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LegislationNPAM Legislative Committee Co-Chairs: Debra Baker, Susan Delean-BotkinNPAM PAC Chairperson: Zoe O'Brien Lobbyists: J.William Pitcher, Esq. and Julia L. Pitcher
Law Office of J. William Pitcher 27 Maryland Avenue Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Phone: 410-268-0842 FAX: 410-268-0844
Maryland Legislative Districts
Maryland has 47 Legislative Districts which are equal in population and are redrawn every ten years. Each Legislative District elects one Senator and three Delegates to the Maryland General Assembly. They are all up for election every four years. To find your Legislative District go to www.mdelect.net.
NPAM has political Coordinators for each Legislative District. The role of the Legislative Coordinator is to ensure communication between the elected officials and Nurse Practitioners residing and working within their respective districts. In order for coordinators to influence their politicians, they must activate and organize the Nurse Practitioners who vote (i.e. live) in the politician's districts. Mostly, this involves calling those Nurse Practitioners and asking them to do something - usually writing or calling those politicians.
If you would like to make a contribution to the PAC, please fax CC info and amount to 410-740-7217 or send checks to P.O. Box 540, Ellicott City, MD 21041-0540.
MARYLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY Julia L. Pitcher Legislative Consultant The Law Office of J. William Pitcher Nurse Practitioner Association of Maryland (NPAM) Happy Sine Die[1] NPAM members! The 2008 Legislative Session of the Maryland General Assembly came to a close at Midnight on Monday, April 7, 2008. Minus a few bumps and bruises along the way, this was a great Session for you and everyone should be pleased with our accomplishments! GENERAL ISSUES During the 2008 Session, members of the House of Delegates and the Senate introduced 2,641 (up by 200 since 2007!) bills and resolutions. By the time the gavel hit on Sine Die, they had managed to pass 747 of them! The passed bills will now be sent to the Governor for his signature or veto. Some of the heavily debated issues for the Session included Maryland’s looming budget deficit, health care, the environment, death penalty, and taxes. While the newly elected Democratic Governor Martin O’Malley had some successes, as well as some losses, he also faced significant fall-out from the Special Session held in November of 2007. Most specifically, the “Computer Services Tax” which would’ve imposed the new 6% sales tax on the computer industry unleashed “tech geeks” from all across Maryland who formed a very strong and successful coalition which resulted in the repeal of that “Tech Tax” and was replaced with a 6.25% income tax on millionaires for 3 years, $50 million used from the Transportation Trust Fund and also directs the Board of Public Works to take $50 million in FY 2009 ongoing budget reductions in order to fill the $200 million hole from the computer tax. SPECIAL SESSION…PART TWO??? The upcoming six months leading up to the November Presidential and Congressional Elections should prove to be most interesting. Following last year’s Special Session where the General Assembly increased the sales tax to 6%, increased the tobacco tax by $1.00 and also banned smoking from bars and restaurants, increased personal income taxes and added the computer tax which has since been repealed. We will await the potential Slots Referendum Vote which would increase revenue to public school education and an expansion of Medicaid should the people of Maryland vote in favor of slots. If the referendum fails, which is has in 4 out of 5 states in recent years; Maryland will again be facing a very serious structural deficit yet again. BUDGET ISSUES Lawmakers approved a $31.2 billion budget that included a total of more than $400 million in cuts. The operating budget includes $25 million to fight pollution in the Chesapeake Bay - a $25 million cut from what was previously proposed in November's special session. An expansion of Medicaid to parents, another product of November's special session, will begin as scheduled in July. A health care expansion to small businesses was reduced from $30 million to $15 million. The budget includes $19 million for stem cell research, and possibly as much $20 million. NPAM ISSUES NPAM had a very successful legislative year! The coalition decided to put forth a bill that would update various parts of the Maryland Statute where on Physicians could sign or certify specified documents yet NPs were able to perform the patient care within their scope of practice leading up to the need for those documents. The bill was written and presented as HB 1140 & SB 889: Nurse Practitioners – Authority to Certify. The lead sponsors were Delegate Sue Kullen and Senator Roy Dyson. Several NPAM members came to Annapolis to testify on several occasions in front of the House and Senate Committees as well as Subcommittee meetings in efforts to educate the legislators on the “real-world” effects of the bill and how important this legislative initiative is to the practice of NPs across the state. Delegate Addie Eckardt, also a psychiatric nurse, testified on behalf of the bill and for NPAM. NPAM members also sent several emails and letters to the legislators urging their support on the bill. HB 1140 successfully passed both chambers on April 7th. HB 1140 will allow NPs to do the following:
HB 1140 will become effective in state law on October 1, 2008. Click here for a link to the text of the bill: http://mlis.state.md.us/2008rs/bills/hb/hb1140e.pdf Other Bills of Interest HB 1219/SB 811: Health Insurance - Health Care Provider Panels - Provider Contracts Position: Support Outcome: Passed with amendments – House version This bill prohibits insurance carriers from requiring a provider, as a condition of participating in a Non-HMO panel, to participate in an HMO provider panel or dental panel. The bill also adds a provision that may allow a provider to participate in an MCO as a condition of participating in a Non-HMO, an HMO provider panel, or a dental provider panel. The bill will not become effective until October 1, 2009. HB 1407: Birth Options Preservations Study Position: Support Outcome – Passed with Amendments This bill originally would eliminate the collaborative agreement between a Nurse Midwife and a Physician; however, it was made known early on that eliminating the collaborative agreement was not going to pass. A solution to turn the bill into a joint study between the Board of Nursing and the Maryland Board of Physicians to determine whether there is an appropriate alternative written protocol that could potentially replace the current collaborative agreement. The Nurse Midwife collaborative agreement is becoming increasingly difficult to acquire with a willing physician due to the medical malpractice liability of the Midwifery arena. The report is due to the General Assembly on or before December 1, 2009. SB 210/HB 372: Maryland Veterans Behavioral Health Position: Support Outcome: Passed With regard to mental health care for veterans for the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts, several measures were considered by the legislature this year. SB 210/HB 372, Administration bills, both passed will create behavioral health service coordination among DHMH, the US Department of Veteran Affairs, the MD Department of Veteran Affairs, the MD National Guard, and the MD Defense Force for veterans of those conflicts. SB 243: Child Abuse and Neglect - Additional Professions and Failure to Report – Penalty Position: Opposed Outcome: Failed This bill would have made it a misdemeanor for a health practitioner, police officer, educator, human service worker, medical examiner, or parole and probation agents to fail to report suspected child abuse and neglect, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000. SB 595/HB 594: Health Insurance - Carrier Credentialing - Reimbursement of Providers of Health Care Services Position: Support Outcome: Passed with amendments – Senate version This bill will require insurance carriers to reimburse a group practice on the carrier’s provider panel if the provider has met certain requirement. It also requires the carrier to begin reimbursements within 30 days of the receipt of the application for credentialing and will reimburse at a nonparticipating rate if the application is rejected or needs modification. SB 744/HB 818: Task Force on Health Care Access and Reimbursement - Additional Duties Position: Support Outcome: Passed with Amendments This bill originally asked for the Task Force to study the need to incentives for physicians and health care providers to be available to provide care on evenings and weekends. It was subsequently amended to include language from HB 499: Health Insurance – Primary Care Physicians – Reimbursement for Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders (withdrawn). The final bill, SB 744, included the provision for the Task Force to study “the ability of primary care physicians to be reimbursed for mental health services performed within their scope of practice.” NPAM’s input is very valuable to the legislators and they want to hear from you, the experts, when considering health care legislation. As your lobbyists, we will be your eyes, ears, and advocates on the ground in Annapolis, but nothing compares to your experience as health care providers. So we encourage all of you to come to Annapolis and contact your legislators and tell them how you feel about issues that are important to NP’s and health care in Maryland. Please contact me or Bill, if we can assist you in any legal or lobbying matters. We are looking forward to an exciting new year in Maryland! Julia L. Pitcher Legislative Consultant Law Office of J. William Pitcher 27 Maryland Avenue Annapolis, MD 21401 410.268.0842 Office [1] The term “Sine Die” means “the final adjournment of a legislative session, without adjourning to a specific time or date.” Questions about how to contact your legislator? Click here for a step by step tutorial. |
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