Republican Representative Paul Ray’s anti-nicotine bill didn’t get very far this year, but he’s already planning a similar campaign for the year ahead, including new legislation targeting electronic cigarettes. One lobbyist, though, says his efforts are misguided. KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports.
A bill that prevents victims of medical malpractice from suing a hospital for employing an unqualified doctor cleared the House last night. As KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, some lawmakers say it prevents lawsuits that would cause health care costs to surge, while others say it weakens oversight.
Flavored e-cigarettes and other nicotine products aimed at ex-smokers are the target of State Representative Paul Ray, who’s trying to ban them to protect children from getting their hands on them. But two local ex-smokers say the products have changed their lives – and the lives of their children — for the better.
A statewide ban on flavored nicotine candy failed in House Business and Labor Committee on Friday. Representative Paul Ray’s bill would have banned stores from selling gum, dissolving strips and other candy-like products that have not been approved by the FDA for helping someone quit smoking. A frustrated Ray addressed his supporters in the hallway after his bill was voted down.
The Utah Senate gave bipartisan support yesterday to a state lawmaker’s plan to reign in Medicaid spending. Republican Senator Dan Liljenquist’s bill restructures the program to move away from paying providers a fee for every service they perform, which he says encourages doctors to run more tests and do more procedures than necessary. He’s equated increasing Medicaid costs to Pacman, eating away at Utah’s budget.
Every year since 2007, various Utah lawmakers have tried to ban smoking in cars when a child is present. And this year, that effort failed once again, as the House Transportation Committee voted down HB 89 this morning.
Should the state look at fixing a system that many say isn’t broken? That was the question before the legislature’s Senate Health and Human Services Committee Friday, which debated whether to consider privatizing the State Mental hospital. As KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports, many don’t think a change would net any better results.
A Utah lawmaker might have the golden ticket for reforming Medicaid and tackling its skyrocketing costs. The Republican-sponsored bill earned widespread support in a Senate Committee Thursday. KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports.
The Utah Senate gave the thumbs-up this morning to a bill that makes it a crime to leave a child alone in a car under dangerous conditions. But some lawmakers say it needs more work. Although Republican Senator Lyle Hillyard voted for the bill, he said it’s too subjective.
While the federal health reform law’s mandate to purchase health insurance may be getting the most attention, some Utah lawmakers are focusing on another aspect of it: expanding eligibility for Medicaid, the government-funded health program for low-income Americans. Hoping to get ahead of this, Republican State Senator Dan Liljenquist, who spearheaded major reforms to Utah’s public pension system last year, is proposing changes to how Medicaid providers are compensated.
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