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Statewide Primary Election Results
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Tuesday, June 14, marked the statewide primary for all state and local offices up for election in November. On a federal level, there were three primaries for U.S. House races. In U.S. House District 1, Republican incumbent Mark Sanford defeated Jenny Horne, who served in the SC House from 2009-2016. U.S. House District 5 Republican incumbent Mick Mulvaney defeated challenger Ray Craig, and Arik Bjorn defeated Phil Black in the Democratic primary to face Republican incumbent Joe Wilson in the general election for U.S. House District 2.
In the state legislature, 21 South Carolina incumbent legislators faced primary opposition and some were surprisingly ousted by their challenger.
Four incumbent state House members were defeated in the Republican primary: Donna Hicks (Spartanburg), Doug Brannon (Spartanburg), Wendy Nanney (Greenville), and Ralph Shealey Kennedy (Lexington) by Steven Long, Josiah Magnuson, Jason Elliott, and Cal Forrest, respectively.
In the Senate, several well-seasoned legislators were put to the challenge with strong opposition backed by the Governor. Senator Hugh Leatherman (Florence) defeated challenger Richard Skipper to retain his powerful seat in the SC Senate. Luke Rankin (Horry) won over challenger Scott Pyle. One of the most poignant upsets of the 2016 primary election was that of Senator Wes Hayes (York) whose was defeated by candidate Wes Climer.
Sen. Hayes was elected to the legislature in 1984 and was a leader in the Senate, serving as chairman of the Banking and Insurance Committee, and chair of multiple subcommittees. Sen. hayes was revered by members of both parties, receiving an ecstatic standing ovation and several kind speeches after giving a gracious farewell speech this week.
A candidate must get more than 50% of the vote in a primary to make it to the general election in November, so many races with more than two candidates have a runoff election for the top two finishers on June 28. The runoff elections include seven House seats and six Senate seats. Five incumbents - one representative and four senators - are among those in runoff elections.
One runoff is the highly visible contested election for Senate District 12. Incumbent Senator Lee Bright (Spartanburg), known for his push for the transgender bathroom bill, is being challenged by former member of the House, Scott Talley. Governor Haley and David McCraw (fellow District 12 candidate who finished just behind Talley in the primary) are expected to endorse Talley in the runoff. |
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Other Election News
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Speaker Jay Lucas swore in newly elected Representative Sylleste Davis (R-Berkeley) on Wednesday. Rep. Davis fills the unexpired term of Eddie Southard who resigned from the state House April 27. The only candidate to file, she was declared the winner of a special election for the seat on June 8. Davis, a Santee Cooper retiree, said she plans to file again for the full term, and a few other candidates also have expressed interest in the race. There could be a primary held before the November 8 election.
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Budget Vetoes
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The state House and Senate came back for one day this week to take up the Governor's budget vetoes. The legislature can override a veto by the Governor with a two-thirds majority vote in each body. The House and Senate overrode 39 of the Governor's 51 budget vetoes.
Of particular interest, Veto #10 that pertained to DHHS giving notice of rate changes at least thirty days to health care providers was sustained. The department has already adopted policies regarding the notification of rate changes, and the Governor feels this budget proviso is redundant and restrictive. The notification of rate changes from the department has not been an issue for our member hospitals, so we did not get involved in this veto. The veto message was explained by Rep. Murrell Smith and was sustained by the House.
The budget is now final and healthcare-related highlights include:
- for the MUSC Hospital Authority to continue development of a statewide telemedicine network and directing the South Carolina Telehealth Alliance to submit a proposal to MUSC to determine which hospitals are best suited for a telemedicine partnership.
- $1 million step down in funding to Primary Care Safety Net providers for the Healthy Outcomes Plan, or HOP, and requires DHHS to explore a transition to a prospective payment system for FQHCs to provide greater predictability and stability for FQHC budgets
- Eliminating $25 million cap on Rural Hospital DSH Payment for Medicaid-designated rural hospitals eligible to receive up to one hundred percent of costs associated with uncompensated care as part of the DSH program.
- Requires DHHS to explore a transition to a prospective payment system for Federally Qualified Health Centers
- Eliminating funding for "Hospital Transformation Plans" to help qualifying hospitals transition to more sustainable models of service delivery that reduce reliance on inpatient admissions, surgery, or high-tech diagnostics. DHHS announced last year that it did not intend to continue the program since they believe that any meritorious proposals that meet the program's criteria will have been funded by the end of the current fiscal year.
- $5 million for a new program known as the Rural Health Initiative under DHHS, in partnership with the USC School of Medicine and consultation with ORH, to develop rural medical education, expand residency training opportunities, and to seek proposals to develop a facility capable of providing emergency care 24 hours a day and seven days a week that is incorporated into the Statewide Telemedicine Network and exempt from CON requirements.
- Funding a pilot program through DHEC to expand services to those who are HIV positive by facilitating 340b pricing for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
- Requiring existing community based sickle cell programs to provide counseling for families of newborns who test positive for sickle cell trait or other similar blood traits upon referral from DHEC.
- Funding to DHEC for Emergency Medical Services:
- $68,000 for a stroke coordinator
- $1.75 million for an infectious disease tuberculosis program
- $100,000 for Donate Life's Organ Donor Registry
- $1.5 million for cancer screenings
- Funding for Department of Mental Health:
- $2.5 million for forensics
- $500,000 for school-based services
- $50,000 for community mental health programs
- $1 million for Crisis Stabilization Units
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Samuel's Law Hospice Reform Veto Sustained
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As mentioned in the last issue of Pulse, H.4327 was cited as "Samuel's Law" after S.371 was recommitted to committee in the last week of session. H.4327, the Quality Hospice Programs Act, passed both the House and Senate but was vetoed by the Governor upon arrival at her desk. The veto on Samuel's Law was sustained 17-84 in the House, reconsidered, and sustained again.
The Governor's veto message stated that the bill did not make any actual changes to the practice of DHEC in regulating hospice programs. She added that her veto was based on a perceived conflict of interest on the task force to study quality. The task force was to be made up of members from the Carolinas Center for Hospice and End of Life Care, SC Home Care and Hospice Association, and appointments by the Director of the DHEC. The first two groups act as lobbyist principals, and the Governor does not want to put those groups in a position of influence in a law.
Additionally, the House and Senate took up other bills that have been vetoed by the Governor since the legislature adjourned two weeks ago. Those bills included:
- H.3440 - Mopeds
- H.4762 - Mileage Rate Increases & Exceptions
- H.5270 - Payroll Deductions for State Law Enforcement Officers
- S.973 - Insurance Premium Tax
- S.980 - Veterinarians & Prescription Medications
- S.1297 - Chesterfield County Per Diem
The House overrode all other vetoes on bills. The Senate concurred with the House on overriding the vetoes, but did not take a vote of the veto of H.3440, meaning it will not become law. |
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Legislative Wrap Up
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SCHA is working on a more comprehensive wrap up that details the bills we worked on this session, how we did on our legislative priorities, and what the passed bills mean for our member hospitals. Keep an eye out for that coming in the next few weeks. In the meantime, if you have any questions about issues or bills that came up during this year's session, please reach out to any member of the SCHA Advocacy Team for information.
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June 17, 2016
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