Transcript Highlights:

• And that's exactly why we concurrently advocated for the expansion of T-Cup.
• THC was my gateway to pharmaceutical medicines.
• We support the TCUP expansion program and we're grateful for that.
• This is about the pharmaceutical lobby. This is about the alcohol lobby.
• So, it's not just keeping people off pharmaceuticals by using these products; it's putting them on pharmaceuticals

Bills: SB5 , SB11 , SB12 , SB 5 , SB 11 , SB 12

Committee: Senate State Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• And this is because development for childhood cancer drugs is not seen as profitable by pharmaceutical
• Just to explain: the first level is no privileges of any pharmaceutical agents at all; the second level
• Again, I want to reiterate that this is not a scope expansion of any kind.
• agents at all the second level is use of diagnostic uh pharmaceutical agents only the third level is
• of any kind we are just updating and reorganizing the way expansion of any kind we are just updating

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Public Health

Summary: The Joint Committee on Public Health heard testimony on a wide range of bills focused on children’s health, tobacco control, newborn screening, pediatric cancer, palliative care, and professional licensure. Early testimony highlighted Senate bills to expand newborn screening for pyruvate dehydrogenase complex deficiency, lysosomal storage disorders, and congenital CMV, with families and clinicians describing severe diagnostic delays, missed treatment windows, and the benefits of early detection. Speakers also supported a bill to improve pediatric cancer research through a dedicated trust fund, and a bill to extend pediatric palliative care services to age 22, with parents and providers emphasizing continuity of care for seriously ill young people. Several witnesses gave personal accounts in support of the newborn screening measures. Families described children who endured years of misdiagnosis before receiving diagnoses such as Gaucher disease, Fabry disease, Pompe disease, Niemann-Pick disease, and CMV, often after irreversible damage had already occurred. Medical and advocacy witnesses said Massachusetts already collects some of the relevant screening data and argued that results should be reported to families, while others urged the committee to add conditions to the state panel because effective treatments already exist. The committee also heard support for a bill to establish a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder program and training for providers. On tobacco and youth health, testimony supported bills to ban internet tobacco sales, strengthen youth protections, and reduce lung cancer deaths through point-of-sale information and quit-line access. A student testified about easily purchasing flavored nicotine products online without meaningful age verification, and public health advocates backed measures to keep tobacco out of children’s environments. The committee also heard testimony on a bill to ensure parents have access to their children’s medical records through age 16, with exceptions for sensitive services already protected by law. The committee additionally took testimony on an optometry licensure bill, where ophthalmologists opposed language they said could broaden scope of practice and allow optometrists to use the title “optometric physician,” while optometry educators and students supported the bill as a modernization measure with no scope expansion. No votes were taken during the hearing; the chair repeatedly reminded speakers of time limits and noted that written testimony could be submitted for additional comments.

Transcript Highlights:

• What we lived through was an unprecedented expansion of government power, a test of how far officials
• The push to vaccinate ignores that pharmaceuticals historically only care about profits and cover up
• We do not want to have a mandate when pharmaceuticals can decide.
• I have a doctorate in polymer chemistry, and for part of my career, I worked in the pharmaceutical industry
• ..the people in Massachusetts are never again required to take an experimental liability-free pharmaceutical

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Emergency Preparedness and Management

