H B 4138
(By Delegates Miley, Webster, Burdiss, Ellem, Hamilton, Mahan and
Shook)
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[Introduced January 23, 2008;
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §16-29E-2 and §16-29E-5 of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact
§29A-1-3 of said code, all relating to rule making
requirements of the Department of Health and Human Services;
requiring public notice and comment on rules, policies and
state plans relating to public assistance; requiring public
hearings in certain instances; requiring review of all rules,
policies and plans by the Legislative Oversight commission on
Health and Human Resources Accountability; and authorizing
recommendations for changes and legislation.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §16-29E-2 and §16-29E-5 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended be amended and reenacted; and that §29A-1-3 of
said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 16. PUBLIC HEALTH.
ARTICLE 29E. LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT COMMISSION ON HEALTH AND HUMAN
RESOURCES ACCOUNTABILITY.
§16-29E-2. Legislative intent.
It is the intent of the Legislature that all actions taken
pursuant to the provisions of this article by the Legislature and
the various agencies within the
department of health and human
resources Department of Health and Human Resources serve the
following core set of principles:
(1) That all health and social programs offered under state
authority be coordinated to maximize efficiencies and minimize
competition within the various agencies thereby addressing the
needs of the citizens more effectively;
(2) That communication be facilitated among the various
agencies within the
department of health and human resources
Department of Health and Human Resources and between the department
and the Legislature;
(3) That policy changes, not made by legislative rule, be
discussed with the commission for purposes of coordinating those
policies with existing programs and stated goals;
(4) That programs or policies implemented in accordance with
federal mandates be communicated to the commission;
(5) That in developing and implementing programs with private
or federal grant moneys, the various agencies communicate their
efforts to the commission to ensure and facilitate future state funding; and
(6) That agencies previously exempted from rule-making review
by federal or state statutes advise the commission of program
changes which may affect the health and well-being of the citizens
of West Virginia.
All such rules, policies and plans shall comply
with the notice and public comment and hearing provisions of
sections five, six and seven, article three, chapter twenty-nine-a
of this code. A minimum of one public hearing shall be held in
each congressional district in the state prior to the submission of
any proposed change to a state plan with the federal government and
any request for a waiver of a federal program requirement for a
state plan or a public assistance program.
§16-29E-5. Powers and duties of commission.
(a) The powers, duties and responsibilities of the commission
shall include the following:
(1) Make a continuing investigation, study and review of the
practices, policies and procedures of the health care and social
services agencies in this state;
(2) Make a continuing investigation, study and review of all
matters related to health and social policy in the state;
(3) Review program development by the various agencies of the
department of health and human resources Department of Health and
Human Resources if those programs impact the physical, emotional or
social well-being of the citizens of West Virginia;
(4) Conduct studies on:
(A) The amount of funds expended by hospitals and other health
care providers of this state for services to persons who are unable
to pay for those services and for which they receive no other form
of reimbursement;
(B) The extent to which persons in this state forego needed
medical services because of insufficient income and assets to pay
for those services;
(C) The extent to which the state is maximizing available
federal programs and moneys in providing health care services to
the citizens of this state;
(D) The operation of the programs and funds created by article
twenty-nine-c of this chapter; and
(E) The roles of the public, private and private nonprofit
sectors in providing health care services to the citizens of this
state;
(5) Review and study the state medicaid program in order to
determine if the state medicaid agency, as the payor of last
resort, is expending maximum effort to identify alternate private
insurance resources for medicaid beneficiaries;
(6) Review and study the feasibility and financial impact upon
the state of assuring increased access to medicaid beneficiaries to
primary health care in the nonhospital setting by requiring
enrollment in a primary care clinic program, if available;
(7) Review and study the feasibility and financial impact upon
the state of the establishment of different and lesser schedules of
payment for primary health services delivered by a hospital
emergency room as compared to the schedule of payments for
emergency room services of a true medical emergency nature;
(8) Conduct a study on the effects of rural health networks,
including effects on the quality, cost and availability of care;
and
(9) Meet jointly with the advisory committee created in
article thirty-five of this chapter to determine methods for
coordinating the collection and analysis of health care information
within the state, including the development of health information
systems that will allow for the electronic transmittal of data and
access by the various agencies of government.
(10) Review all proposed rules, policies and state plans
promulgated, proposed or developed by the Department, and any
amendments thereto, relating to public assistance, health care or
other program to provide goods or services controlled, regulated or
provided by the Department. The review shall be conducted after
the public comment or public hearing required by section three,
article one, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code and prior to
submission of any proposed rule, policy, state plan or amendment to
the United States government. The commission may recommend changes
to the department as well as propose legislation to effectuate changes to any rule, policy or state plan.
(b) The commission shall make annual reports to the
Legislature regarding the results of all investigations, studies
and reviews pursuant to the provisions of section seven of this
article.
CHAPTER 29A. STATE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES ACT.
ARTICLE 1. DEFINITIONS AND APPLICATION OF CHAPTER.
§29A-1-3. Application of chapter; limitations.
(a) The provisions of this chapter do not apply in any respect
whatever to executive orders of the governor, which orders to the
extent otherwise lawful shall be effective according to their
terms: Provided, That the executive orders shall be admitted to
record in the state register when and to the extent the governor
deems suitable and shall be included therein by the secretary of
state when tendered by the governor.
(b) Except as to requirements for filing in the state
register, and with the Legislature or its rule-making review
committee, provided in this chapter or other law, the provisions of
this chapter do not apply in any respect whatever to the West
Virginia board of probation and parole, the public service
commission, the board of public works sitting as such and the
secondary schools activities commission: Provided, That rules of
such agencies shall be filed in the state register in the form
prescribed by this chapter and be effective no sooner than sixty consecutive days after being so filed: Provided, however, That the
rules promulgated by the state colleges and universities shall only
be filed with the higher education governing boards: Provided
further, That such agencies may promulgate emergency rules in
conformity with section fifteen, article three of this chapter.
(c) The provisions of this chapter do not apply to rules
relating to or contested cases involving the conduct of inmates or
other persons admitted to public institutions, the open seasons and
the bag, creel, size, age, weight and sex limits with respect to
the wildlife in this state, or the conduct of persons in military
service or the receipt of public assistance. Such rules shall be
filed in the state register in the form prescribed by this chapter
and be effective upon filing.
(d)
All rules, policies and plans of the Department of Health
and Human Resources relating to public assistance shall, at a
minimum, comply with the notice and public comment and hearing
provisions of sections five, six and seven, article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code. A minimum of one public hearing shall
be held in each congressional district in the state prior to the
submission of any proposed change to a state plan with the federal
government and any request for a waiver of a federal program
requirement for a state plan or a public assistance program.
(d) (e) Nothing herein shall be construed to affect, limit or
expand any express and specific exemption from this chapter contained in any other statute relating to a specific agency, but
such exemptions shall be construed and applied in accordance with
the provisions of this chapter to effectuate any limitations on
such exemptions contained in any such other statute.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is require all rules, policies
and state plans of the Department of Health and Human Resources
relating to public assistance to undergo notice, public comment and
public hearing before review by the Legislative Oversight
Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability and
submission to the United States government. The bill authorizes
LOCHRA to recommend changes to the Department as well as proposing
corrective legislation.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
This bill was recommended for introduction and passage by the
Joint Committee on the Judiciary during 2007 legislative interims.