Making Progress in Tennessee, why not Ohio?

[irishbobcat]

Making Progress in Tennessee, why not Ohio?
Health Care:  The state took a number of positive steps on health care although, they deferred action on a number of highly publicizing and debates measures.  Most positively, the state took action on:
·   Funding: The budget raises premium taxes on Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) to draw down federal matching funds and avoid a $300 million cut to TennCare, the state's Medicaid program. HMO's will likely gain in the end, as the $136.6 million raised will result in increased TennCare funding gained under the federal matching funds.
·   Home Health Care: Lawmakers enacted S.B. 851, the "Open Doors Home Health Care Act", which authorizes home health nurses and aides to accompany recipients into the community to help them conduct routine daily activities, such as outpatient medical appointments, school and other educational functions, employment and volunteer opportunities, and church and religious services.  The bill was sponsored by the Tennessee Disability Coalition.  Other related initiatives, include creation of a Senior Alert program modeled after Amber Alerts, increased oversight of school personnel recommendting psychotropic drugs for students, and licensure of medication aides at nursing homes.  Fortunately, lawmakers defeated S.B. 2160 which would have limited the legal liability of nursing homes in cases of abuse and neglect, and thus reducing incentives to improve quality of care.
·   Prescription Drug Price Transparency: Lawmakers approved the "Patient's Right to Prescription Transparency Act of 2009" to help consumers learn what pharmacies are being paid by health plans for their prescriptions.  The new law prevents a health plan or Pharmacy Benefit Management Company (PBM) from restricting or prohibiting a pharmacy from giving the patient information regarding actual reimbursement. It also defines that percentage based co-pays be calculated based on the total prescription price the plan agrees to pay to the pharmacy. 
Lawmakers deferred for study many bills concerning insurance coverage: Autism Equity, this bill would require insurers to cover care for autism spectrum disorder for patients up to 16 years of age, including coverage for speech, occupational, behavioral and other therapies; Prescription Drugs, this bill would prohibit insurers from limiting or denying continuity of coverage for prescription medications if the drug was being used by the patient at the time of renewal, and if the medication was previously covered by the insurance policy; and, Hearing Aid Coverage, this bill would require a certain annual benefit for hearing aids for insureds to age 24.  And despite a report by the American Cancer Socity showing Tennessee failing to act on measures to reduce cancer rates and improve access to cancer care, lawmakers put off a measure that would have created a comprehensive colorectal screening program for the underserved and required insurers to cover such screenings.

Environment: There were a few victories on the environment, although many were more limited than advocates wanted:
·   Coal: Lawmakers increased the coal severence tax, resulting, in part, in additional funds to counties where coal is extracted.  Unfortunately, lawmakers failed to pass limitations on surface mining within 100 feet of state waters and surface mining above 2,000 feet.  Instead, lawmakers passed a bill banning certain surface mining related activities from within 100 feet of a stream's high water mark.
·   Energy Efficiency: S.B. 1919 creates incentives for local governments to use tax increment financing to pay for energy efficiency costs, encourages sustainable design by including Green Globes and LEED-certification costs within the financing package, and promotes local alternative energy projects that incorporate green design principles.
·   Solar Energy: As reported by the Senate Republican Caucus, the budget includes the use of $62.5 million in stimulus funds to "advance job creation, education, research, and renewable-power production in Tennessee." The Tennessee Solar Institute at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in conjunction with Tennessee's universities will focus on basic science and industry partnerships to improve the affordability and efficiency of solar products. The development of a West Tennessee solar farm near Brownsville will involve a five-megawatt, 20-acre power generation facility at the Haywood County industrial megasite that will be one of the largest installations in the Southeast. That facility would also serve as a demonstration tool for educational, research and economic-development purposes.
·   Gasoline: S.B. 1931 allows more Tennessee products to be used in the blending process of gasoline. The bill requires suppliers of gasoline products to make gasoline available to wholesalers in a condition that allows the wholesaler to blend it with ethanol.
·   Methane: Lawmakers enacted public chapter 73 to support the development and use of methane as a renewable energy source.  The law makes it clear that once refined, the extracted methane is a commercial equivalent to natural gas under Tennessee law. As the Senate Republican Caucus reports, experts maintain that landfill gas emitted from decomposing garbage is a reliable and renewable fuel option that remains largely untapped at many landfills across the United States despite its many benefits.  The law makes it clear that any prohibition in permits barring the burning of landfill gas must refer only to unrefined gases and not the extracted and refined methane.

Dennis Spisak
Mahoning Valley Green Party
Ohio Green Party
www.ohiogreens.org
www.votespisak.org/thinkgreen/