Transcript Highlights:

• have the same access to care that some of the managed care patients had.
• So I know you said... ...for those patients who are going to lose that coverage.
• , it is one of the... ...the cost directly with patients.
• can't get their medication. patients can't get their medications.
• , but there's going to, you know, it's not going to be exactly 10,000 patients.

Summary: The Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services heard a presentation on the governor’s proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget for the health and human services silo, which totals $48.5 billion. Agency leaders outlined major requests for AHCA, APD, DCF, DOEA, DOH, and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, including behavioral health redesign, Medicaid rate changes, developmental disability services, child welfare and opioid programs, senior services, cancer research, public health initiatives, and veterans’ facility and technology needs. The committee also received an overview of the overall state budget, which was described as $117.4 billion, up 1.1% from the current year. AHCA’s presentation focused on $71.6 million for a Medicaid behavioral health redesign, including funding for residential treatment, a serious mental illness waiver, and higher inpatient psychiatric rates for youth, plus $7.1 million to raise private duty nursing reimbursement in fee-for-service Medicaid, $2.5 million for the background screening clearinghouse, and $124.4 million for the Health Care Connection System (FX). APD requested funding to continue moving people off the pre-enrollment list and to support developmental disability centers, a new forensic facility, an electronic health record system, and higher operating costs. DCF highlighted $81.9 million for eligibility and system integrity, $187.5 million for opioid prevention and treatment, $35.5 million for community-based care lead agencies, and $72.7 million to expand behavioral health bed capacity, including 474 new beds at state hospitals. DOEA sought additional funding for Alzheimer’s services, home care, and community care for the elderly. DOH emphasized $278 million for cancer research and innovation, $5 million for food and product safety testing, $5 million for the Florida FIRST blood-on-ambulance initiative, and $5.7 million for a public lab feasibility study. Veterans Affairs requested funds for facility improvements, cybersecurity, and medication management equipment. Members asked detailed questions about several items, especially the proposed changes to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), which would reduce eligibility and the number of people served. Senators and public witnesses criticized the lack of transparency and urged the department to pause the changes and work with stakeholders; the Surgeon General said the issue was driven by funding constraints and federal changes, not a legal barrier, and that the agency was exploring alternatives. Questions also addressed the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity, the Kids Care/CHIP expansion implementation, the cancer research funding structure, and the timeline and cost of the FX system. Public testimony focused heavily on ADAP, with speakers warning that thousands could lose medication access and calling for community involvement and a review of the program’s finances. The committee adjourned after the presentations and questions, with no votes taken on the budget items during this meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• responsibility or limit DOH's responsibility to investigate concerns related to the well-being of patients
• We have Substitute House Bill 2152, permitting the medical use of cannabis by qualifying patients in
• So that’s really a wonderful way to protect our patients and clients as this field is growing really
• We have the trained staff that must still be on-site to handle any adverse patient reactions.
• So, very similar to how that would occur if the patient had an adverse reaction in the CT scanner.

Summary: The Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee held a Friday morning hearing with several House bills and then took executive action on three measures. In executive session, the committee voted do pass on Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2242, Substitute House Bill 2152, and Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2168, sending the first two to Rules and the overdose-mapping bill to Ways and Means. The committee also waived the five-day notice rule for several bills on the agenda. Public hearings focused on hospital inspections, continuing care retirement communities, radiologic technologist supervision, music therapy licensure, nursing regulation, ambulance billing after motor vehicle accidents, and EMT recertification. Representative Macri presented HB 2577 to require hospital inspections at least every 18 months, allow limited pauses during emergencies, and clarify when CMS or accrediting-body surveys may substitute for state inspections; DOH supported the bill, citing JLARC recommendations, while many people signed in opposed. Macri also presented Second Substitute HB 2384, which would require actuarial analysis review for certain CCRCs; OIC supported the transparency goal, while CCRC representatives opposed the added cost, though residents and association witnesses argued the oversight would protect seniors and their life savings. Representative Engel’s HB 2113 drew strong support from radiology, hospital, and provider groups for allowing virtual direct supervision for IV contrast procedures and aligning state law with CMS practice. Representative Ryu’s HB 1187 would bar ambulance services from sending motor-vehicle-accident medical debt to collections for 120 days; she described a personal experience with an ambulance collection issue, and the hearing was closed after no testifiers appeared. Representative Reed’s HB 2363 would let music therapy applicants practice under supervision for up to six months while exam results are processed; music therapy witnesses said it would prevent workforce gaps. Representative Simmons’ HB 2339 would update nursing title and transcript requirements and allow the board to issue interim permits directly, with the Board of Nursing and ARNP groups calling it a technical cleanup. HB 2540 would extend EMT recertification intervals to six years for long-tenured EMTs, and firefighters supported it as an administrative simplification without changing training requirements.

