The House Committee on Health and Human Resources convened at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 28 to consider several Senate bills. Most notably, the committee had a consideration of a piece of legislation that would move West Virginia’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit from the Office of the Inspector General to the Attorney General’s Office.
Senate Bill 318 has stark similarities to House Bill 2867, which aimed to do the same thing. This bill was defeated in the House Judiciary Committee several weeks ago.
Jolynn Marra, the Director of the Office of Health Facility and Licensure Certification (OHFLAC) and Interim Inspector General, attested to the success that the Medicare Fraud Control Unit has recently had in the state.
“We return $4.98 for every dollar spent in this program,” Marra said. “This unit does a fantastic job, especially with our new director. The numbers speak for themselves.”
WV Attorney General Patrick Morrissey was present to testify as to why House Bill 2867 should be passed, and why the Medicare Fraud Control Unit should be transferred to his office.
“The Attorney General’s Office is experienced,” Morrisey said. “We are a very visible fraud-fighting entity, and we’ve had a lot of success pursuing consumer fraud in the state.”
Morrisey elaborated that 43 other states have their Medicaid Fraud Control Units underneath the jurisdiction of Attorney General Offices, and that the addition of West Virginia’s program to the WV Attorney General Office would increase transparency, and strengthen national relations.
Several delegates spoke in favor Senate Bill 318.
Delegate Amy Summers, R-Taylor, spoke in favor of the bill, arguing that it reduces transparency for the Medicaid Control Fraud Unit to be under jurisdiction of the Inspector General’s office, and office that reports to the Department of Health and Human Resources.
“I just feel it’s inappropriate that this office investigates a program administered by the agency they report to,” Summers said. “It feels a bit like a fox is in the hen house.”
Several other delegates had some concern regarding political motives, and the need for the transfer to occur in the first place.
Delegate Barbara Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, was skeptical of the bill’s passage.
“I’ll be voting no because as the Director of OHFLAC stated, we are currently getting an excellent return on investment,” Fleischauer said. “The office is very successful right now. If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Despite the lengthy debate that Senate Bill 318 generated, the bill was advanced to the House Finance Committee in a 13-11 vote.
Two other Senate bills were advanced to the House floor on this day.
Senate Bill 520 would require the timely reportage of drug overdoses in the state within 72 hours of the overdose happening. This bill would require first responders and emergency medical service personnel to report drug overdoses after responding to them, so that the DHHR may gather accurate data and help citizens receive help. The current rule mandates quarterly reportage, this would update that to 72 hours.
Delegate Matthew Rohrbach, R-Cabell, spoke in favor of the bill, citing the alarming rate of overdoses in Cabell County as a reason why.
“We have to have accurate data to know these overdose rates,” Rohrbach said. “This is a good bill for EMS workers, and those who suffer from addiction.”
Senate Bill 520 underwent a technical amendment, and was advanced to the floor as amended.
Senate Bill 668 was also advanced to the House floor on this day. This bill would to provide requirements for physician assistants who are collaborating with physicians in hospitals. The bill requires written notice to the appropriate licensing board, requires rulemaking, and specifies practice requirements.
This bill was also amended in a minor way that added to the effectiveness of the legislation. This amendment was adopted unanimously by the committee, and as amended, Senate Bill 668 was also advanced to the House floor with the recommendation that it pass.
