Transcript Highlights:

• </c> use disorder. uh it's now called M O D. use disorder. uh it's now called M O D.
• </c> opioid uh disorder. opioid uh disorder.
• ,</c> medications for opioid use disorder, medications for opioid use disorder, overdose<00:52:59.760
• </c><00:58:31.040><c> We've</c><00:58:31.280><c> seen</c> disorder treatment together.
• We've seen disorder treatment together.

Summary: The committee met on January 23, 2026, to approve prior minutes and receive an update from the Department of Health and Human Services. The main presentation focused on “Project Compass,” an internal cross-department effort to prepare for changes to Medicaid and SNAP eligibility. Department staff said the goal is to maintain continuous coverage for eligible people, align policy, operations, communications, legal, finance, and eligibility work, and use the new integrated New HEIGHTS system to streamline implementation. They emphasized outreach to beneficiaries, providers, managed care organizations, and other partners, and said temporary manual workarounds had already been used to stay in compliance with fast-moving SNAP changes. Members questioned how the department would avoid repeating the costly outreach effort used in a prior Medicaid work-requirement rollout. Department officials said they are focusing on ex parte processes, sharing eligibility information across programs, and using community partners to reduce duplicate contacts and paperwork. They also said the department is monitoring the SNAP error rate closely, expects automation and a planned system contract amendment to help reduce it, and noted that current error rates are trending downward and remain below the national average. Questions were also raised about possible future SNAP restrictions on certain foods; the department said it can implement whatever the legislature directs, but that defining and administering such restrictions would be complex. The commissioner and CFO then outlined the department’s budget reduction plan. They said the department has begun implementing required “back of the budget” reductions for fiscal year 2026, using contract savings and not cutting existing services where possible. Examples included dental and home-visitation contracts, where spending was adjusted based on utilization and projected need. Officials said they had already written down a little over $15 million in prior-year encumbrances, but that this one-time source will not be available next year, making fiscal year 2027 more difficult. They also explained the difference between legally required back-of-budget cuts and lapse, and said staffing remains a major challenge because vacancies have increased and customer-facing service levels are strained. Dr. Jonathan Ballard then began an update on opioid overdose fatalities, presenting the latest medical examiner data and describing the long-term rise in deaths after fentanyl entered the illicit drug supply, with a peak in 2017 and a later increase in 2022. The transcript cuts off before his full presentation and any further committee action beyond discussion of the minutes and receipt of the department updates.

Transcript Highlights:

• MATERNAL PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS DURING PREGNANCY AND POSTPARTUM ASSOCIATED AND WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND
• THE VARIOUS CONDITIONS THAT THIS WOULD INCLUDE IS BIPOLAR DISORDERS, DEPRESSION AND CHILDHOOD ADOLESCENCE
• , MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS INCLUDING CURRENT DEPRESSIVE EPISODES, OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDERS, SCHIZOPHRENIC
• DISORDERS AND ALL WHOLE VARIETY AND RANGE.
• HYPERTENSION, ANTICOAGULATION MANAGEMENT, NICOTINE DEPENDENCE AND OPIOID USE DISORDER AND HEPATITIS C

Transcript Highlights:

• Biological sex is complex and influenced by chromosomes, genetics, and other factors. Hormones.
• People with medical differences in sexual development, sometimes referred to as disorders of sex development

Bills: HB229 , HB229 , HB3990 , HB5082 , HB5510

Committee: House State Affairs

Keywords: HB 229, Texas, political subdivision, local government, county dues, county association, state association of counties, lobbying, lobbyist, public funds, taxpayer lawsuit, injunctive relief, attorney's fees, Government Code Chapter 556, Local Government Code Section 89.002, legislative advocacy, municipal government, county government, city government, special district

Transcript Highlights:

• for individuals who have substance use disorder.
• adolescents and young adults and sees it as a preferential treatment for treating substance use disorder
• Checking for substance use disorder, they use other treatments and not necessarily MAT in that case.
• A vast majority of the children who come into CYFD are actually having substance use disorder.
• But it then lends itself to saying that high rates... of crime connected to substance abuse disorder.