Transcript Highlights:

• responsibility or limit DOH's responsibility to investigate concerns related to the well-being of patients
• Substitute House Bill 2152, permitting the medical use of cannabis by qualified patients in specific
• We have Substitute House Bill 2152, permitting the medical use of cannabis by qualifying patients in
• We have the trained staff that must still be on-site to handle any adverse patient reactions.
• So very similar to how that would occur if the patient had an adverse reaction in the CT scanner.

Bills: HB2540 , HB2113

Committee: Senate Health & Long-Term Care

Keywords: emergency medical services, EMT recertification, healthcare, first responders, public health, radiologic technologists, diagnostic imaging, healthcare regulation, professional supervision, state licensing

Transcript Highlights:

• of the patients that we care for today already come from our backyard in this 25-county area.
• It's a function of where we draw a lot of patients from.
• Patients now need to travel out of the county to seek care in Columbia or Jefferson City.
• And I'm not even exactly sure how we would have cared for all those patients.
• We do not grant immunity to medical malpractice or injury of patients.”

Committee: House Special Committee on Rural Issues

Transcript Highlights:

• patient choice for providers.
• It protects patient choice by preventing financial incentives or penalties that steer patients away from
• patient choice for providers.
• It protects patient choice by preventing financial incentives or penalties that steer patients away from
• </c><00:31:47.919><c> uh</c> patients choice by preventing uh patients choice by preventing uh financial

Committee: Joint Insurance

Transcript Highlights:

• This places patients, as well as nurses, at risk.
• Genetic counseling licensure matters because it protects patients.
• , patient-focused.
• It is not patient protection. This is a serious safety problem.
• And as I say, no malpractice, no patient complaint of harm.

