January 28, 2010
After testimony that lasted went well into the evening, the House committee on business affairs and labor voted 9-1 on yesterday evening in favor of HB 1144, the bill that prohibits insurers from capping fees on non covered services. Rep. Amy Stephens from Monument/Colorado Springs was the only vote against the bill, based on dental expenses recently incurred by her mother. Reps. Rice, Gagliardi, Bradford, Casso, A. Kerr, Liston, Middleton, Priola and Soper all voted in favor of the bill. Rep. Balmer was not present for the vote.
Drs. Jeff Hurst and Dave Lurye testified on behalf of the CDA and did a great job of responding to insurer arguments against the bill. Rep. Joe Rice, our bill sponsor, was another great spokesperson and helped point out some of the problems with the insurers’ policy. In addition, Rep. Laura Bradford from the western slope used to work for a dentist and helped explain some of the impacts of these policies on dental practices.
We have obtained an audio copy of the testimony from Wednesday’s hearing, which is available at cdaonline.org/replay. Unfortunately, the audio missed Rep. Rice’s great introduction of the bill, but it include Kate Paul’s (Delta CEO) testimony, the CDA’s response and Q&A from legislators.
Special thanks to Drs. Lurye and Hurst for enduring a long afternoon at the Capitol on Wednesday evening and for their great testimony that helped ensure the success of the bill last night.