04/16/2009 03:45 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE

    HB 222(title am)-MED. INS. ELIGIBILITY/NONDISCRIMINATION                                                                
                                                                                                                                
5:59:38 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR  PASKVAN   announced  HB  222(title   am)  to  be   up  for                                                               
consideration.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
5:59:52 PM                                                                                                                    
REPRESENTATIVE LINDSEY HOLMES, sponsor of  HB 222, said this bill                                                               
will allow  the Division  of Insurance  to implement  new federal                                                               
regulations, which  she thinks  are quite  good ones.  She turned                                                               
the explanation over to James Waldo, her staff person.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
JAMES WALDO,  staff to Representative  Holmes, explained  that HB
  conformed  state  law  to  federal  regulation  changes.  It                                                               
prevents  discrimination  against  individuals based  on  genetic                                                               
testing.   Another  section   requires  insurance   companies  to                                                               
continue covering  college students  for up to  one year  if they                                                               
have to take a medically  necessary leave of absence; it prevents                                                               
them from  getting caught  in a catch-22.  It provides  parity in                                                               
mental health  and substance abuse  treatment by  requiring there                                                               
be  no  additional restrictions  on  mental  health or  substance                                                               
abuse treatment  other than  what are  placed on  general medical                                                               
surgical  treatment  in an  insurance  plan.  It also  removes  a                                                               
mandate  that  an  insurance   company  provide  substance  abuse                                                               
treatment  and  just mandates  that  they  offer substance  abuse                                                               
treatment so that  people aren't required to take it  if it's not                                                               
what they want.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR. WALDO said it has  two changes to enrollment requirements for                                                               
employees  that  are related  to  Medicaid  or Denali  Kid  Care.                                                               
Essentially if  an employee  of a company  with an  employer plan                                                               
opts out of that plan, but is  on Medicaid or Denali Kid Care and                                                               
loses  eligibility for  Medicaid or  Denali Kid  Care, it  allows                                                               
them 60 days to apply for  their employer's health plan. The next                                                               
change is  if they  are not currently  covered by  the employer's                                                               
health care plan, but they  become available for assistance under                                                               
Medicaid or  Denali Kid  Care, it  will allow  them to  enroll in                                                               
that  employer  plan  with  that   assistance  they  just  became                                                               
eligible  for. Finally,  he said,  it updates  the definition  of                                                               
"dentist" for insurance  purposes so that it  applies to dentists                                                               
licensed outside of Alaska as well as inside.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
6:03:28 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR MEYER asked what change was made on the House floor.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR.  WALDO  replied  that  the title  was  amended  because  some                                                               
language was inadvertently left out.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
6:04:36 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR PASKVAN closed public testimony.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
6:04:45 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR DAVIS  moved to  report HB  222(title am)  from committee                                                               
with  individual  recommendations  and attached  fiscal  note(s).                                                               
There were no objections and it was so ordered.