Legislature(2013 - 2014)CAPITOL 106
01/17/2013 03:00 PM House HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Introductory/organizational Meeting | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE
January 17, 2013
3:02 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Pete Higgins, Chair
Representative Wes Keller
Representative Benjamin Nageak
Representative Lance Pruitt
Representative Paul Seaton
Representative Geran Tarr
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Lora Reinbold
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
INTRODUCTORY/ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
PAUL VERHAGEN, Staff
Representative Pete Higgins
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As House Health and Social Services
Standing Committee aide, discussed committee procedures during
the organizational discussion.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:02:43 PM
CHAIR PETE HIGGINS called the House Health and Social Services
Standing Committee meeting to order at 3:02 p.m.
Representatives Higgins, Keller, Nageak, Seaton, and Tarr were
present at the call to order. Representative Pruitt arrived as
the meeting was in progress.
CHAIR HIGGINS introduced the committee support staff, and
announced that a fine of donuts for the committee would be
assessed for any cell phone ringing during the committee
meeting.
^Introductory/Organizational Meeting
Introductory/Organizational Meeting
3:04:00 PM
CHAIR HIGGINS stated his commitment for health and social
services, noting that it was the recipient of more than 20
percent of the state budget. He declared that, although the
State of Alaska was responsible for offering the best possible
health care service, the House Health and Social Services
Standing Committee also had a responsibility to the state
budget. He requested that the committee members be fair, keep
partisanship outside the door, "and let's think of our children,
let's think of our elderly, and let's think of everybody in the
state, and let's do the right thing by them." He invited each
committee member to introduce themself and state why they had
requested to sit on this committee.
3:05:07 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR shared that she represented District 17 in
Anchorage, declaring that her interest in the committee was the
result of her background in science, as she had been a
physiology, anatomy, and biology university teacher for the past
14 years. She noted that she was interested in building the
state's health industry work force.
3:06:03 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER expressed his interest and concern with
the issues related to sustainability of the current health care
in the state. He declared that the role of the state was to
care for the most needy and that it was important to be fair in
the laws and policies.
3:06:59 PM
REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT said that he represented District 25,
sharing that he was raised in the district. He declared that
health care was crucial for all of us, and that it was necessary
for it to be available and affordable. He declared "that one of
the biggest challenges that we face" was to ensure that health
care was not a burden to the state.
3:08:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON reported that he represented District 30
and had served on the House Health and Social Services Standing
Committee for 11 years, since his election to the Legislature.
He established that health care was of "the utmost concern to my
constituents and it directly affects the lives of Alaskans." He
stated that his focus had shifted from health care services to
ways of prevention, which he opined would relieve the cost
burden on the state. He expressed his pride that the State of
Alaska had resolved that prevention of disease was a primary
model for health care. He pointed out that a multitude of
studies indicated that Vitamin D would improve the health of
Alaskans. He expressed his pleasure that support for domestic
violence prevention was part of the administrative agenda.
3:11:53 PM
REPRESENTATIVE NAGEAK recounted that he had been born in
Kaktovik, and raised in Barrow. He described the impacts of
diabetes, suicide, tooth decay, mental health, and cancer on his
life and his community. He stated his desire to be a part of
the solution, as a healthy population makes for a richer state.
He recognized the financial impact on the state budget for a
healthier state.
3:13:26 PM
CHAIR HIGGINS established that he represented District 5 in
Fairbanks, and that he had been in the health profession for
many years, with three clinics in Alaska. He pointed out that,
because of the diversity of the state, it was important that
each area be viewed differently and that many of the health care
solutions were "out of the box," as there were no blanket
answers. He announced that Representative Keller was vice-chair
for the House Health and Social Services Standing Committee. He
asked that, during discussions, members request to speak by a
raising of hands and limit their time for discussion to three
minutes each.
3:15:46 PM
PAUL VERHAGEN, Staff, Representative Pete Higgins, Alaska State
Legislature, offered the committee members some recommendations
for submissions to the committee chair, which included footer
descriptions and page numbers on each page.
3:19:30 PM
CHAIR HIGGINS asked that committee members include the name,
organization, and contact phone number for any witnesses and
presenters they submitted for testimony before the committee.
3:20:28 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Health and Social Services Standing Committee meeting was
adjourned at 3:20 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|