Legislature(2011 - 2012)CAPITOL 106
03/15/2011 03:00 PM House HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB1 | |
| HCR5 | |
| HB78 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 1 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 78 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HCR 5 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 1-POLICY FOR SECURING HEALTH CARE SERVICES
3:04:07 PM
CHAIR KELLER announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 1, "An Act stating a public policy that allows a
person to choose or decline any mode of securing health care
services."
REPRESENTATIVE CARL GATTO, Alaska State Legislature, stated that
HB 1 was "a bill about liberty, as much as it's about health
care. Health care is simply the vehicle to describe what
liberties we may or may [not] be losing." He established that
HB 1 declared that the government cannot force an individual to
make a purchase without their consent. He opined that this was
the first time in United States history that the federal
government had attempted to place a tax on inactivity. He
assessed that this was a question of the liberty to choose. He
argued that the commerce clause [Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3
of the U.S. Constitution] should not be used to tax an
individual for not doing something. He offered his belief that
"citizens cannot be compelled by the government to purchase a
product that they don't want to purchase."
3:07:20 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MILLER asked to clarify that HB 1 would exempt
Alaskans from a federal mandate, but that the State of Alaska
could still mandate requirements for Alaskans.
3:08:10 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO replied that the gist of the bill was
focused on a response to the federal government declaring states
rights. He directed attention to page 1, lines 12-14, which
read:
(1) does not apply to health care services provided or
required by the state, a political subdivision of the
state, or a court of the state; and
(2) may not impair a contract right that provides
health care services.
He asked if that answered Representative Miller's question.
3:09:16 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DICK expressed his agreement with HB 1 and stated
that this was a precedent for taxation on inactivity. He
declared "if we aren't very loud and very firm, very clear on
this, we're going to get steamrolled down the road on all
concerns."
3:09:41 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO offered some examples that reflected his
fear for a requirement to buy health care that you did not want.
He announced that "this will send a message that will be
collected with other messages that will ultimately, hopefully,
go to the courts, because this is really the Supreme Court
decision, more than anything else."
3:10:48 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DICK addressed his concern for the deferred cost
to future generations of payment for the uninsured by those with
insurance. He declared: "I don't think this really has to do
with health care at all. I think this has to do with just
gathering information on U.S. citizens."
REPRESENTATIVE GATTO cited that the health care system in the
United States was the best, but that "we're just paying too much
to have them treated." He assessed that health care problems
could be fixed, but that the federal health care bill was not a
fix. He stated his approval for the private sector to maintain
control of the health care system.
3:13:08 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON moved to adopt Amendment 1, which read
[original punctuation provided]:
Page 2, Line 9: following "charge [.]
Insert: ";however, liability for the cost of health
services is not a penalty."
3:13:47 PM
CHAIR KELLER objected for discussion.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON established the intent of proposed
Amendment 1 to be a reminder that the liability for medical
payments was not a penalty that could be declined because of
proposed HB 1.
3:14:40 PM
CHAIR KELLER opined that proposed Amendment 1 would create more
problems. He offered his belief that the word "charge" on page
2, line 9 of the bill was understandable and intuited to be a
fee for services rendered; therefore, proposed Amendment 1 was
unnecessary. He expressed concern that proposed Amendment 1
would occasion that another section of law pertaining to payment
could be subject to question unless it, too, contained this
clarification.
3:15:31 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON indicated the need for clarification
because of specific language on page 1 [line 9] of the bill that
"a person has the right to choose or decline any mode of
obtaining health care services without penalty..." He declared
the need for clarity that this bill language did not include a
release of liability for medical expenses.
3:16:43 PM
CHAIR KELLER asked if proposed Amendment 1 had been reviewed by
Legislative Legal and Research Services.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON replied that he had offered it to the bill
sponsor as a conceptual amendment to be drafted by Legislative
Legal and Research Services.
3:17:12 PM
CHAIR KELLER removed his objection. There being no further
objection, Amendment 1 was passed.
3:17:32 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON moved to report HB 1, as amended, out of
committee with individual recommendations. There being no
objection, CSHB 1(HSS) was reported from the House Health and
Social Services Standing Committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| CS HCR 5.pdf |
HHSS 3/15/2011 3:00:00 PM |