Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

S.B. 95 First Substitute (2017GS)

Sponsor

Sen. Harper, W.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/25/2017

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• requires the Department of Health to establish an Air Ambulance Committee;
• establishes the membership of the Air Ambulance Committee;
• establishes the duties of the Air Ambulance Committee;
• sunsets the Air Ambulance Committee on July 1, 2019;
• authorizes the State Emergency Medical Services Committee to coordinate with the Health Data Committee to report air ambulance charges in the state;
• specifies the data that should be reported;
• requires the publication of certain data regarding air ambulance charges; and
• amends the duties of the Health Data Committee to assist the State Emergency Medical Services Committee with the reporting of the air ambulance charge data.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

AIR AMBULANCE AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Wayne A. Harper
House Sponsor: 
Paul Ray
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill amends air ambulance provisions in the Utah Health Code.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ requires the Department of Health to establish an Air Ambulance Committee;
▸ establishes the membership of the Air Ambulance Committee;
▸ establishes the duties of the Air Ambulance Committee;
▸ sunsets the Air Ambulance Committee on July 1, 2019;
▸ authorizes the State Emergency Medical Services Committee to coordinate with the
Health Data Committee to report air ambulance charges in the state;
▸ specifies the data that should be reported;
▸ requires the publication of certain data regarding air ambulance charges; and
▸ amends the duties of the Health Data Committee to assist the State Emergency
Medical Services Committee with the reporting of the air ambulance charge data.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
26-1-7
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2014, Chapters 322 and 384
26-8a-203
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2011, Chapter 297
26-33a-106.1
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2014, Chapters 118, 425 and last
amended by Coordination Clause, Laws of Utah 2014, Chapter 425
63I-2-226
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2016, Chapter 345
ENACTS:
26-8a-107
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
26-1-7
 is amended to read:
26-1-7.
Committees within department.
(1) There are created within the department the following committees:
(a) Health Facility Committee;
(b) State Emergency Medical Services Committee;
 (c) Air Ambulance Committee; 
[
(c)
] 
(d)
 Health Data Committee;
[
(d)
] 
(e)
 Utah Health Care Workforce Financial Assistance Program Advisory
Committee;
[
(e)
] 
(f)
 Residential Child Care Licensing Advisory Committee;
[
(f)
] 
(g)
 Child Care Center Licensing Committee; and
[
(g)
] 
(h)
 Primary Care Grant Committee.
(2) The department shall:
[
(a) review all committees and advisory groups in existence before July 1, 2003 that are
not listed in Subsection (1) or Section 
26-1-7.5
, and not required by state or federal law; and
]
[
(b) beginning no later than July 1, 2003:
]
[
(i)
] 
(a)
 consolidate [
those
] advisory groups and committees with other committees or
advisory groups as appropriate to create greater efficiencies and budgetary savings for the
department; and
[
(ii)
] 
(b)
 create in writing, time-limited and subject-limited duties for the advisory
groups or committees as necessary to carry out the responsibilities of the department.
Section 2. Section 
26-8a-107
 is enacted to read:
 26-8a-107.
Air Ambulance Committee -- Membership -- Duties.
(1) The Air Ambulance Committee created by Section 
26-1-7
 shall be composed of the
following members:
(a) the state emergency medical services medical director;
(b) one physician who:
(i) is licensed under:
(A) Title 58, Chapter 67, Utah Medical Practice Act;
(B) Title 58, Chapter 67b, Interstate Medical Licensure Compact; or
(C) Title 58, Chapter 68, Utah Osteopathic Medical Practice Act;
(ii) actively provides trauma or emergency care at a Utah hospital; and
(iii) has experience and is actively involved in state and national air medical transport
issues;
(c) one member from each level 1 and level 2 trauma center in the state of Utah,
selected by the trauma center the member represents;
(d) one registered nurse who:
(i) is licensed under Title 58, Chapter 31b, Nurse Practice Act; and
(ii) currently works as a flight nurse for an air medical transport provider in the state of
Utah;
(e) one paramedic who:
(i) is licensed under Title 26, Chapter 8a, Utah Emergency Medical Services System
Act; and
(ii) currently works for an air medical transport provider in the state of Utah; and
(f) one member from a for-profit air medical transport company operating in the state
of Utah.
(2) The state emergency medical services medical director shall appoint the physician
member under Subsection (1)(b), and the physician shall serve as the chair of the Air
Ambulance Committee.
(3) The chair of the Air Ambulance Committee shall:
(a) appoint the Air Ambulance Committee members under Subsections (1)(c) through
(f);
(b) designate the member of the Air Ambulance Committee to serve as the vice chair
of the committee; and
(c) set the agenda for Air Ambulance Committee meetings.
(4) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (4)(b), members shall be appointed to a
two-year term.
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (4)(a), the Air Ambulance Committee chair shall, at
the time of appointment or reappointment, adjust the length of the terms of committee
members to ensure that the terms of the committee members are staggered so that
approximately half of the committee is reappointed every two years.
(5) (a) A majority of the members of the Air Ambulance Committee constitutes a
quorum.
(b) The action of a majority of a quorum constitutes the action of the Air Ambulance
Committee.
(6) The Air Ambulance Committee shall, before November 30, 2017, provide
recommendations to the Health and Human Services Interim Committee regarding the
development of state standards and requirements related to:
(a) air medical transport provider licensure and accreditation;
(b) air medical transport medical personnel qualifications and training; and
