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 | |
HCR 5-VITAMIN D SUPPLEMENTS
3:20:22 PM
CHAIR KELLER brought the committee back to order.
CHAIR KELLER announced that the next order of business would be
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 5, Relating to prevention of
disease and to vitamin D. [In front of the committee was
Version 27-LS0504\M.]
3:20:29 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON moved to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HCR 5, Version 27-LS0504\B, Mischel,
3/14/11, as the working document. There being no objection,
Version B was before the committee.
3:20:43 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON explained that Version B included the
addition of "potentially" and the substitution of "promote" for
"provide" on page 5, line 26, and on page 6, lines 5, 10, and
16. He pointed to page 6, line 12-13, and noted the addition of
"using the comparative treatment effectiveness analysis." He
directed attention to the addition of "postmenopausal" on page
2, line 1, the addition of "blood" on page 6, line 5, and the
correction to 1,200 IU on page 3, line 28. He reported the
addition of a new "Whereas" on page 5, lines 28-29. He
expressed his desire that these changes would eliminate any
misconception that HCR 5 was a mandate.
3:24:05 PM
DR. WARD HURLBURT, Chief Medical Officer/Director, Division Of
Public Health, Central Office, Department of Health and Social
Services, in response to Chair Keller, confirmed that he had
read Version B. He allowed that he still had some concerns with
the bill as a clinical statement, and he suggested more general
language. He pointed to page 6, lines 11 and [12], which
encouraged appropriate vitamin supplements, but he endorsed the
dosage recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice, and
the American Academy of Pediatrics for related immunizations.
He observed that it was not in the State of Alaska's capacity to
analyze and make different recommendations. He questioned the
recommendation of Vitamin D for pregnant women as being too
narrow, and he assured that prenatal vitamins for pregnant women
were being promoted. He opined that proposed HCR 5 was still
too clinical, and he suggested that the bill be more general.
3:27:44 PM
CHAIR KELLER asked if a proposal to promote vitamin supplements
including Vitamin D would sufficiently broaden proposed HCR 5.
DR. HURLBURT replied that although this would still make a
specific recommendation, he did not see it as unreasonable.
3:28:52 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON stated that he did not have data to
support other supplements, but that he had clinical data and
studies to show that many problems in pregnancy were "at greater
risk if you are low in Vitamin D." He reflected on the vitamin
fads not based on studies, and he indicated his lack of support
for the use of supplements that were not backed up by studies.
He emphasized that there was a lot of information which showed
Alaskans to be deficient in Vitamin D, and that there were
greater health risks associated with low Vitamin D. He urged
the Department of Health and Social Services to investigate
whether a lack of Vitamin D was detrimental to Alaskans
specifically. He stated that softening the resolution to say
"that the department should look after the health of the Alaskan
population" would not urge a specific investigation on the
evidence presented in the resolution. He expressed concern with
basing studies on the overall population of the United States
and not specifically on the Alaskan population. He declared the
need for a prevention model for health care.
3:33:10 PM
CHAIR KELLER agreed that the purpose of a resolution was to
raise awareness in both the general populace and in the
Department of Health and Social Services. He expressed his
concern that over focus did not allow for other possibilities.
3:33:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HERRON asked why Vitamin D3 was not referenced in
proposed HCR 5.
3:35:01 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON, in response to Representative Herron,
said that the level of Vitamin D in the blood was the
significant factor. He confirmed that both Vitamin D2 and D3
increased the blood serum level, 25(OH)D. He affirmed that HCR
5 was attempting to avoid any specific reference to either
Vitamin D2 or D3.
3:36:17 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MILLER, noting that the language in proposed HCR
5 promoted Vitamin D supplements, asked if other sources of
Vitamin D should also be included. He opined that the
combination of Vitamin A with Vitamin D was better for an
individual.
3:37:22 PM
CAROL BAGGERLY, Director, Grassroots Health, affirmed that
Grassroots Health was a public health outreach organization
specifically focused on solving the Vitamin D deficiency
epidemic. She reported that the optimal dosage of Vitamin D was
not available from foods. She stated that the average person
used about 4000 IU of Vitamin D each day, but that even a
serving of Alaska salmon, the most substantial food source for
Vitamin D, only accounted for 400 IU. She declared the best
source of Vitamin D to be the sun; however, as most people were
not getting enough sun, it was necessary to complement it with
food and Vitamin D supplements.
3:38:48 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DICK moved to report CSHCR 5, Version 27-
LS0504\B, Mischel, 3/14/11, out of committee with individual
recommendations. There being no objection, CSHCR 5(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 |