-term care facilities. They also described the division’s three branches: field services, which handles visits and day-to-day decisions in all 120 counties; a benefits branch that applies for public benefits; and a fiduciary branch that manages funds and pays bills. They reported 89 field workers statewide, an average caseload of 52, and said the agency is hiring to reduce that load. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• And then we're also, the rules reduce screening home, home screening criteria from 23 to 13 items and
• Uh, one of our roles is to do provider enrollment screenings.
• Somebody who volunteers to participate in the program has to go through a background check and a screening
• And the laws have changed as to the frequency, the, the number of people who qualify for that screening
• So we are, uh, asking for additional funding for more folks to do screenings.

Transcript Highlights:

• Let me share my screen if I can. Let's see. You can all see? We're good? Okay.
• I think you can just, at the top of the screen, there usually is something to stop sharing.
• David Kaplan, do you know if you can stop her sharing the screen? Only she can do that.
• I could make no one share a screen. That would work. That might work. So sorry.
• the challenges that we have had for decades is helping family members know when a child has been screened

Keywords: 962, all

Summary: The Care Management Meeting opened with a DSS update on the PCMH program. Staff reported the program remained steady at 124 practices, 553 sites, and 2,548 providers, with some month-to-month fluctuation driven by practice consolidation, retirements, and a few practices leaving the program because NCQA requirements were burdensome. Members asked about declining provider and site counts, member attribution trends, and whether PCMH practices overlap with behavioral health homes; DSS said attribution changes are largely due to members becoming ineligible, moving, or getting other insurance, and that PCMH and behavioral health homes are separate programs that coordinate informally. The committee also discussed why some smaller practices leave the program and whether the requirements could be made easier to support retention. The committee then resumed a detailed presentation on the Husky Dental program. The presenter described the dental benefit’s history, the importance of preventive oral health, workforce and consolidation pressures in dentistry, and the lack of interoperability between dental and medical records. Network data showed year-over-year declines in enrolled dental practitioners and service locations, with access gaps concentrated in rural and eastern parts of the state. Appointment availability surveys showed average waits of 38 days for adults and 23 days for children, but much longer waits at FQHCs than private fee-for-service practices. The presenter said Connecticut remains above the national median on CMS pediatric dental quality measures, though sealant rates remain a concern, and noted that preventive care is associated with lower per-member costs. Members raised concerns about provider participation, large practices dropping Medicaid, mobile dental care, and whether the public directory accurately reflects which dentists are actually accepting new patients. The presenter said the plan uses secret-shopper calls, tracks appointment availability, and has begun using place-of-service coding to better identify school-based dental care. She also noted a new MOU with 20 Head Start programs to share data and provide oral health literacy and navigation support. The final major topic was implementation planning for HR1. DSS said CMS guidance was expected in early June and proposed using upcoming meetings to cover medical frailty, communication strategy, and data integration/ex parte verification. Committee members urged the department to create a dashboard to track disenrollments and other impacts of HR1, to build a process for complaints and problem resolution, and to think through cost-sharing, caregiver verification, exemptions, and notices. Members also asked about using existing eligibility structures such as the working-disabled program as a model. The committee agreed to move the next meeting to June 10 by Zoom, with the agenda to be circulated in advance and any PCMH Plus quality data shared if available.