Summary: The committee took up House Bill 2308, which would prohibit a dental insurer or its holding company from owning interests in dental practices regulated by the Arizona Board of Dental Examiners. The sponsor and Arizona Dental Association argued the bill is meant to prevent vertical integration and insurer control over provider care, while Delta Dental opposed it, saying the measure would block nonprofit insurers from investing in clinics for indigent care and create divestment burdens. After discussion of possible exemptions and market-share caps, the committee passed HB 2308 on a 7-0 vote. The committee then considered House Bill 4001, as amended, which creates a licensing and enforcement framework for alternative nicotine products beginning in 2028, increases penalties for sales to minors, restricts youth-oriented marketing, and licenses manufacturers and distributors. Supporters, including the sponsor, Border Security Alliance, Arizona Petroleum Marketers Association, and Vapor Technology Association, said the bill would improve supply-chain transparency and help curb illegal products and youth vaping. Opponents, including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, argued it should instead use a full tobacco retail licensing model and that the bill’s enforcement structure lacks sufficient resources. The committee adopted the amendment and passed the bill 6-1. House Bill 2873, as amended, was also approved unanimously. The strike-everything amendment allows a person or organization that filed a city or town referendum petition to withdraw it before ballot qualification, applies the rule retroactively to withdrawals filed on or after January 1, 2026, and bars tallying or canvassing votes for referenda with a withdrawal notice. The sponsor described it as a common-sense governance fix, and the committee gave it a 7-0 do-pass recommendation. The committee next heard House Bill 2408, which revises Arizona Board of Nursing complaint procedures, confidentiality, investigation timelines, expungement authority, and related disciplinary processes. Nursing board officials opposed parts of the bill, warning that changes to nursing education oversight and tighter deadlines could weaken patient safety and increase costs and liability, while the Arizona Nurses Association and several nurses supported the bill as a way to prioritize serious complaints, improve timeliness, and allow expungement in appropriate cases. After adopting the amendment, the committee passed HB 2408 on a 5-2 vote. The committee also passed House Bill 2342, which limits HOA restrictions on backyard shade structures, and House Bill 2323, which extends Arizona’s motor vehicle lemon law protections to lessees, both by unanimous votes. Finally, the committee began hearing House Bill 4010 on creating a Board of Genetic Counselors, with the sponsor and supporters describing it as a licensure and patient-safety measure; the transcript ends during testimony on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• When Steward collapsed, Massachusetts physicians and providers didn't abandon their patients.
• Then TRACO failed too, and the same providers who had seamlessly maintained patient care through one
• Providers are stretched thin, patients face long wait times, and many communities, particularly those
• That's better for patients, it's better for providers, and it's better for taxpayers.
• Taking care of patients has made me a better legislator.

Transcript Highlights:

• The patient must be an adult. They must be a Pennsylvania resident.
• If there is any question about capacity, there must be a mental health referral, and the patient can
• No provider... ...referral, and the patient can rescind the request at any time.
• No provider. referral, and the patient can rescind the request at any time.
• be relieved, and when the patient wants some measure of control.

Summary: The Senate convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, committee reports, and approval of the prior journal. Members also granted several leaves of absence and welcomed a number of guests, including Ireland’s Consul General and Deputy Consul General, student shadows, an intern, and the Neshaminy High School baseball team, which was recognized for winning the 2026 PIAA Class 6A state championship. The chamber then recessed briefly for an Education Committee meeting and party caucuses before returning to session. On the floor, the Senate advanced several measures. Senate Bill 362, addressing SNAP skimming, passed 49-0 after remarks about protecting food assistance benefits from theft. Senate Bill 469, providing discounted fishing and hunting licenses for current and retired law enforcement, also passed 49-0 after an amendment was withdrawn. Senate Bill 730, codifying Pennsylvania POLST forms for end-of-life medical orders, saw a tabled amendment from Senator Boscola on physician-assisted dying after a 28-21 vote, then passed 49-0. The Senate also adopted an amendment to Senate Bill 1206 clarifying a temporary license pending FDA approval, and sent House Bill 1344 and Senate Bill 1377 to the House after unanimous final passage. Other bills were moved to appropriations or held in order, including Senate Bill 49, House Bill 96, Senate Bill 535, Senate Bill 536, House Bill 538, Senate Bill 743, Senate Bill 1262, Senate Bill 1273, House Bill 1286, and Senate Bill 1372. House Bill 1862 and House Bill 2017 each received amendments and were re-referred to the Appropriations Committee. The Senate also agreed to consider newly reported committee bills, including measures from Finance, Judiciary, Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness, and Education. In petitions and remonstrances, Senators Tartaglione and Costa focused on minimum wage and utility affordability, urging action on consumer protections, LIHEAP funding, data center energy costs, and related energy policy. The session concluded with the signing of House Bill 1877 in the presence of the Senate and a recess until June 24, 2026, at 11:00 a.m., unless recalled earlier.

Transcript Highlights:

• So when you're trying to figure out what is going on with a patient or a patient is trying to figure
• The patient should be able to have access to that care.
• But patients like my Kelsey, the sickest 1%, cost the system about a But patients like my Kelsey, the
• And to clarify too, patients aren't receiving... ...And to clarify, too, patients aren't receiving two
• The overall spend in Michigan per patient for the complex patient population is lower.

