HB2423, SB1170 & HB2727 Dental for Pregnant Women
SB 1170 is scheduled for a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee Tuesday 02/11/2020 at 2 PM and the mirror bill HB2727 will be heard in the House Health and Human Services Committee the next day (Thursday 2/13 at 9AM). Please sign on in support of both bills and come to the hearing rooms at the Capitol to show your support.
Please email appropriations committee members, letting them know how you feel about SB1170, which will provide comprehensive dental care to pregnant adults. See their email addresses: lalston@azleg.gov; SBOWIE@azleg.gov; hcarter@azleg.gov; dgowan@azleg.gov; SKERR@azleg.gov; vleach@azleg.gov; dlivingston@azleg.gov; LOTONDO@azleg.gov; mugenti-rita@azleg.gov
These bills would expand oral health coverage for pregnant women enrolled in AHCCCS to include preventive and other services. This is a terrific bill for public health because a mom’s oral health status is directly linked to birth outcomes. A new systematic review found a clear relationship between periodontal disease and pre-term birth, and low birth weight.
______
SB1493 Pharmacists; Dispensing Hormonal Contraceptives
This good bill (SB1493) is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday morning at 9 am. Please go into the AZLEG system and express your support for this bill. It would allow a pharmacist to dispense a self-administered hormonal contraceptive to a person 18 or over pursuant to a standing order.
There are checks and balances in this statute to ensure that best practices are used. This is a net public health benefit as teen births are the number one cause of inter-generational poverty and the bad health outcomes that result.
_______
HB 2549 Adult Protective Services Audit
HB 2549 is scheduled to be heard will be heard in the House Health and Human Services Committee on Thursday 2/13 at 9 am. Please sign on in support of this bill and come to the hearing rooms at the Capitol to show your support.
A recent report from the Developmental Disabilities Planning Council has identified several critical shortcomings in the performance of the Adult Protective Services program at the Arizona Department of Economic Security. This bill would charge the Auditor General’s Office with contracting for an independent evaluation of APS’ performance- an evaluation that is sorely needed. It includes a $300K appropriation to do the review.
_______
HB2486 Immunization Requirements – AzPHA Opposes
While HB2486 isn’t scheduled for a hearing next week, we’re asking our members to go into the AZLEG system and express their opposition to this bad bill. It would basically do away with the FDA vaccine approval process and replace it with criteria set by this law for the purposes of implementing vaccination requirements.
This bill adds a series of additional requirements that, unless met, mean that a vaccine is eliminated from any vaccination requirement. It’s basically an IED to get completely rid of all vaccination requirements. Bad bill.