Summary: The Joint Committee on Emergency Preparedness and Management held a hearing on several emergency management bills, with most of the testimony focused on Senate Bill 539, which would prohibit COVID-19 mRNA vaccination or gene-altering procedures as a condition of entry, employment, school attendance, or access to public venues. Senator Durant and many public witnesses supported the bill, arguing that COVID-era mandates were coercive, ineffective, and harmful, and that the state should not require proof of vaccination in future emergencies. One witness, Joanne Tuller, testified in opposition, saying the government should retain authority to impose public health measures in emergencies and warning against permanently limiting that power based on the COVID experience. The committee also heard testimony on Senate Bill 540, concerning the prevention of radioactive material discharge, with a Sierra Club representative and local residents opposing Holtec’s disposal of wastewater from the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant and citing health, environmental, and economic concerns in Plymouth and nearby communities. Senator Driscoll testified in support of Senate Bills 537 and 538, describing them as measures to strengthen the Commonwealth’s strategic preparedness stockpile and to create a framework for emergency response during surges in hospitalizations, including temporary waivers of prior authorization when hospitals are over capacity. In addition, Dr. Jennifer Carlson testified in support of H.885, a resolve creating a special commission on the field of emergency management, arguing that the profession should be more fully professionalized and staffed by dedicated experts rather than part-time “second hat” officials. Several other bills on the docket, including H.883 and H.84, had no sign-ups. The chair closed each bill’s testimony section as the list was exhausted, and the hearing was adjourned without any votes taken during the session.

Transcript Highlights:

• If every state would have been required to do Medicaid expansion, we've seen that in expansion states
• Um, you know, similar to that pharmaceuticals?
• It's more complicated to do pharmaceuticals than devices. >> Um, but I don't know.
• The only caveat is they don’t provide pharmaceuticals and if... ...provide pharmaceuticals, and that
• My ill-informed instinct is that we don't start with pharmaceuticals.

Committee: Joint Health Insurance Affordability Task Force

Transcript Highlights:

• the discussions that have been having around affordability, especially in the space of pharmacy pharmaceuticals
• the discussions that have been having around affordability, especially in the space of pharmacy pharmaceuticals
• of them for questions. been having around affordability, especially in the space of pharmacy pharmaceuticals
• >> Correct. >> So what would expansion entail?

Bills: SCR96 , SCR109 , SCR164 , SCR172 , SCR166

Committee: House Consumer Protection & Commerce

Summary: The Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce heard several Senate concurrent resolutions related to utilities, pharmacy access, critical infrastructure, and energy policy. STR 96 SD1 asked the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to report on the progress of the Hawaii Electric Reliability Administrator; the PUC offered written comments and the measure later advanced as is. STR 109 SD1 urged the insurance commissioner to study expanding mail-order pharmacy use. Testimony was split: DCCA’s insurance division, HMSA, and the Hawaii Association of Health Plans supported the study, while Shipa and the Hawaii Pharmacist Association opposed it, arguing mail-order pharmacy is already available and that in-person pharmacist counseling should be preserved. The measure was ultimately deferred. The committee also heard STR 164 SD1 on protecting Hawaii’s critical infrastructure from foreign influence. Greenpeace Hawaii and 350 Hawaii strongly supported the resolution, framing it as a consumer protection and resilience measure tied to reducing dependence on imports and strengthening local food and energy systems. No opposition was presented, and the resolution was moved out as is. STR 172 SD1 HD1 directed the PUC to conduct a comprehensive analysis of ways to maximize cost reduction and minimize financial risk while meeting state goals. DCCA, the Hawaii State Energy Office, and the PUC offered comments, and Earthjustice supported the measure; it was also advanced as is. For STR 166 SD1, which concerns how the PUC should evaluate generational energy commitments, DCCA, the Hawaii State Energy Office, and the PUC provided comments, while 350 Hawaii, Greenpeace Hawaii, and others opposed any move toward LNG, arguing it would harm ratepayers and conflict with Hawaii’s renewable goals. After discussion, the committee amended the resolution to add language directing the PUC to evaluate any LNG or other imported-fuel proposal for its potential effects on or delays to the state’s renewable portfolio standards, including the 2045 deadline. The amended resolution then passed, and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• One of our concerns with SB 1094 is the expansion allowing pharmacists to switch a patient from their
• Alison Ramey on behalf of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association in support. Thank you.
• encourage biosimilar use to bring down the cost and inject more competition into a system that pharmaceutical