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:

• Here in Massachusetts, we refuse to abandon patients simply because the federal government has walked
• In Massachusetts, patients remain at the center of our health care. targeted to support our fiscally
• In Massachusetts, patients remain at the center of our health care.
• In Massachusetts, patients remain at the center of our health care system.
• It is a recommitment to our providers, our patients, and our communities.

Summary: The House opened with the pledge and quickly took up several committee reports and local matters. It adopted a resolution congratulating Captain Mark S. Tommel on his retirement as fire captain in Maynard. The chamber then advanced multiple bills from Ways and Means, including a fiscal year 2025 supplemental appropriations bill (House 4530), a bill setting the 2026 state primary election date (House 4531), and a local bill on affordable housing and branch library space in Dorchester (House 4532, with an amendment). It also passed to enact two local bills already on final passage: one authorizing Lexington to grant additional on-premises wine and malt beverage licenses and another authorizing Melrose to establish a means-tested senior property tax exemption. The most substantial debate centered on House 4530, the supplemental appropriations bill. Representative Lawn spoke in support, describing it as an urgent response to federal health care funding cuts and emphasizing support for safety net hospitals, community health centers, and the Health Safety Net. He cited a total $234 million investment, including $122 million for acute care hospitals, $35 million for community health centers, $2.5 million for the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, and $77 million for the Health Safety Net. After a roll call vote, the House passed the bill to be engrossed by a vote of 148-1. The House also observed a moment of silence in memory of former House clerk Bartley J. Bart Joyce, recognizing his long service to the chamber. Earlier, members briefly recessed and later resumed after a quorum issue and a roll call. The session concluded with adoption of an order to meet the next day at 11 a.m., and the House adjourned to meet Thursday in informal session.

Transcript Highlights:

• They're seeing the patients tell them to take their blood pressure medicine and get their exercise and
• focus on the co-pays and deductibles that were settled upon between the plan and the patient.
• they're not a patient when they consume their insurance.
• And I want to be clear: my company and all the doctors I represent, we don't sue patients.
• We're there to take care of all the patients who come, no matter what their ability.

Bills: HB3794 , HB3796 , HB3928 , HB2955 , HB4453 , HB4460

Committee: House Insurance

Summary: The committee first took up HB 3794 and HB 3796, both Oklahoma Insurance Department request bills. Members adopted PCS drafts for each without objection, heard brief explanations that the measures cleaned up and clarified insurance licensing and other statutory provisions, and then advanced both bills on unanimous or near-unanimous votes. The committee then considered HB 3928, as amended, which would require optometrists to be reimbursed at Medicare/Medicaid levels and address payment parity for certain vision plans. Representative Tedford raised concerns about premium increases and interference with private contracts, while the author argued the bill would create a fairer level playing field and would not significantly raise consumer costs. The bill passed on a recorded vote and was recommended to the next committee. HB 2955, updating the Oklahoma Captive Insurance Company Act to make Oklahoma more competitive, also passed after OID confirmed a questioned travel reimbursement provision was current law and unchanged. HB 4453 proposed creating an all-payers claims database board to analyze health care spending, use the health information exchange, and make recommendations to OID. The author described changes to board appointments and reporting language, and members asked about consumer representation, fiscal impact, and the board’s advisory role. The bill passed and was recommended onward. HB 4460, which would shift collection of copays, deductibles, and other cost-sharing from providers to insurers, drew extensive testimony from an emergency physician supporting the measure as a way to reduce medical debt and simplify billing, but members raised concerns about ERISA preemption, premium impacts, implementation, and broader market effects. After discussion, the author laid HB 4460 over for later consideration, and the meeting adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• We are requiring some additional training, and that's patient-specific.
• We are requiring some additional training, and that's patient-specific.
• So I would say that it is true that patient acuity is higher in SNFs and hospitals.
• So I would say that it is true that patient acuity is higher in SNFs and hospitals.
• Will it danger any patients for that advanced responsibilities LVNs will provide? Right. Right.

