Health Care - including Medicaid

LWVAL Action Priority Level II - Monitoring occurs; action dependent on opportunity and available resources.

Click a bill to see sponsor(s), summary (including link to full text), League action and justification for that action, and progress of the bill through the legislative process.

Legend:
thumbs_up_icon.jpg = LWVAL's support for the legislation.
thumbs_down_icon.jpg = LWVAL's opposition to the legislation.
green-right-arrow.jpg = new bill activity; change from previous week's report such as new progress in the legislature and/or League action. Bill may be one newly added to the report. These updates are in green font.

LWVAL has taken a position on these bills:

thumbs_up_icon.jpgHB186 - Physician's Assistants Service Program, created, administered by the Board of Medical Scholarship Awards, funding of program, tax credits for participation

Sponsor(s): Representatives Lee, Chesteen and Clouse

Summary/Synopsis: This bill establishes the Physician Assistants Service Program, funded by the Education Trust Fund, which awards loans to students interested in becoming Physician Assistants; these loans will be repaid through work for a stipulated time in an area of critical need in a medically underserved area of Alabama.


League Action and Justification: Support.
Our health care position supports the use of physicians’ assistants and innovation in educating medical professionals and attracting them to the underserved areas of our state – this innovative program provides safeguards against abuse of the loans as well as furnishes medical professionals to areas of the state that are currently without them.

Bill Progress in Legislature:

02/11/2016: First reading and referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means Education (W&ME)..

04/13/2016: 2nd Read and placed on the calendar with 1 Amendment (177018-1); pending 3rd Read and Favorable from W&ME with 1 Amendment; W&ME 1st Amendment Offered

Note: the amendment removes the income tax credit.

04/28/2016: Indefinitely postponed.

thumbs_up_icon.jpgHB223 - Income tax credits, increase for rural physicians and dentists, Sec. 40-18-132 am'd.

Sponsor(s): Representatives Beech and K Johnson

Summary/Synopsis: This bill increases the tax credit given to physicians and dentists who practice in rural communities


League Action and Justification: Support.
Support is based on our state health care position favoring innovative ways to increase health care services in underserved areas

Bill Progress in Legislature:

02/11/2016: First reading and referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means Education (W&ME)..

thumbs_up_icon.jpgSB227 - Advanced Practice Nurses, Loan-Repayment Program established for, to pay for education of, Secs. 34-21-94 to 34-21-99, inclusive, added

Sponsor(s): Senators Reed and Melson

Summary/Synopsis: This bill establishes a loan repayment program for Advanced Practice Nurses to acquire their educational credentials. As in HB186 pertaining to Physician Assistants, educational loans can be repaid by working in medically underserved areas of our state.




League Action and Justification: Support
The bill would increase access to medical professionals.

Bill Progress in Legislature:

Senate Action:

02/11/2016: First reading and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance and Taxation Education (F&TE).

03/03/2016: 2nd Read and placed on the calendar with 1 Amendment (174977-3); pending 3rd Read and Favorable from F&TE with 1 Amendment; F&TE 1st Amendment Offered

03/22/2016: 3rd Reading Passed; Finance and Taxation Education Amendment (174977-3) Offered; Reed motion to Table adopted by Voice Vote; Reed Amendment (175544-1) Offered; Motion to Adopt adopted by Roll Call; Motion to Read a 3rd Time and Pass adopted by Roll Call; Engrossed

Note: The Reed Amendment’s key point is: “An area of critical need shall be an area in Alabama with a critical need, as determined by the Board, for advanced-practice nurses, and shall not be a part of, or within five miles of, an urbanized area as defined most recently by the U.S. Census Bureau. The Board shall adopt rules under the Administrative Procedure Act to implement this section.”

House Action:

03/22/2016: Read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means Education (W&ME)..House Committee on Ways and Means Education (W&ME)

04/13/2016: 2nd Read and placed on the calendar with 1 Amendment (177006-2); pending 3rd Read and Favorable from W&ME with 1 Amendment; W&ME 1st Amendment Offered

Note: the amendment removes the income tax credit.
LWVAL is monitoring these bills:
[none at this time]


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