Summary: The Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee heard SB 1094 by Senator Weber Pearson, which would expand pharmacist and health plan authority to substitute biosimilars for reference biologic drugs in order to lower prescription drug costs. The author and supporters, including Blue Shield of California, Sharp HealthCare, and several business and health groups, argued that biologics are a major driver of rising health care spending and that biosimilars can provide substantial savings while maintaining safety and efficacy. The bill also included transparency provisions and committee amendments, including notice requirements and clarifications around substitution and exceptions. Opposition came from the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, the California Rheumatology Alliance, and Biocom, who said the bill was not scientifically justified, could undermine FDA standards, and might lead to unwanted switching, side effects, or delays in care for patients with chronic conditions. They emphasized that pharmacists can already substitute interchangeable biosimilars and that non-interchangeable products can be changed with prescriber contact. Committee discussion focused on patient safety, the meaning of “do not substitute,” the 30-day notice provisions, and the distinction between biosimilars and interchangeable biosimilars. After debate, the committee adopted a due pass as amended motion to the Senate Health Committee. The bill passed the committee on a 10-0 roll call vote and was sent onward.

Transcript Highlights:

• And those concerns have to do with two things, both with respect to expansive definitions.
• The first is that the way the courts have defined recklessly endangering has been extremely expansive
• And those concerns have to do with two things, both with respect to expansive definitions.
• The first is that the way the courts have defined recklessly endangering has been extremely expansive
• Lana and Bausch for generic drug price fixing, and she's filed a new lawsuit against another pharmaceutical

Transcript Highlights:

• Were they on pharmaceutical drugs? Were they on illicit or illegal drugs?
• If we find that illegal substances or pharmaceuticals are not, I don't know.
• That illegal substances or pharmaceuticals are not a major component, then we can settle that element
• we have not been looking at the potential impact of illegal and illicit substances as well as pharmaceutical
• The expansion of the placement prohibition to daycare facilities means that most of these individuals

Committee: House Public Safety

Transcript Highlights:

• This is not a Medicaid expansion.
• Senator Kavanaugh, can you speak a little bit more about the rebates on pharmaceuticals?
• But you need your pharmaceutical partner to actually want to provide a rebate.
• When I met the advocates, the pharmaceutical folks.
• Browning, so you represent Otsuka, American Pharmaceutical.

Committee: House House Health & Human Services Committee of Reference

Summary: The committee heard several bills related to radiation protection in cardiac catheterization labs and later a stem cell/regenerative therapy bill. On SB 1121, which would allow hospitals with radiation protection systems to let clinicians forgo lead aprons if they work in the designated safety area and use real-time dosimetry, testimony was largely supportive or neutral after a late amendment gave radiation safety officers discretion to require protective gear if exposures approach thresholds. The committee adopted the amendment and passed SB 1121 on a 9-1 vote. SB 1120, a more prescriptive bill requiring at least 50% of cath lab rooms in hospitals to be equipped with the radiation protection system, drew divided testimony: sponsors and several physicians argued it would reduce orthopedic injury and radiation exposure and improve recruitment and retention, while hospital and radiology groups objected to the mandate, cost, limited vendor pool, and lack of clarity in the bill’s definitions. After adopting an amendment excluding children’s hospitals, the committee deadlocked 6-6 and SB 1120 failed to pass. The committee then considered SB 1118, which would appropriate $3 million to help rural hospitals install radiation protection systems in cath lab rooms. The sponsor said the funding would help rural facilities meet the same safety goals, and the committee passed the bill 6-5. The committee also heard SB 1214, a “guardrails” bill regulating non-FDA-approved stem cell and regenerative therapies, requiring informed consent, sourcing and reporting standards, advertising limits, and civil penalties for violations. Supporters said it would protect patients while allowing access to promising therapies; some members raised concerns about evidence and commercialization, but after adopting a technical amendment, the bill passed 9-3. The transcript ended as the committee moved on to SB 1630, which would seek federal approval for a home- and community-based service benefit for adults with serious mental illness; the sponsor described it as a capped, Medicaid-based community care option, and Access testified neutral while estimating a fiscal impact, but no final action on SB 1630 appears in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• We cannot wait for an FDA-approved pharmaceutical version of a treatment that readily exists in nature
• We cannot wait for an FDA approved pharmaceutical version of a treatment that readily exists in nature
• I'm very new to this, but I can only describe it as mind expansion and spirituality.
• But the the the but I can only describe as mind expansion and spirituality.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm very proud that we have our own pharmacy that provides pharmaceuticals to each of our homes across
• I'm very proud that we have our own pharmacy that provides pharmaceuticals to each of our homes across
• to uh each of our uh Pharmaceuticals to uh each of our homes<00:34:51.320><c> that</c><00:34:51.520>
• </c><01:35:03.480><c> expansions</c><01:35:04.000><c> in</c><01:35:04.199><c> VA</c> biggest expansion
• expansions in VA biggest expansion expansions in VA benefits<01:35:05.040><c> and</c><01:35:05.199><