(c) other standards and requirements to ensure patients receive appropriate and
high-quality medical attention and care by air medical transport providers operating in the state
of Utah.
(7) An Air Ambulance Committee member may not receive compensation, benefits,
per diem, or travel expenses for the member's service on the committee.
(8) The Office of the Attorney General shall provide staff support to the Air
Ambulance Committee.
(9) The Air Ambulance Committee shall report to the Health and Human Services
Interim Committee before November 30, 2018, regarding the sunset of this section in
accordance with Section 
63I-2-226
.
Section 3. Section 
26-8a-203
 is amended to read:
26-8a-203.
Data collection.
(1) The committee shall specify the information that shall be collected for the
emergency medical services data system established pursuant to Subsection (2).
(2) 
(a)
 The department shall establish an emergency medical services data system
which shall provide for the collection of information, as defined by the committee, relating to
the treatment and care of patients who use or have used the emergency medical services
system.
(b) Beginning July 1, 2017, the committee shall coordinate with the Health Data
Authority created in Chapter 33a, Utah Health Data Authority Act, to create a report of data
collected by the Health Data Committee under Section 
26-33a-106.1
 regarding:
(i) appropriate analytical methods;
(ii) the total amount of air ambulance flight charges in the state for a one-year period;
and
(iii) of the total number of flights in a one-year period under Subsection (2)(b)(i):
(A) the number of flights for which a patient had no personal responsibility for paying
part of the flight charges;
(B) the number of flights for which a patient had personal responsibility to pay all or
part of the flight charges;
(C) the range of flight charges for which patients had personal responsibility under
Subsection (2)(b)(iii)(B), including the median amount for paid patient personal responsibility;
and
(D) the name of any air ambulance provider that received a median paid amount for
patient responsibility in excess of the median amount for all paid patient personal responsibility
during the reporting year.
(3) (a) The department shall, beginning October 1, 2017, and on or before each October
thereafter, make the information in Subsection (2)(b) public and send the information in
Subsection (2)(b) to:
(i) the Health and Human Services Interim Committee; and
(ii) public safety dispatchers and first responders in the state.
(b) Before making the information in Subsection (2)(b) public, the committee shall
provide the air ambulance providers named in the report with the opportunity to respond to the
accuracy of the information in the report under Section 
26-33a-107
.
[
(3)
] 
(4)
 Persons providing emergency medical services
:
(a)
 shall provide information to the department for the emergency medical services
data system established pursuant to Subsection (2)
(a);
(b) are not required to provide information to the department under Subsection (2)(b);
and
(c) may provide information to the department under Subsection (2)(b) or (3)(b)
.
Section 4. Section 
26-33a-106.1
 is amended to read:
26-33a-106.1.
Health care cost and reimbursement data.
(1) The committee shall, as funding is available:
(a) establish a plan for collecting data from data suppliers, as defined in Section
26-33a-102
, to determine measurements of cost and reimbursements for risk-adjusted episodes
of health care;
(b) share data regarding insurance claims and an individual's and small employer
group's health risk factor and characteristics of insurance arrangements that affect claims and
usage with the Insurance Department, only to the extent necessary for:
(i) risk adjusting; and
(ii) the review and analysis of health insurers' premiums and rate filings; and
(c) assist the Legislature and the public with awareness of, and the promotion of,
transparency in the health care market by reporting on:
(i) geographic variances in medical care and costs as demonstrated by data available to
the committee; and
(ii) rate and price increases by health care providers:
(A) that exceed the Consumer Price Index - Medical as provided by the United States
Bureau of Labor Statistics;
(B) as calculated yearly from June to June; and
(C) as demonstrated by data available to the committee; [
and
]
(d) provide on at least a monthly basis, enrollment data collected by the committee to a
not-for-profit, broad-based coalition of state health care insurers and health care providers that
are involved in the standardized electronic exchange of health data as described in Section
31A-22-614.5
, to the extent necessary:
(i) for the department or the Medicaid Office of the Inspector General to determine
insurance enrollment of an individual for the purpose of determining Medicaid third party
liability;
(ii) for an insurer that is a data supplier, to determine insurance enrollment of an
individual for the purpose of coordination of health care benefits; and
(iii) for a health care provider, to determine insurance enrollment for a patient for the
purpose of claims submission by the health care provider[
.
]
; and
(e) coordinate with the State Emergency Medical Services Committee to publish data
regarding air ambulance charges under Section 
26-8a-203
.
(2) (a) The Medicaid Office of Inspector General shall annually report to the
Legislature's Health and Human Services Interim Committee regarding how the office used the
data obtained under Subsection (1)(d)(i) and the results of obtaining the data.
(b) A data supplier shall not be liable for a breach of or unlawful disclosure of the data
obtained by an entity described in Subsection (1)(b).
(3) The plan adopted under Subsection (1) shall include:
(a) the type of data that will be collected;
(b) how the data will be evaluated;
(c) how the data will be used;
(d) the extent to which, and how the data will be protected; and
(e) who will have access to the data.
Section 5. Section 
63I-2-226
 is amended to read:
63I-2-226.
Repeal dates -- Title 26.
(1) Section 
26-8a-107
 is repealed July 1, 2019.
[
(1)
] 
(2)
 Title 26, Chapter 46, Utah Health Care Workforce Financial Assistance
Program, is repealed July 1, 2017.
[
(2)
] 
(3)
 Section 
26-18-412
 is repealed December 31, 2016.