Transcript Highlights:

• Twenty to twenty-five percent of military veterans are diagnosed with a mental health disorder.
• Those are mental health disorders.
• And I've been diagnosed with two mental disorders that are not curable, but they're manageable.
• It was me against my disorder. ...telling anybody about. It was me against my disorders.
• People dealing with mental disorders need to find hope.

Committee: House Veterans and Armed Forces

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> um focused on um substance use disorder um focused on um substance use disorder um<00:22:47.600>
• </c><00:41:41.520><c> treatment</c> early substance use disorder treatment early substance use disorder
• </c><00:47:32.480><c> waiver,</c> the acquired brain um disorder waiver, the acquired brain um disorder
• </c> disorder with mental health care. disorder with mental health care.
• Um another one substance use disorder.

Summary: The committee first handled roll call and approved the prior meeting minutes. Members discussed attendance and substitutions, then moved to the DHS commissioner’s update, which focused on New Hampshire’s Medicaid 1115 waiver and the new community re-entry initiative for people leaving correctional facilities. The presenter explained that the waiver lets the state cover certain services not normally covered under Medicaid, including substance use disorder treatment, serious mental illness services, adult dental benefits, and the new community re-entry component. She also noted that a separate youth re-entry component is federally required, with youth defined up to age 21 and foster-care-related coverage extending to age 26. The update described how the adult re-entry program works for incarcerated individuals with behavioral health needs, providing up to 45 days of pre-release services, care coordination with managed care organizations and DOC staff, telemedicine assessments, discharge prescriptions, insurance cards, and connections to community mental health, primary care, and substance use providers. For youth, the program includes more intensive case management, 30 days of pre-release services, and 30 days of post-release care coordination, with a stronger emphasis on screening, diagnosis, and holistic assessment. The presenter said New Hampshire received the adult waiver in July 2024, has implemented the program in state correctional facilities, and is beginning work at the youth center. Members and the presenter discussed why the program is structured as a waiver rather than a standard Medicaid benefit, with the explanation that CMS is allowing this as a newer policy area and that states generally pursue waivers for certain services. The chair and others emphasized the need for real cost and outcome data, and the presenter said an independent evaluator and evaluation plan are required under the 1115 waiver. Early results cited included 30 adults enrolled so far, 10 released, five youth enrolled with one released, and anecdotal early successes such as housing, employment, and better continuity of medication and treatment. The committee did not take any additional votes or formal actions beyond approving the minutes.

Transcript Highlights:

• Low-intensity substance use disorder residential services at 100% of the Medicare rate.
• Frederick with substance use disorder and the recovery community.
• Frederick with substance use disorder and the recovery community.
• Frederick with substance use disorder and the recovery community.
• Frederick with substance use disorder and the recovery community.

Transcript Highlights:

• No documentation about any specific mental disorder.
• because she had panic disorder.
• Risk of dying because she had panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and major depressive disorder
• health and substance use disorder access law.
• health and substance use disorder access law.

Committee: House Health

Summary: The Assembly Health Committee held an informational hearing on Kaiser Permanente’s behavioral health care system, focusing on Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) enforcement actions, Kaiser’s corrective action work plan, and member access to timely behavioral health services. DMHC officials reviewed a long history of deficiencies and enforcement, including a 2012 survey and fine, a 2017 settlement, a 2022 non-routine survey that found multiple deficiencies in Northern and Southern California, and a 2023 settlement that included a $50 million penalty and $150 million in required community investments over five years. Officials said Kaiser’s corrective action work plan was initially too vague, was revised after extensive meetings, and will be monitored through quarterly reports, ongoing surveys, complaint review, and possible additional enforcement if Kaiser fails to comply. Committee members pressed DMHC on what “timely access” means, how continuity of care should work in behavioral health, and how the department evaluates whether treatment is clinically appropriate. DMHC explained that appointments generally should be available within about two weeks for initial care, within days for urgent needs, and within 10 days for follow-up, with out-of-network care required when in-network access is unavailable. Officials also said the department looks at complaints, medical records, surveys, and annual timely-access reporting, and that the help center can assist enrollees in real time. Members raised concerns that the corrective action plan lacked specific dates and metrics, and DMHC said the quarterly reporting process is intended to provide more detail and flexibility as implementation continues. In the second panel, a Kaiser enrollee described delayed and inadequate care for his daughter after a suicide attempt, including long waits for follow-up, intensive outpatient treatment, and dialectical behavior therapy. A Kennedy Forum representative argued that stronger transparency, standardized reporting, and more aggressive corrective enforcement are needed, including out-of-network reimbursement when networks are inadequate. A Kaiser therapist and NUHW member testified that short appointment times, heavy caseloads, inappropriate referrals, and pressure to use group therapy or webinars undermine clinical care, while NUHW’s president said Kaiser systematically undervalues behavioral health compared with medical-surgical care, especially in Southern California, and urged legislative action. Several lawmakers echoed concerns about Kaiser’s absence from the hearing and asked about workforce shortages, regional disparities, and whether the state’s remedies are arriving too slowly to protect patients in real time.