Committee: Senate Agriculture, Veterans, Broadband, and Rural Development - Subcommittee on Veterans

Transcript Highlights:

• Of course, we'd have medical transport, we'd have pharmaceutical transport, and we have all kinds of
• We have an expansion of the Kratos project that's happening here in Bristow, Oklahoma.
• We have an expansion of the Kratos project that's happening here in Bristol, Oklahoma.
• And then last is the third project for that $16 million, which is going to be a space engine expansion
• operating in DFW, that's why... ...if you're operating in DFW, that's why if you've seen some of the pharmaceutical

Summary: The committee met for an oversight update on how one-time and recurring transportation-related appropriations are being implemented. Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics Director Grayson Artees reviewed ARPA and PREP-funded airport and aerospace projects, including completed or nearing-completion work at Will Rogers, Woodward, Ardmore, Tulsa’s air traffic control tower, and multiple hangar, terminal, taxiway, utility, and UAS infrastructure projects statewide. He also discussed one-time FY25 and FY26 appropriations for airport development, the repurposing of an unneeded Lufthansa project allocation into other aerospace projects, and the department’s aerospace education grants, classroom labs, aircraft-build programs, and internship support. Members asked for lists of participating schools and for a clearer overall accounting of the funding; Artees said the department would provide those materials and estimated roughly $400 million has been invested in aerospace and defense since PREP and ARPA, with about $250 million directed to airport infrastructure. The committee then heard from ODOT Secretary Tim Gatz on the Retro Fund, lake and industrial access roads, ports of entry, and the PACT Fund. Gatz said Retro, created in statute and funded with $200 million in both 2024 and FY25, is helping accelerate rural high-impact road and bridge projects; he reported $249 million awarded so far, supporting about $1.4 billion in construction, with most projects expected to be awarded by September 2027. He also described lake and industrial access projects, including work at the Port of Inola, and updated members on ports of entry, internal way stations, and the replacement of the aging OkiPROS permitting system with ProMiles. On PACT, he said the county road and bridge allocations are being administered, but the Tax Commission’s role in distributing the county road share has created unnecessary bureaucracy; he urged a statutory fix so the money can go directly to counties. Members asked for lists of approved lake/recreational projects and for clarification on the Tax Commission issue; Gatz said ODOT would provide the project list and that he would welcome Tax Commission input on a legislative remedy. No votes were taken, and the meeting adjourned after the updates and questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• There is a fiscal concern with that because the more expansive the immunity is, the more claimants will
• And by taking out the word "directly," the expansion really could be very great for medical devices and
• Since then we have seen a crippling expansion of illegal and unregulated gambling activity across our
• Chemicals, pharmaceuticals, this is a Rick Nease: testing cost for the chemicals being polluted.
• Johns River Water Management District to test the ability of the PFAS pharmaceuticals as well as reclaimed

