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COVID-19 Vaccine Relief Legislation Sent to Governor
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The House revisited the issue of H. 3707 this week, voting to agree to the Senate amendments. The bill provides funding for DHEC, MUSC, and other vaccine providers to improve the statewide COVID-19 vaccination efforts. It also further expands the pool of individuals eligible to delegate or administer the vaccine and instructs DHEC to allocate vaccine supply on a per-capita basis by the four public health regions of the state.
The senate amended the bill last week to remove language requiring the establishment of formal Regional Vaccine Advisory Committees. Upon receiving the amended bill, the House adopted an amendment to include the committees again; however, understanding that sending the bill to a conference committee meant additional time before the legislation could become law, the House and Senate agreed over the weekend to adopt the Senate's version with DHEC agreeing to set up the regional panels for recommendations on distribution despite the language no longer requiring it.
H. 3707 was ratified and sent to the Governor, who is expected to sign it. Upon enactment, vaccine providers will be able to seek reimbursement for costs related to administering the COVID-19 vaccine.
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Vaccine Prioritization Legislation Stands Still
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On Tuesday of this week, the House Ways and Means Healthcare Subcommittee met to discuss S. 516 and H. 3858. Both would prioritize teachers in the Phase 1a eligibility category for the COVID-19 vaccine and require schools to offer in-person instruction five days per week this spring. The Palmetto State Teachers Association spoke in favor of the legislation and the need to vaccinate teachers before re-opening schools. They were followed by more than fifty speakers who were generally opposed to legislation changing the prioritization. Representation from the agriculture-business sector, hospitality and dining, poultry, caretakers of those with disabilities, environmental waste, and more argued that there are more individuals than just teachers that need to be made a priority to expand the economy and return to work safely. The subcommittee took no action on the legislation and will reconvene at the call of the chair.
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3M Subcommittee Addresses Sickle Cell Registry, Maternal Mortality Disparities
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A subcommittee of the House 3M Committee met Thursday to discuss House bills 3166 and 3225. H.3166 would create a voluntary sickle cell registry that would allow healthcare providers to confirm if a patient has a sickle cell disease and would also study and collect data on South Carolinians affected. Proponents of the bill say that many sickle cell patients are often thought of as being drug-seekers due to providers not having experience with the disease, and a registry will help healthcare providers offer appropriate care. An amendment was added that would create a study committee to collect data for the direct purpose of this bill. The bill as amended were given a favorable report.
H.3225 aims to address maternal health outcomes, specifically to address maternal mortality rates for black women. Speakers shared statistics that black women in South Carolina had rates of pregnancy-related mortality 2.6 times higher than white women. The bill as introduced would require implicit bias training on a yearly basis for all hospitals and providers that provide prenatal and maternal care. The sponsor of the legislation, Rep. Kambrell Garvin (D-Richland) offered an amendment to instead create a broad study committee on disparities in maternal mortality and effective methods, including implicit bias training, to reduce maternal mortality for women of color. Many individuals had signed up to speak on the bill, but the subcommittee ran out of time and carried over the legislation until next Wednesday.
SCHA supports a study committee to look deeply at addressing maternal mortality by race and looks forward to continuing to work toward improvement in this area.
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In Other News
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- COVID-19 Liability Protections Set for Special Order: The Senate set S. 147 for special order this week, meaning the body must debate it despite one or more senators contesting the bill. This legislation would give liability protection for COVID-19 related claims to businesses and healthcare providers who adhere to public health guidance related to COVID-19. The full Senate removed the committee amendment and instead adopted an amendment by Senator Massey which provides for immunity instead of a safe harbor protection and returns to the original standards for adherence and proof. After adopting the new amendment Thursday, the Senate gave S. 147 second reading. It is still set for special order and will be debated again next week for third reading. SCHA supports the passage of S. 147 as amended by the full Senate.
- Spartanburg Regional healthcare System Honored by Resolution: A concurrent resolution was introduced this week honoring 100 years of the Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System. The legislation was introduced by the Spartanburg delegation and highlights the many changes and expansions that have occurred in the century since the hospital was first built.
- Fetal Heartbeat Abortion Ban Signed into Law: The House debated S. 1 on Wednesday, ultimately voting on nearly party lines to pass the legislation 79-35. The legislation bans abortion is almost all cases after a heartbeat can be detected. The Governor signed the bill into law on Thursday afternoon after it received 3rd reading in the House and was ratified. A lawsuit has already been filed seeking an injunction to prevent the law from going into effect.
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Chamber Action
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- S. 147 (Massey) - a joint resolution to provide liability protections for businesses and healthcare providers for claims related to COVID-19 during the time declared a state of emergency and to establish that an entity must reasonably adhere to certain public health guidelines to receive protections - set for special order in Senate, amended and received 2nd reading
- S. 1 (Grooms, et al) - a bill to outlaw abortion after a fetal heartbeat can be detected with certain exceptions - received 2nd and 3rd reading in House, sent to Governor and signed
- H. 3707 (Ways and Means Committee) - a joint resolution to authorize funding for DHEC and COVID-19 vaccine providers to improve the efficiency of the administration of the vaccine in South Carolina - House concurred in Senate amendments, enrolled for ratification
- H. 3900 (G.M. Smith) - a bill to further expand who can administer COVID-19 vaccinations to include podiatrists - introduced and received 2nd and 3rd reading in House, sent to Senate
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Committee Action
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- H. 3166 (King) - a bill to establish a voluntary sickle cell disease registry in the state through DHEC - favorable as amended, House 3M subcommittee
- H. 3225 (Garvin) - a bill to require implicit bias training for perinatal healthcare providers annually - heard testimony and carried over, House 3M subcommittee
- S. 516 (Massey) - a joint resolution to add teachers to Phase 1a of the COVID-19 vaccination eligibility categories and to establish that all teachers who wish to be vaccinated should received both doses within thirty days - heard testimony and carried over, House Ways and Means subcommittee
- H. 3858 (Ott and Collins) - a resolution to make teachers eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in Phase 1a and to require schools to offer five-day, in-person instruction within twenty-eight days of the effective date of the resolution - heard testimony and carried over, House Ways and Means subcommittee
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Intros of Interest
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- H. 3900 (G.M. Smith) - a bill to further expand who can administer COVID-19 vaccinations to include podiatrists - introduced and received 2nd and 3rd reading in House, sent to Senate
- S. 517 (Shealy) - a bill to require the co-prescription of naloxone with an opioid prescription when certain conditions are met - introduced and referred to Senate Medical Affairs
- S. 577 (Fanning) - a bill to require health insurance providers to cover an annual well-woman exam - referred to Senate Banking and Insurance
- S. 558 (Alexander) - a resolution to further expand who can administer COVID-19 vaccinations to include podiatrists - referred to Senate Medical Affairs Committee
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February 19, 2021
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