Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

S.B. 194 First Substitute (2022GS)

Sponsor

Sen. Fillmore, L.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/22/2022

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Spencer J. Cox

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• defines terms; and
• requires the department to make rules regarding the procedure that the department must follow when adopting, modifying, requiring, facilitating, or recommending criteria related to the rationing of scarce health care resources.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

MEDICAL RATIONING AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Lincoln Fillmore
House Sponsor: 
Brady Brammer
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill enacts provisions relating to the allocation of certain health care resources.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ defines terms; and
▸ requires the department to make rules regarding the procedure that the department
must follow when adopting, modifying, requiring, facilitating, or recommending
criteria related to the rationing of scarce health care resources.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
This bill provides a special effective date.
This bill provides revisor instructions.
Utah Code Sections Affected:
ENACTS:
26-1-43
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Utah Code Sections Affected by Revisor Instructions:
26-1-43
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
26-1-43
 is enacted to read:
 26-1-43.
Requirements for issuing, recommending, or facilitating rationing
criteria.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Health care resource" means:
(i) health care as defined in Section 
78B-3-403
;
(ii) a prescription drug as defined in Section 
58-17b-102
;
(iii) a prescription device as defined in Section 
58-17b-102
;
(iv) a nonprescription drug as defined in Section 
58-17b-102
; or
(v) any supply or treatment that is intended for use in the course of providing health
care as defined in Section 
78B-3-403
.
(b) (i) "Rationing criteria" means any requirement, guideline, process, or
recommendation regarding:
(A) the distribution of a scarce health care resource; or
(B) qualifications or criteria for a person to receive a scarce health care resource.
(ii) "Rationing criteria" includes crisis standards of care with respect to any health care
resource.
(c) "Scarce health care resource" means a health care resource:
(i) for which the need for the health care resource in the state or region significantly
exceeds the available supply of that health care resource in that state or region;
(ii) that, based on the circumstances described in Subsection (1)(c)(i), is distributed or
provided using written requirements, guidelines, processes, or recommendations as a factor in
the decision to distribute or provide the health care resource; and
(iii) that the federal government has allocated to the state to distribute.
(2) (a) On or before July 1, 2022, the department shall make rules in accordance with
Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, to establish a procedure that the
department will follow to adopt, modify, require, facilitate, or recommend rationing criteria.
(b) Beginning July 1, 2022, the department may not adopt, modify, require, facilitate,
or recommend rationing criteria unless the department follows the procedure established by the
department under Subsection (2)(a).
(3) The procedures developed by the department under Subsection (2) shall include, at
a minimum:
(a) a requirement that the department notify the following individuals in writing before
rationing criteria are issued, are recommended, or take effect:
(i) the Administrative Rules Review Committee created in Section 
63G-3-501
;
(ii) the governor or the governor's designee;
(iii) the president of the Senate or the president's designee;
(iv) the speaker of the House of Representatives or the speaker's designee;
(v) the executive director or the executive director's designee; and
(vi) if rationing criteria affect hospitals in the state, a representative of an association
representing hospitals throughout the state, as designated by the executive director; and
(b) procedures for an emergency circumstance which shall include, at a minimum:
(i) a description of the circumstances under which emergency procedures described in
this Subsection (3)(b) may be used; and
(ii) a requirement that the department notify the individuals described in Subsections
(3)(a)(i) through (vi) as soon as practicable, but no later than 48 hours after the rationing
criteria take effect.
(4) (a) Within 30 days after the effective date of the bill, the department shall send to
the Administrative Rules Review Committee all rationing criteria that:
(i) were adopted, modified, required, facilitated, or recommended by the department
prior to the effective date of the bill; and
(ii) on the effective date of the bill, were in effect and in use to distribute or qualify a
person to receive scarce health care resources.
(b) During the 2022 interim, the Administrative Rules Review Committee shall, under
Subsection 
63G-3-501
(3)(d)(i), review each of the rationing criteria submitted by the
department under Subsection (4)(a).
(5) The requirements described in this section and rules made under this section shall
apply regardless of whether rationing criteria:
(a) have the force and effect of law, or is solely advisory, informative, or descriptive;
(b) are carried out or implemented directly or indirectly by the department or by other
individuals or entities; or
(c) are developed solely by the department or in collaboration with other individuals or
entities.
(6) This section:
(a) may not be suspended under Section 
53-2a-209
 or any other provision of state law
relating to a state of emergency;
(b) does not limit a private entity from developing or implementing rationing criteria;
and
(c) does not require the department to adopt, modify, require, facilitate, or recommend
rationing criteria that the department does not determine to be necessary or appropriate.
(7) Subsection (2) does not apply to rationing criteria that are adopted, modified,
required, facilitated, or recommended by the department:
(a) through the regular, non-emergency rulemaking procedure described in Section
63G-3-301
;
(b) if the modification is solely to correct a technical error in rationing criteria such as
correcting obvious errors and inconsistencies including those involving punctuation,
capitalization, cross references, numbering, and wording;
(c) to the extent that compliance with this section would result in a direct violation of
federal law;
(d) that are necessary for administration of the Medicaid program;
(e) if state law explicitly authorizes the department to engage in rulemaking to
establish rationing criteria; or
(f) if rationing criteria are authorized directly through a general appropriation bill that
is validly enacted.
Section 2. 
Effective date.
If approved by two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, this bill takes effect
upon approval by the governor, or the day following the constitutional time limit of Utah
Constitution, Article VII, Section 8, without the governor's signature, or in the case of a veto,
the date of veto override.
Section 3. 
Revisor instructions.
The Legislature intends that the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, in
preparing the Utah Code database for publication, replace the references in Subsection
26-1-43
(4)(a) from "the effective date of this bill" to the bill's actual effective date.