Bills: S0598 , S0934 , S1260 , S1300 , S1452 , S1510 , S1566 , S1580 , S1668 , S7034

Committee: Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, and when I was in Boston meeting with a group of people, I talked about biomedical and pharmaceutical
• "Well, we have 30,000 unfilled jobs in the realm of research and pharmaceutical and biomedical engineering
• jobs in the realm of<00:03:02.400><c> research</c><00:03:03.080><c> and</c><00:03:03.320><c> pharmaceutical
• </c><00:03:04.040><c> and</c> of research and pharmaceutical and of research and pharmaceutical and biomedical
• I look at what’s happening with LifeSci KY and Northern Kentucky University and our $85 million expansion

Summary: The Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee heard Senate Bill 6, sponsored by Senate President Robert Stivers, which would create an endowed research fund to support collaborative university research in Kentucky. Stivers described the bill as an extension of earlier higher-education research efforts, arguing that Kentucky should build research “hubs” by requiring or encouraging partnerships among universities and outside entities, with potential focus areas including health care, engineering, aerospace, agriculture, and other emerging fields. He said the proposal would establish five research tranches over five years and sought a $30 million endowment for each, generating annual interest to fund consortium-based research and leverage additional private and federal dollars. Senators Frommeyer, Neal, Givens, Boswell, and Richardson spoke in support, emphasizing economic development, job creation, and examples from other research clusters such as Boston and North Carolina’s Research Triangle. The committee voted 12-0 to report the bill favorably to the Senate floor. The committee then received a presentation from Dr. Matthew Bush of the University of Kentucky on pediatric hearing loss and cochlear implants. Bush explained that early hearing detection and intervention is critical because hearing loss in newborns is a neurocognitive emergency that affects language, literacy, and long-term outcomes. He outlined national screening benchmarks, Kentucky’s incidence of childhood hearing loss, and the high educational and societal costs of untreated hearing loss. Bush also highlighted disparities in rural and western Kentucky, where children face delayed diagnosis, longer waits for hearing aids or cochlear implants, and more difficulty accessing follow-up care. He described cochlear implants, the multidisciplinary care they require, and research showing improved language development, quality of life, and cost savings when children are treated early.

Transcript Highlights:

• We would also support expansion of this bill in any way to include more students.
• </c><00:10:55.959><c> of</c> and we would also support expansion of and we would also support expansion
• That's the most common type of pharmaceutical that we're talking about, and so those generally have,
• That's the most common type of pharmaceutical that we're talking about, and so those generally have,
• </c> most common uh type of pharmaceutical most common uh type of pharmaceutical that<00:38:43.920><c

Committee: Senate Education

Transcript Highlights:

• have to cut X because of challenges with surplus, as it was by down, one-time expenses, Medicaid expansion
• , to decrease our reliance on Critical minerals and pharmaceuticals, to decrease our reliance on some
• I mean, during COVID, India cut off our supply to critical brain cancer treatments for pharmaceuticals
• This bill is going to have. ...critical brain cancer treatments for pharmaceuticals.
• Yeah, it's adding critical materials and pharmaceuticals. I guess that's what you mean.

Transcript Highlights:

• So you can see a significant increase in pharmaceutical expenditures.
• So there are expansions of benefits, expansions of populations, increased rates.
• We did also have some of the expansions.
• Another expansion that I'm sure you're aware of is the sort of expansion to comprehensive coverage for
• I will note on the rebates, I mean, excuse me, on the pharmaceutical spend, the net versus the gross,

Transcript Highlights:

• So you can see a significant increase in pharmaceutical expenditures.
• So there are expansions of benefits, expansions of populations, increased rates.
• We did also have some of the expansions.
• Another expansion that I'm sure you're aware of is the sort of expansion to comprehensive coverage for
• I will note on the rebates, I mean, excuse me, on the pharmaceutical spend, the net versus the gross,

