Pub. 4 2020 Issue 1

2020 Utah Legislative Session O ur Legislative and Advocacy Committee was hard at work again during this year’s legisla - tive session. We reviewed hundreds of bills, analyzed their impact on family physicians, testified during committees, lobbied legisla - tors, all to promote favorable legislation for the practice of family medicine. We prioritize bills based on three categories — Practice Management, Healthy Outcomes for Patients, and Promo - tion of Family Medicine. Some of our priority bills for the 2020 session included: • HB313 Telehealth Parity Amendments: We really had to pull out all the stops to get this bill passed before the session ended. It got stalled at the end, as bills will do, and we used all our political muscle to get it through its final vote. This is a great bill that expands rules to allow all physicians to provide telehealth services, including for patients with Medicaid. It requires certain health benefit plans to provide coverage parity and commer - cially reasonable reimbursement for telehealth services and telemedicine services. We plan to continue working to refine this law and expand reimbursement parity with in-office visits. • HB207 Insulin Access Amendments: As you’ve no doubt experienced, drug prices have spiraled out of control. One of the most egregious examples of this is the high cost of insulin, a drug that costs between $2 and $6 to make often costs several hundred dollars per vial. We were successful in helping pass this bill that caps the monthly out-of-pocket cost at $30. It has some creative provisions to ensure support by the insurance indus - try, and it includes a study that will provide important information that could prove useful in future legislation related to drug pricing. • HB285 Utah Professional Health Program: We recognize the high level of stress and the unfortunate potential for substance abuse among health professionals. This bill enacts a program for health care professionals to provide an alternative to public disciplinary action for licensees who have substance use disorders. UAFP was a strong supporter of this bill, and we see it as a positive way to provide help to those physicians who may be struggling with addiction without risking their livelihood when they seek treatment. www.UtahAFP.org