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The General Assembly is Back in Session
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State legislators returned to Columbia this week to continue the reorganization process and celebrate the inauguration of Governor Haley. New Speaker Jay Lucas (R-Darlington) welcomed his colleagues back to the House of Representatives and appointed new committee members to replace Dr. Kris Crawford from Florence who resigned his seat last month. All in all, very little time was spent in the House chamber as returning and freshman members were acclimated to their committee assignments and welcomed back Governor Haley for her second four-year term.
In the Senate, members welcomed newly elected Senator Ronnie Sabb (D-Williamsburg), who was chosen in a special election to replace Yancey McGill who ascended to the office of Lt. Governor last year. Senator Hugh Leatherman (R-Florence) was elected as President Pro Tempore and announced that one of his priorities this year is to focus on screening and thoroughly vetting statewide appointments before confirmation. Several statewide appointments will need to be confirmed by the Senate this year, including the Director of DHHS (Christian Soura) and DHEC (Eleanor Kitzman).
With week one in the books, committees are set and all pre-filed legislation and proposed regulations have been directed to committees for consideration. The first regular session of the 121st General Assembly is officially underway.
Click here to see 2015-2016 House Committee Assignments
Click here to see 2015-2016 Senate Committee Assignments |
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Governor Releases Executive Budget
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This week Governor Haley released her Executive Budget for the 2015-2016 fiscal year, citing a major theme of "effective and sustainable health services." While a great deal of focus will be on the ongoing controversy at the Department of Social Services, Haley has committed to continuing many of the efforts established under previous DHHS Director Tony Keck. Here are some of the highlights of the governor's proposed DHHS budget:
- $43M to annualize reserves and replace revenues from the cigarette tax and Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.
- $11M for enrollment growth in the Medicaid program.
- $3.8M to annualize programs established in the previous fiscal year, including adult dental care, Healthy Checkups, Healthy Outcomes Plans and other preventative medicine.
- Continuation of "Hospital Transformation Plans" that direct DHHS to work with hospitals to update their business models for ensured sustainability.
The governor's annual budget proposal is in no way a legally binding document, but more of a way for the executive officer to lay out objectives for the upcoming fiscal year and prioritize state resources. We will keep you updated weekly as the House Ways and Means Committee puts together their spending plan for 2015-2016. |
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CON Again
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The Certificate of Need (CON) Program will again sit atop the SCHA legislative agenda as we continue to work to achieve meaningful CON reform in 2015. Legislation (H.3250) was pre-filed by Chairman Murrell Smith (R-Sumter) and members of the House CON Ad Hoc Committee, and SCHA supports many elements of the proposed bill; including raising the economic threshold for capital expenditures, streamlining the CON review process and allowing providers to expand services that already exist within their facility. However, we do expect some contention surrounding the monetary threshold on medical equipment and a "loser pays" provision that awards attorney's fees and costs to the prevailing party in a CON appeal.
The General Assembly will also be tasked with considering proposed amendments to the CON regulations recently approved by the DHEC Board that are not aligned with the legislation pre-filed in the House. This will likely create controversy as the proposed regulations recommend much higher economic thresholds than what legislators are proposing. While the hospital community and other stakeholders appear closer to reaching a true consensus on CON reform, there are likely to be a few bumps in the road. Of course, bumps in the road are always expected when you're dealing with an issue as intricate as the CON Program. |
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Prefiled Legislation
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State Senators and Representatives pre-filed over 500 bills last month to ensure that their legislative proposals could be considered at the onset of the 2015 session. This week, those bills were read across the desk of their respective chambers and assigned to the appropriate committee of subject matter. The SCHA Advocacy Team has scoured that list of legislation, and here are some of the bills we'll be watching closely this year:
Thank you for being a member of the SCHA LEAd Grassroots Network, and we look forward to keeping you informed in 2015!
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January 16, 2015
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