Transcript Highlights:

• The result has been significant consequences regarding public safety, public health, civil disorder,
• at 13%, and the number of folks who have a substance use disorder that are unsheltered at 75%.
• Well, that tells me that folks with substance use disorders don't seek shelter.
• We know that the costs of untreated mental illness and untreated substance use disorder have greater
• We know that the costs of untreated mental illness and untreated substance use disorder have greater

Summary: The committee first approved a motion, then heard a lengthy presentation on homelessness in Arkansas, with a focus on unsheltered homelessness, untreated mental illness and substance use, public safety, and the role of local law enforcement and shelters. Presenters from law enforcement, homeless service providers, mental health, and policy groups discussed federal Continuum of Care funding, the need for better data and accountability, and proposals such as statewide camping enforcement, stronger treatment access, and consolidating or reworking the continuum-of-care structure. Much of the discussion centered on the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) model, with witnesses describing it as a way to expand crisis services, treatment, and coordination with housing and justice systems. They also discussed homelessness among sex offenders, family homelessness, workforce supports, and how to scale successful local programs statewide. No formal action was taken on the homelessness proposals during the discussion. The committee then reviewed several Department of Energy and Department of Health/Board of Nursing rules. The energy rule updated solid waste post-closure cleanup thresholds from $50,000 to $2 million to match Act 791 of 2025. Nursing-related rules added fees for the new dialysis patient care technician registration created by Act 198 of 2025, updated contact-information requirements, implemented APRN authority under Act 862 of 2025, clarified durable medical equipment language under Act 431 of 2025, and incorporated delegation changes from Act 959 of 2025. Additional nursing rules updated certified medication assistant training and duties under Act 265 of 2025, and corrected rules for full independent practice to include clinical nurse specialists under Act 872 of 2023. Each rule was reviewed without objection. At the close of the meeting, members received an update that UAMS had completed its NCII designation submission for the Winthrop Rockefeller Cancer Institute, which was described as a major milestone. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• , including maternal psychiatric disorders during pregnancy and postpartum.
• And the various conditions that this would include are bipolar disorders, depression in childhood and
• disorders, schizophrenic disorders, and a whole variety in that range.
• years: hyperlipidemia, hypertension, anticoagulation management, nicotine dependence, opioid use disorder
• The end of her opening: heart failure, coronary heart disease, and cardiac rhythm disorders—that's not