Committee: Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development

Summary: The Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development met as a subcommittee due to the lack of a quorum, then later established quorum and took up a series of bills, mostly sunset extensions for licensing boards. SB 1302, SB 1303, SB 1304, SB 1363, and SB 1368 all dealt with extending board operations to January 1, 2031 and making related technical or policy changes. SB 1303 for the Board of Naturopathic Medicine added a fictitious name permit program and other administrative changes, while SB 1304 for the Respiratory Care Board drew significant testimony over whether licensed vocational nurses should be allowed to perform basic respiratory tasks in skilled nursing facilities and hospitals. SB 1363 updated barbering and cosmetology apprenticeship and licensing rules, and SB 1368 added a retired license category and strengthened continuing education oversight for speech-language pathology, audiology, and hearing aid dispensers. The committee also heard SB 865, which would create a California Music Festival Preservation Grant Program to support large independent multi-day music festivals. Supporters, including Visit Sacramento and festival promoters, said the bill would protect jobs, tourism, hotel nights, and local tax revenue; opponents raised concerns about using state funds during a deficit year and questioned whether profitable events should receive subsidies. The committee also heard SB 1297, which would create regional public-private partnerships and financing tools for wildfire mitigation projects; the author and supporters said it would help address the state’s large wildfire prevention funding gap by leveraging local and private investment, while members asked how the bonds would be repaid and whether the state would bear costs. SB 993, presented on behalf of Senator Ochoa-Bogue, would restore privacy protections for mental health professionals working in correctional and state hospital settings by limiting routine disclosure of identifying information while preserving a complaint process. Supporters described safety threats, stalking, and staffing concerns, and the bill passed unanimously. SB 1304 also passed after committee discussion, with members and the author noting ongoing negotiations over LVN scope and training in higher-acuity settings. SB 865 passed on a 9-1 vote, SB 1297 passed 10-0, and the sunset bills SB 1302, SB 1303, SB 1363, and SB 1368 all advanced unanimously to the Senate Appropriations Committee. SB 1333 was not heard, and SB 1445 was on the consent calendar.

Transcript Highlights:

• Providers already routinely transition patients to biosimilars in clinical practice.
• But what if the patient doesn't want to?
• So if the patient does not want to change over, then...
• I can't say for sure that that patient would be required to try something else.
• On average, a patient would go through one, at the most usually two biologics.

Summary: The committee heard several bills, but much of the meeting focused on House Bill 306, which would require disclosure when a consumer is interacting with a chatbot rather than a human. Sponsor Senator Townsend described it as a consumer protection measure and said the bill is meant to keep pace with rapidly changing AI technology. Committee members and witnesses raised concerns about the bill’s enforcement structure, especially private rights of action and penalties that could apply even without actual consumer harm. The Department of Justice said the bill would apply where the conduct has a Delaware nexus, and that the disclosure requirement is the key consumer protection. Industry witnesses and chambers of commerce opposed the bill as drafted, arguing it would create broad compliance burdens and expose businesses to excessive litigation risk without a harm requirement or clearer safe harbor language. Earlier in the meeting, the committee discussed House Bill 429, which would update Delaware’s step therapy exception process to include biosimilars and interchangeable biologics. Senator Poore and supporters from Highmark and the Department of Insurance said the bill would modernize insurance law, improve access to effective treatments, and reduce costs; they cited national savings from biosimilars and said the bill has agency support. Members asked about Delaware-specific savings, patient switching, and how the process would work, but no vote was taken during the discussion. The committee also heard House Bill 310, which would exclude large data centers from Blue Collar Jobs Act tax credits; the sponsor said the bill is intended to ensure large energy users contribute more to state and local revenues, while supporters and opponents debated competitiveness and community impacts. House Bill 406, on allowing insureds to choose their auto repair shop, and Senate Bill 347, a cleanup bill related to medical debt collection and personal property levies, were also presented without opposition in the hearing. House Bill 253, concerning who may receive letters testamentary or of administration, was described as a cleanup to align statute with existing practice. The committee approved the meeting minutes, but the transcript does not show final votes on the bills discussed.

