Short Report
South Carolina State House
The state legislature is in full swing heading into April as the deadline for bills to pass out of their originating body and “crossover” the lobby to the other chamber for passage this year is April 10th. The House passed their version of the state budget earlier this month and it current resides in the Senate Finance Committee. The budget includes continued funding for the South Carolina Telemedicine Network, Rural Physicians Programs, and the Rural Health Initiative. As expected, funding for the state’s Health Outcomes Plan, or HOP, was stepped-down again this year. A proviso in the budget relating to birth centers establishes that hospitals should negotiate a transfer agreement with licensed birth centers within a 50-mile radius.
Several behavioral health bills are moving in the legislature this year. A bill repealing the alcohol exclusion laws is expected to pass out of the senate this week and legislation defining crisis stabilization unit facilities and their licensure requirements has passed out of its originating body. Improving access and services for behavioral health is one of SCHA’s top priorities this year, and we are exciting to
see the support the legislation has gotten at the State House.
A bill to conform to the requirements of the Enhanced Nurse Licensure Compact passed out of the House earlier this year and is on the schedule for a committee hearing this week. The legislation is required to maintain membership in the nurse licensure compact, which enables nurses in other compact states to practice more easily in South Carolina and expedites their licensure process.
U.S. Capitol
The American Health Care Act moved quickly though several U.S. House Committees to a debate on the House floor on Friday, March 24th. The debate ended with a recess without a vote on the bill, signaling the Republican majority did not have the necessary votes to pass the bill. After the bill failed, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) spoke on the disappointment to his party and his leadership and stated that, “Obamacare is law of the land for the foreseeable future.”
SCHA strongly opposed the bill as it was estimated that it would lead to 24 million more uninsured individuals by 2026. We are glad to see the bill as written was unable to get the votes to pass and will continue to work with South Carolina’s Congressional delegation to improve health policy.
For more information on what was included in the bill, the history of the legislation, and some of the key players in the process, visit SCHA’s Repeal and Replace website.
Krista Ordmann
Manager, Advocacy Communications
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