Summary: The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Health began with a hearing on the impacts of H.R. 1 on California health programs, focusing first on reproductive health state investments. HCAI outlined five state-funded reproductive health programs created after Dobbs, including uncompensated care, practical support, capital and clinical infrastructure, and workforce programs. Essential Access Health and Planned Parenthood testified that these funds have served hundreds of thousands of patients, but warned that the uncompensated care program is fully awarded and needs renewal, and that Title X and Medicaid-related federal uncertainty continues to threaten access. Members questioned who the uncompensated care program serves, why Medi-Cal covers a large share of abortions, and whether Planned Parenthood could expand prenatal services; public commenters urged continued support for reproductive health access. The committee then took up long-term care services and supports, starting with the HCBA and Assisted Living Waiver programs. DHCS reported large wait lists for both programs and said enrollment is limited by workforce and provider capacity, while LAO noted that increasing slots alone may not increase access without additional programmatic changes. Members pressed the department on whether more slots should be added given the lower cost of home- and community-based care compared with skilled nursing facilities, and public testimony argued that the wait lists should be reduced and that staffing concerns do not fully explain unused capacity. The committee also heard testimony on congregate living health facilities, where providers and a patient family described the homes as critical, lower-cost alternatives to nursing facilities for younger, medically complex people. Witnesses requested short-term bridge funding, while DHCS said it is proposing to transition CLFs into a managed care benefit by January 1, 2028, which would remove caps and expand access statewide. The final long-term care topic was PACE. DHCS explained that it has paused new PACE applications and service expansions for at least two years to reassess oversight capacity and develop a statewide strategic growth framework, while existing programs continue operating. CalPACE supported the pause as a planning measure but asked for four additional state nurse positions to reduce delays in level-of-care determinations and speed enrollment for frail older adults. Members shared personal stories about how PACE has helped family members and asked how the state will meet growing demand; DHCS said stakeholder engagement will begin later in the year and that some existing applications already in process will continue. Public commenters broadly supported PACE, HCBA, and CLF funding requests. The hearing then moved to the Department of Health Care Services’ 2026-27 Medi-Cal budget and related trailer bills. DHCS said Medi-Cal spending has grown due to coverage expansions, higher acuity, rising utilization, and especially pharmacy costs, and it described proposals to extend the current skilled nursing facility financing framework for one year while the state develops a new value-based payment strategy. LAO said most recent Medi-Cal spending growth has been driven more by higher per-enrollee costs than by caseload growth, with pharmacy spending growing especially quickly, and recommended better and more timely data to analyze the drivers. Members expressed concern about the rapid rise in Medi-Cal spending and asked for more detail on the largest cost increases.

Transcript Highlights:

• We'd have pharmaceutical transport.
• An expansion of the RATO project is happening here in Bristow, Oklahoma.
• Then, the third project for that $16 million will be a space engine expansion in the Tulsa area.
• Whereas, like if you're operating in DFW, that's why if you've seen some of the pharmaceutical deliveries

Committee: House A&B Transportation Subcommittee

Transcript Highlights:

• First of all, from the original law that's currently in place, is this an expansion of whom can request
• many health care providers can purchase it through their own vendor agreements with their own pharmaceutical
• relationships with every health care insurance company in the United States, 18 of the top 20 pharmaceutical
• companies, and in 2023, they partnered with TransUnion to enable pharmaceutical advertisers to target
• companies, and in 2023, they partnered with TransUnion to enable pharmaceutical advertisers to target

Bills: HB1496 , HB2182 , HB2196 , HB2242

Committee: House Health Care & Wellness

Keywords: patients' rights, healthcare information, medical confidentiality, health data security, healthcare access, abortion, medications, reproductive health, access, healthcare, PANDA, PANS, treatment access, mental health, legislation, preventive services, state authority, definitions clarification, public health