Transcript Highlights:

• It was Medicaid that paid for that hospitalization for that patient.
• c> traumatic experience for the patient and traumatic experience for the patient and unnecessary<00:41
• We code these patients, and we call them deflections.
• </c><00:57:53.079><c> to</c> nearly 1,500 patients that we had to nearly 1,500 patients that we had to
• Second, this is about risk reduction for patients.

Committee: Senate Health and Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• It is every patient that we serve in our infusion center in the hospital.
• </c><00:26:23.200><c> and</c> health care and support patients and health care and support patients and
• ,</c><00:27:04.480><c> supporting</c> motans, supporting patients, supporting motans, supporting patients
• </c> pharmaceuticals go up for patients pharmaceuticals go up for patients because<00:32:26.159><c> the
• So we really need that flexibility our patients do.

Summary: House File 369 was the main topic, with House authors Rep. Natalie Zeleznikar, Rep. Robert Bierman, and Rep. Dave Baker arguing that the bill would give Minnesota’s 2024 340B law “teeth” by enforcing protections for nonprofit and rural hospitals’ access to the federal drug pricing program. They said the measure costs the state nothing, aligns with similar laws in more than 20 other states, and is needed before adjournment to help hospitals close funding gaps, support services like emergency care, obstetrics, behavioral health, and pharmacy access, and preserve care in remote communities. Several hospital leaders from across greater Minnesota testified that 340B revenue helps keep their facilities viable and that losing it would threaten services and, in some cases, hospital survival. Witnesses described severe financial pressure on rural hospitals, including reimbursement cuts, workforce shortages, inflation, and rising drug costs. Leaders from United Hospital District in Blue Earth, Lakewood Health System in Staples, Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital, Northshore Health in Grand Marais, Community Memorial Hospital in Cloquet, and Cuyuna Regional Medical Center in Crosby said their hospitals serve as safety-net providers and often operate with thin or negative margins. They emphasized long travel times to other hospitals, seasonal tourism pressures in some areas, and the importance of local emergency, ambulance, inpatient, and specialty services. The Minnesota Hospital Association president also criticized pharmaceutical company messaging and said nonprofit hospitals are working around the clock to maintain access. In response to questions, Zeleznikar said she had considered other enforcement approaches but now supported using the original Senate-passed bill, citing concerns about fraud and the difficulty of alternative enforcement mechanisms. She and hospital leaders distinguished this bill from a separate hospital stabilization-grant proposal, saying both are needed but serve different purposes. No vote was taken at the meeting, and the speakers repeatedly urged House leadership to bring the bill to the floor before session ends.

Transcript Highlights:

• And whereas patients requiring blood transfusions include cancer patients, accident, burn, and trauma
• And whereas patients requiring blood And whereas patients requiring blood transfusions<00:27:01.279><
• patients, transfusions include cancer patients, accident<00:27:03.360><c> burn</c><00:27:03.600><c>
• ,</c> transplant recipients, surgery patients, transplant recipients, surgery patients, chronically<00
• :27:09.919><c> transfused</c><00:27:10.559><c> patients</c> chronically transfused patients chronically

Transcript Highlights:

• the safety and well-being of patients.
• around the importance of the health of the patient and the patient's health.
• Entirely around the idea of full disclosure of the risks to the patient.
• Second, for my patients in clinic, if they do not fully consent to their use of DNA, it could impact
• We would talk to the patient, and the patient might say something like, "Well, okay, I get it.

