Reviewing the Week of February 7th-10th

Things are getting busy in Pierre -

SB 89: Requiring insurance coverage for hearing aids for children. I dropped the bill which was drafted identical to NE law, early on. As I started to dig in, I found out that this same bill went through the legislature in 2014 and had reached a compromise, but no insurance mandate. I checked with Dept. of Social Services and they have a program set up for up to 400% of the poverty line on a sliding scale basis.

I also found out that since Obama-care went into effect, the State has to pay, from the general fund, for any new insurance mandates. This would be State general fund money if we mandated this.

I also know we have bills/ballot measures on the table that will expand Medicaid in the state which would place more children, if parents meet requirements, into the medicaid program. Although there is a lot of discussion and debate ahead of this, I truly think medicaid expansion at this time, for multiple reasons, is a good idea. I am still very interested in testimony from both sides – we will hear this bill Monday in Health and Human Services.

I spoke again with the Department and they are planning to do a better job of getting information to public in regards to the hearing aid program that they have in place. I don’t think we would have been successful in asking for an insurance mandate at this time with all the things that are up in the air. I spoke with my constituent who asked for the bill, and she was ok with this approach at this time.

This whole process was enlightening for many reasons. Of course, I learned a great deal during the work on this bill. Most importantly, I learned that we don’t always have to make laws to fix problems. As a conservative, I believe that Government should be hands off when it makes sense to. It made sense to table SB 89 at this time for the reasons I mentioned.

I passed two other bills through the Senate floor this week that will go to the Governors desk. HB 1103 and HB 1056. HB 1103 requires an annual review of medicaid reimbursement for dentists, optometrists, and chiropractors. This is very important, as we know some offices have had to turn away medicaid patients due to very poor reimbursement rates. This hurts our children and elderly and ultimately ends up costing the State more money if problems aren’t addressed early on.

HB 1056 allowed health care providers and law enforcement to access the Department of Health’s marijuana data base. It doesn’t allow the information to be sought without reason and does not allow public retrieval of information. I think this is extremely important in the effort to move our medical marijuana program toward efficacy and to do what’s best for patients and public safety.

Lastly, I supported Convention of States through the whole process, but we did not get the votes to calendar this bill in the Senate. I am disappointed of course. I spent hours and hours studying the US Constitution, the Framers’ intent, and American Federalism; in preparation for the session. I truly believe an Article V convention is what our Country needs as we are, without a doubt, starting to see an Authoritarian government in the Executive Branch and Congress is helping this happen. I will continue to support this effort going forward.

Have a wonderful week!

Senator Tobin