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 222 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.