Committee: Senate Health Policy

Summary: The Senate Committee on Health Policy met with a quorum and heard five bills. SB 126, on prescription hearing aids, would remove Florida’s prohibition on mailing hearing aids when required tele-audiology testing and procedures are completed before sale. The sponsor said the bill would improve access, especially for people with travel or geographic barriers. The Florida Academy of Audiologists expressed support in concept but said it was still working with the sponsor on an amendment for consumer safety. The committee voted the bill favorably. SB 152 would require hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers to adopt policies using smoke evacuation systems during certain surgical procedures. Supporters, including the Florida Nurses Association and several nurses, described surgical smoke as a workplace and patient safety hazard containing harmful chemicals, viruses, bacteria, and other contaminants, and said evacuation technology is available and already required in some settings. The committee voted the bill favorably. SB 264 would expand step-therapy exemptions for severe mental illness, including certain postpartum and pregnancy-related mental health conditions, so physicians would not have to require patients to fail preferred drugs in specified circumstances. Support came from Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, NAMI Florida, and several medical and pharmacy groups, who argued that delays in effective treatment can worsen crises and increase hospital and crisis-care costs. The committee voted the bill favorably. SB 342 would create a public-records exemption for current and former AHCA employees and certain family information, citing threats and harassment directed at inspectors and regulators. President Gaetz said he generally opposes such exemptions but supported this one because the employees are not elected officials and face real safety risks. The committee voted the bill favorably. SB 294 would limit the Board of Pharmacy’s ability to add heart failure, coronary heart disease, and cardiac rhythm disorders to the list of chronic conditions eligible for collaborative pharmacy practice, keeping those conditions under direct physician management. The Florida Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons, Florida Medical Association, and the Florida chapter of the American College of Cardiology supported the bill, while the Florida Society of Health System Pharmacists opposed it. The committee voted the bill favorably. Senator Trumbull asked to be recorded in support of SB 126 and SB 152, and the meeting adjourned without further business.

Transcript Highlights:

• My chief expertise is in the treatment of PTSD and trauma-related disorders.
• I also want to name that substance use is a disorder.
• I also want to name that substance use is a disorder.
• cascade to other health disorders.
• cascade to other health disorders.

Transcript Highlights:

• MAT is an effective use of… is an effective treatment for treating substance use and alcohol use disorder
• for individuals who have opioid use disorder.
• And if you look at the chart on the left-hand side, you'll see that opioid use disorder is the second
• Do we have any programs for medically assisted alcohol use disorder? Alcohol use disorder.
• But in there, they do talk about alcohol use disorder.

Committee: House Legislative Health & Human Services Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• and some general facts about eating disorders in Kentucky.
• Likely only 20% are eating disorders.
• Um and I think it of eating disorders.
• </c><01:21:47.120><c> uh</c> plans cover eating disorders uh plans cover eating disorders uh irregardless
• </c><01:22:48.080><c> generally</c> males with eating disorders generally males with eating disorders

Summary: The Interim Joint Committee on Banking and Insurance met for its first interim meeting, established a quorum, approved routine opening items, and welcomed a new committee assistant and a legislative intern. The committee first heard a Kentucky Bankers Association presentation from Tim Shank and John Cooper focused on the state’s housing shortage, which they described as affecting all 120 counties and especially low- and moderate-income and workforce housing. They urged support for a proposed $20 million banker-backed revolving fund, paired with tax credits, to finance new housing construction; they said the program would be flexible, could support alternatives such as manufactured housing, and would use below-market loans with tax credits vesting over five years only after units are completed. They also asked for extension of the historical tax credit carryforward from five to seven years and for continued support of new market tax credits, arguing that supply-chain delays make the longer period necessary for historic rehabilitation projects. The bankers also raised concerns about credit unions, arguing that because credit unions do not pay the same taxes as banks, they should not be allowed to acquire healthy state-chartered banks or hold state and local deposits. They cited the recent purchase of First State Bank of Middlesborough as an example, saying the transaction would reduce state, county, and city tax revenue and weaken local tax bases. In response to committee questions, the presenters said local regulations, zoning, parking, sidewalk, and utility easement issues can significantly delay housing projects, and they emphasized that state policy and infrastructure support are needed to help address affordability and development barriers. The committee then shifted to a Department of Insurance presentation by Commissioner Sharon Clark on how to read KRS 6.948 health mandate and federal cost defrayal impact statements. Clark explained that the mandate statements were created in 1998 so legislators would have actuarial estimates of how proposed health insurance mandates would affect administrative costs, premiums, and total costs, and she noted that later legislation added federal cost-defrayal analysis. She also reviewed the background of the Affordable Care Act’s essential health benefits framework and said the department’s statements are intended to help lawmakers make informed decisions on proposed health coverage mandates. No votes or formal actions were taken during the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• There is not one eating disorders clinician who would ever use these products to treat a young person
• suffering from an eating disorder.
• We actually haven't heard them using them for either older or young people to treat eating disorders.
• a lot of those eating disorders include using these products.
• There is no correlation to eating to diet pills and eating disorders.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Public Health

