The House Health and Human Resources Committee advanced several bills, including the following:
House Bill 5437 would create the Vape Safety Act. This act would regulate vape shops, retailers, and manufacturers in multiple ways. These regulations include, but are not limited to, that any vape shop is required to obtain a $1,200 annual license, prohibit vape shops from being within 300ft of several different locations (libraries, daycares, schools, and more), limits the amount of signage. In addition to these regulations, vape shops would only be permitted to sell products that are placed on a new registry that verifies if they are FDA-approved or FDA approval pending.
This bill was advanced to the Judiciary.
House Bill 4989 would create a cancer screening pilot program for active and retired firefighters. This bill was advanced to Finance.
House Bill 5569 would reinstate the discount on insurance for retired firefighters hired after 2010. This bill was reported to Finance.
Senate Bill 231 would establish a standard billing code for substance-abuse disorders. Once enough data has been collected from these new billing codes, this bill would establish a value-based payment model for treating substance abuse disorders. This payment model would focus on paying for the outcome of patient treatment, rather than paying the fee-for-service. This bill was reported to Finance.
House Bill 5681 would allow certified advanced nurse practitioners and advanced certified midwives to prescribe medication without a collaborating physician. This bill was advanced to markup and passage.
House Bill 5661 would require the Bureau for Medical Services to increase dental-related reimbursement by at least 20 percent. This bill was advanced to markup and passage.
