Legislature(2025 - 2026)DAVIS 106
03/13/2025 03:15 PM House HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB27 | |
| HB70 | |
| HB64 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 27 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 70 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 64 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 27-MEDICAL MAJOR EMERGENCIES
HB 27-MEDICAL MAJOR EMERGENCIES
3:19:30 PM
CHAIR MINA announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 27 "An Act relating to medical care for major
emergencies."
CHAIR MINA announced that subject experts are present on the
line and prepared to answer committee questions on HB 27.
3:20:19 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY asked what the stroke burden is in Alaska
and how much that burden could be reduced if stroke response
time were improved.
3:20:46 PM
MICHAEL LEVY, MD, responded that he does not have statistics on
the stroke burden in Alaska and confirmed that the stroke burden
could be avoided if timely care and state-of-the-art
interventions were taken.
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY asked how many hospitals in Alaska can
administer thrombolytic drugs within a few hours of someone
having a stroke.
DR. LEVY responded that he does not know the number of hospitals
prepared to provide "clot-busting drugs" for acute strokes. He
said that he believes that a significant majority of the
hospitals that have computerized axial tomography (CAT) scans
can provide clot-busting drugs. He described the criteria
needed to provide these drugs to a patient.
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY asked how many centers across Alaska can
administer those thrombolytic drugs. He asked for clarity on
how HB 27 could help reduce the stroke burden on Alaska.
DR. LEVY responded that currently Anchorage is the only location
where certain stroke therapies are available. He said that HB
27 would hopefully ensure that other outlying facilities could
receive the necessary education, training, and to provide that
therapy to more patients.
3:26:12 PM
GENE WISEMAN, Section Chief, Rural Community Health Systems,
added that Alaska has 13 level 4 trauma centers and he suspects
that all of those centers have CAT scans, which are needed
before administering fibrinolytic drugs.
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY referred to a study from the Journal of
Stroke and Cerebrovascular Disease which showed that the more
prescriptive legislation regarding this issue is, the better the
outcomes. He said that if the state required thrombolytics at
every center that has a CAT scan, that would ensure the right
treatment is on hand at all the places where this treatment
could be administered. He asked if there currently are
thrombolytics at every center with a CAT scan.
3:28:04 PM
MR. WISEMAN responded that he believes most hospitals do carry
thrombolytics. He also emphasized the importance of
administering these drugs in a timely fashion.
3:29:29 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY asked emphasized that preventing strokes is
the best way to prevent deaths from strokes.
DR. LEVY responded that the financial and emotional burdens from
strokes are immense. He said that any intervention to prevent
such misery and financial burden would be a huge win.
3:31:30 PM
The committee took a brief at ease at 3:31 p.m.
3:31:56 PM
CHAIR MINA opened public testimony on HB 27. After ascertaining
that there was no one who wished to testify, she closed public
testimony.
3:32:27 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE moved to adopt Amendment 1 to HB 27,
labeled 34-LS0277\A.2, A. Radford, 3/10/25, which read as
follows:
Page 2, following line 5:
Insert a new bill section to read:
"* Sec. 2. AS 18.08.082 is amended by adding a new
subsection to read:
(d) The commissioner may establish special
designations in regulation for varying levels of care
for major emergencies provided by a medical facility
certified under (a)(3) of this section. The
designations shall be based on nationally recognized
standards and procedures."
Renumber the following bill section accordingly.
CHAIR MINA objected for purposes of discussion.
REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE explained Amendment 1. He stated that
the proposed amendment would align current statute to allow for
special designations for facilities that offer heart attack and
stroke care, like how that trauma care facilities are certified.
He said that there is a need to be able to recognize the
organizations that produce high-level care for heart attack and
stroke patients and that want to take that designation on with a
nationally recognized standard.
CHAIR MINA asked Mr. Wiseman how Amendment 1 would work
functionally with the current operations in the Office of
Emergency Medical Services (EMS).
MR. WISEMAN responded that Amendment 1 would require that the
trauma systems unit within his section define and identify a
nationally recognized credentialing body or bodies off which to
base its criteria. He said there would be committees formed of
subject matter experts that would validate that centers meet the
criteria to be identified as a stroke or heart attack center.
3:36:54 PM
CHAIR MINA asked if "replicating" would mean continuing the
current trauma systems unit or creating a new unit. She also
asked if another position control number (PCN), in addition to
the PCN included in the bill, would be needed to conduct the
systems unit.
MR. WISEMAN responded that the trauma systems unit currently
lacks the bandwidth, but an additional employee, described in HB
27, would be able to coordinate the additional workload created
by HB 27. He added that a database would be needed to track the
data of patients that would be put into the registry system from
varying hospitals.
3:38:18 PM
CHAIR MINA removed her objection. There being no further
objection, Amendment 1 was adopted.
3:38:38 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MEARS moved to report HB 27, as amended, out of
committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying
fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB 27(HSS) was
reported out of the House Health and Social Services Standing
Committee.