Summary: The Joint Committee on Public Health heard testimony on a wide range of bills focused on environmental health, disease prevention, and access to care. Major topics included restricting polystyrene use, creating a pancreatic cancer awareness and early-detection initiative, improving indoor air quality through a task force and new regulations, expanding access to epinephrine in public places, improving access to health care for people with long COVID, creating an OBGYN loan repayment program for underserved areas, expanding access to hygiene products, modernizing licensure for dietitians and nutritionists, updating school postural screening requirements, and restricting harmful diet pills and muscle-building supplements. Several legislators also testified in support of their own bills, including measures on menstrual product access and ingredient disclosure, and surgical smoke protections. Testimony on the polystyrene bill emphasized local municipal bans and the need to reduce plastic pollution. Pancreatic cancer advocates and patients described the disease’s low survival rate, the difficulty of early diagnosis, and the need for an awareness campaign and implementation of commission recommendations. Indoor air quality supporters from environmental justice groups, public health organizations, and residents described asthma, mold, pollution, and the need for a task force with technical expertise; some witnesses urged adding remediation professionals to the task force. On epinephrine access, family members of a man who died after a bee sting and an allergy organization stressed that anaphylaxis can be sudden and fatal and that stock epinephrine in public venues could save lives. Long COVID advocates said the condition affects hundreds of thousands of residents and called for better surveillance and access to care, with a request to include MECFS in the bills’ scope. Other testimony focused on workforce and equity issues. Supporters of the OBGYN loan repayment bill said it would help address maternal health disparities and provider shortages, especially in rural and underserved communities. Hope and Comfort described widespread hygiene insecurity and a long waiting list for basic products, urging a task force to study statewide solutions. Dietitians and nutritionists supported modernization of licensure to clarify standards for medical nutrition therapy while allowing broader wellness counseling. School nurses backed reducing mandatory postural screenings, arguing the current law is not evidence-based, is not reimbursed by MassHealth, and takes time from other student health needs. On the supplement bill, the industry trade group opposed restrictions as overbroad and burdensome, while a public health expert cited research linking weight-loss and muscle-building supplements to serious harms and urged passage. The committee also heard support for menstrual product access and surgical smoke protections, with legislators and advocates describing those bills as longstanding priorities.

Transcript Highlights:

• And it was a blood disorder, but also a muscle disorder.
• And it was a blood disorder, but also a muscle disorder.
• ADHD, eating disorders, severe anxiety, autism spectrum disorder, seasonal affective disorders.
• ; obsessive-compulsive disorder; panic disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder; and borderline personality
• disorder.

Summary: The committee first took up Senate Bill 20, a prior-authorization measure aimed at exempting certain medications and treatments for seriously mentally ill adults from repeat insurance prior authorization, while also extending prior authorization approvals to three years for chronic maintenance drugs. The sponsor described the bill as the latest in a series of bipartisan prior-authorization reforms and accepted an amendment from the Health Care Authority and the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance to apply the bill to adults only and to cover PBMs in the interagency purchasing collaborative. Supporters, including NAMI New Mexico and state health officials, argued the bill would reduce barriers to needed care, especially for mental health treatment. Opponents from health plans, PBMs, and insurers warned the bill was too broad, lacked clear definitions for serious mental illness and chronic conditions, created patient-safety concerns, and should have a shorter reauthorization period and later implementation date. After committee discussion, the sponsor agreed to work on a committee substitute, and the bill was rolled over for a later meeting. The committee then heard Senate Bill 53, the Chispa data privacy bill, which would impose broad limits on the collection, sale, and use of personal data, require opt-in consent for many uses, strengthen rights to access, correct, and delete data, and create enforcement mechanisms including a private right of action. Supporters from advocacy, women’s, behavioral health, reproductive health, and civil rights groups said the bill was needed to protect sensitive health and location data, prevent surveillance and criminalization, and give New Mexicans real control over their information. Business, technology, insurance, and hospital representatives opposed the bill, arguing it was more restrictive than other states’ privacy laws, would burden small businesses and health-related services, create compliance uncertainty, and risk limiting digital services and innovation. After extensive questioning about data breaches, opt-in consent, nonprofit exemptions, and the bill’s impact on businesses and health care access, a motion to table failed 5-4, and the committee then passed SB 53 on a 5-4 vote. The committee next heard Senate Bill 86, which updates the state’s harassment-by-telephone law to cover electronic communications such as social media, messaging apps, and email. The sponsor and a Las Cruces police chief said the change would modernize an outdated 1967 statute and help law enforcement address harassment and domestic violence through current technology. The bill drew support from the governor’s public safety advisor and the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, and members asked a few clarifying questions about the wording. The committee approved SB 86 unanimously, 9-0. Finally, the committee began hearing Senate Bill 96, on regulated childcare zoning requirements, using a committee substitute. The sponsor and the Early Childhood Education and Care Department said the bill would reduce confusing zoning and fire-code barriers to opening or expanding child care homes and centers, helping address a statewide shortage of child care slots and supporting working families. The discussion began with the committee substitute and an explanation that the measure is intended to streamline local requirements and expand child care supply.