Bills: SB315 , SB584 , SB1228 , SB1484 , SB1860 , SB1802

Committee: House Trade, Workforce & Economic Development

Transcript Highlights:

• can work with our patients and your... ...can work with our patients, and your constituents would like
• In school, we're trained to put our patients first.
• I see patients paying into plans but putting off care they still can't afford.
• We create more flexibility for patients and stability for the system overall.
• ...constituents are patients.

Committee: Senate Banking and Insurance

Transcript Highlights:

• It expanded patient access.
• </c> registry registers patients caregivers registry registers patients caregivers and<00:13:10.399><
• </c><00:14:35.839><c> across</c> listening sessions for patients across listening sessions for patients
• We've done patient education events, patient newsletters. We've issued CMEs for medical providers.
• . patients. patients.

Bills: HB1974 , HB1853 , HB1973 , HB1574 , HB2619 , HB1966 , HB1643 , HB1671 , HB2558 , HB1854 , HB2173 , HB1575 , HB2229 , HB1535 , HB1978 , HB2508 , HB1549 , HB2187 , HB1550 , HB1977 , HB2314 , HB1871 , HB2319 , HB1591 , HB1858 , HB1898 , HB2372 , HB1765 , HB2012 , HB1706 , HB1962 , HB1963 , HB1975 , HB2009 , HB2083 , HB2224 , HB1877 , HB1959 , HB1626 , HB1665 , HB2488 , HB2456 , HB2548 , HB2207 , HB1832 , HB2079 , HB1985 , HB1618 , HB2486 , HB2242 , HB2045 , HB1703 , HB2236 , HB2480 , HB1976 , HB2287 , HB2288 , HB1777 , HB276 , HB1660 , HB1676 , HB1605 , HB1751 , HB1967 , HB2383 , HB2340 , HB1946 , HB2268 , HB1950 , HB2156 , HB2118 , HB1859 , HB1863 , HB1996 , HB2114 , HB2423 , HB2429 , HB2475 , HB2534 , HB2545 , HB1813 , HB1941 , HB2474 , HB2583 , HB1576 , HB1886 , HB1939 , HB2540 , HB2590 , HB2000 , HB2163 , HB2386 , HB1691 , HB1680 , HB2516 , HB1993 , HB2442 , HB1510 , HB1958 , HB1692

Transcript Highlights:

• We have started a community paramedic program in 2025 and have been seeing patients in multiple counties
• But service one has a program that does community paramedic service, so when we get patients that are
• Our goals are that we want good patient care and that patients are served well.
• care and that patients are served well.
• It became quite popular among the patients that were in the hospital.

Summary: The Committee on Local Government first took up Senate Substitute for Senate Bill 975, which concerns community paramedic/mobile integrated health services and related jurisdictional issues. Supporters, including ambulance and EMS leaders from Caldwell County and Cox Health, said the bill would help expand community paramedicine in rural and regional areas, improve patient care, reduce unnecessary emergency room use, and lower Medicaid costs. One witness described a successful program that cut Medicaid charges dramatically, while another said the bill would help ambulance districts merge and operate more efficiently. An opponent representing the Missouri State Council of Firefighters said the group supported the underlying bill but was concerned about the Senate-added jurisdictional language affecting community paramedic services and wanted those issues resolved. The committee heard testimony but took no vote before closing testimony on the bill. The committee then heard House Bill 3496, sponsored by Rep. Rodger Reedy, which would update county official salary schedules and assessed valuation ranges that have not been revised in decades. Reedy and the Missouri Association of Counties said the bill is intended to modernize minimum salary schedules while preserving local control through county salary commissions, with a growth factor designed to account for changing assessed valuations over time. Committee members asked about how the bill interacts with other salary legislation and whether counties could use alternative training or salary arrangements approved by their associations. Supporters said the proposal was developed through a multi-year task force process involving county officials and related associations. The Missouri Association of Counties and Warren County officials testified in favor, saying the bill reflects a broad consensus and better matches current county finances. No one testified in opposition to House Bill 3496, and the chair closed the public hearing and adjourned the meeting after testimony concluded.