Transcript Highlights:

• The result has been significant consequences regarding public safety, public health, civil disorder,
• The result has been significant consequences regarding public safety, public health, civil disorder,
• at 13% and the number of folks that have a substance use disorder that are unsheltered at 75%.
• Well, that tells me that folks with substance use disorders don't seek shelter.
• illness and addiction oftentimes fail and are producing the kind of street-level destitution and disorder

Summary: The committee first approved a motion, then heard a lengthy presentation on homelessness policy and behavioral health. Testimony focused on the view that Arkansas should shift toward more data-driven, outcomes-based responses to homelessness, including stronger treatment options for serious mental illness and substance use disorder, better data collection, provider accountability, and possible statewide use of the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) model. Speakers from Fort Smith, Restore Hope, Our House, and Western Arkansas Counseling described local work, the need for better coordination across providers, and the role of crisis services, ACT teams, and employment support. Members asked about sex offender tracking, the difference between sheltered and unsheltered homelessness, how to scale successful programs statewide, and whether Arkansas could apply for a statewide Continuum of Care or CCBHC planning grant. The discussion also touched on camping bans, civil commitment, and federal funding changes, with several speakers urging the state to pursue the CCBHC planning grant and more transparent reporting systems. After the homelessness discussion, the committee moved through a series of Department of Energy and Board of Nursing rule reviews. DEQ proposed updating the post-closure cleanup threshold for solid waste matters from $50,000 to $2 million to match Act 791 of 2025, and members asked about financial assurance and oversight; the rule was reviewed without objection. The Board of Nursing then presented multiple rule changes tied to recent acts, including adding fees for dialysis patient care technician registration, expanding contact-information requirements, implementing APRN delegation authority to unlicensed workers, clarifying APRN authority for death certificates and durable medical equipment prescriptions, updating certified medication assistant training and insulin-injection authority, and conforming independent-practice rules for clinical nurse specialists. Each rule was reviewed without objection. Near the end of the meeting, Senator Irvin announced that UAMS had completed its NCI designation submission for the Winthrop Rockefeller Cancer Institute, calling it an important milestone for the state. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Over the time of helping patients with substance use disorder, it has become the most gratifying work
• Buprenorphine is the only FDA-approved medication for opioid use disorder that reduces mortality.
• That's the standard of care and medication for patients with opioid use disorders.
• That's the standard of care and medication for patients with opiate use disorders.
• I'm a public health professional and an advocate for people with substance use disorders.

Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 213, which would allow optometrists to perform three specific laser procedures. The sponsor presented a committee substitute adding 32 hours of approved advanced training, supervised live-patient practice, adverse-event reporting, and other accountability measures. Supporters argued the bill would improve access to care, while the New Mexico Medical Board opposed it, citing patient-safety concerns and the much greater training required of ophthalmologists. After debate, the committee adopted the substitute and passed the bill 6-3. The committee then considered House Bill 65, renamed the Foster Care Plus pilot program. The substitute changed the bill to require clinical assessment instead of CAN assessment, added reporting to the Legislature and LFC, and clarified contracting with clinical experts. CYFD officials said the $2.5 million request, combined with existing growth funding, would support more children, staff, foster-parent stipends, and related services, and that the program is already being implemented with help from Oklahoma-based experts. Some members remained concerned about cost, staffing, and whether the program could be sustained, but the committee adopted the substitute and passed the bill 8-1. House Bill 127, on expedited medical licensure, was amended to create a provisional pathway for internationally trained physicians, require a job offer and benchmarks before full licensure, and establish a telemedicine registry. The Medical Board supported the amended bill, while public commenters emphasized physician shortages and access to care. The committee adopted the amendment and passed the bill. House Bill 128, which updates firefighter occupational disease and disablement presumptions to add cancers and other changes, drew strong support from firefighters, labor, and workers’ compensation officials; the committee adopted the amendment and passed the bill. House Bill 156, which removes the sunset on the state’s authority to set vaccine guidelines and continue its vaccine program, also passed after supporters argued it preserves access and opponents raised broader vaccine-policy concerns. The committee then began hearing House Bill 137, a buprenorphine access bill, with the sponsor and advocates describing pharmacy supply barriers and a committee substitute aimed at setting minimum stock standards, requiring distributor reporting, and avoiding fines on pharmacies.

Transcript Highlights:

• Well, they said she has a mental disorder. Which one?
• No documentation about any specific mental disorder.
• because she had panic disorder.
• Risk of dying because she had panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and major depressive disorder
• health and substance use disorder access law.

Summary: The Assembly Health Committee held an informational hearing on Kaiser Permanente’s behavioral health care system, focusing on Department of Managed Health Care enforcement actions, Kaiser’s corrective action work plan, and testimony from patients, advocates, and union representatives. DMHC officials reviewed a long history of complaints, surveys, fines, and settlements involving Kaiser’s access to behavioral health services, including deficiencies found in 2012 and 2016, a 2022 non-routine survey, and a 2023 settlement that imposed a $50 million penalty and required $150 million in community investments over five years. DMHC said it continues to monitor Kaiser through quarterly meetings, complaint review, follow-up surveys, and a reimbursement process for members who could not obtain timely in-network care. Committee members pressed DMHC on what “timely access” and continuity of care mean in practice, how virtual care and group therapy fit into the standards, and what triggers a non-routine survey. DMHC said initial behavioral health appointments generally should not take more than two weeks, urgent care should be within days, and follow-up care within 10 days, with out-of-network care required when plans cannot meet standards. Officials also said Kaiser’s initial corrective action work plan lacked detail, but the revised plan was accepted and will be tracked through quarterly reporting and possible additional enforcement if Kaiser fails to comply. The second panel featured testimony from a Kaiser enrollee, a behavioral health policy expert, a Kaiser therapist, and the NUHW president. The enrollee described serious delays and inadequate treatment for his daughter after a suicide attempt, while the therapist and union leader said Kaiser’s behavioral health system is understaffed, relies too heavily on short appointments, group therapy, and webinars, and treats behavioral health as less important than medical-surgical care. They argued Kaiser’s one-appointment-at-a-time scheduling rule and limited treatment time violate parity requirements and harm continuity of care. Several members criticized Kaiser for not appearing at the hearing and said the testimony underscored the need for stronger oversight, clearer metrics, and faster remedies for patients.

Transcript Highlights:

• . ...that we are using to treat substance use disorders.
• So with youth and adolescent, we're also opening up a substance use disorder unit. Unity.
• Youth and adolescent, we're also opening up a substance use disorder unit.
• This is our first residential substance use disorder treatment.
• Our residential units for substance use disorder, we cannot pay for those with Medicaid dollars, but

Committee: All PUBLIC HEALTH- HOUSE HEALTH SERVICES SUBCOMMITTEE

Transcript Highlights:

• The patient has to have a primary diagnosis of a mental disorder and have demonstrated a history of lack
• of compliance with treatment for that disorder.
• Disorder, to participate voluntarily in outpatient treatment.
• that includes substance abuse disorder or not.
• or a mental health disorder.

Committee: House House Judiciary