SB 91 extends the expiration date of the state's syringe exchange program to July 1, 2036. This directly affects people who use syringe exchange services, primarily to prevent the spread of blood-borne diseases like HIV and hepatitis. The bill changes the program's current expiration date to a new end date in 2036, ensuring continued funding and operation. It does not alter the program's existing structure or eligibility requirements.
Changes the statewide standing order for the dispensing of a smoking cessation product to a tobacco, vaping, or nicotine cessation product. Amends the date by which a hospital must submit the hospital's fiscal report and patient information report to the state department. Removes a requirement that a home health aide competency evaluation program include at least 75 hours of training and 16 hours of classroom training before supervised practical training. Adds Parkinson's disease to the definition of "chronic disease" for provisions concerning the chronic disease registry. Requires: (1) the state department to maintain a trauma registry; and (2) certain health care facilities to submit data to the registry. Establishes requirements for the handling and transporting of infectious waste. Sets forth factors the state department must consider in determining the nature of and civil penalty for a violation of infectious waste requirements. Expands provisions concerning epinephrine, including provisions allowing a pharmacist to dispense and an entity to prescribe epinephrine rather than auto-injectable epinephrine. Removes the expiration of provisions concerning lead screening for children. Requires a registered manufacturer, processor, repackager, or wholesale distributor of food, drugs, or cosmetics to comply with federal regulations concerning good manufacturing practices. Allows the state health commissioner to enter and inspect the premises of the manufacturer, processor, repackager, or wholesale distributor. Permits a local health department to conduct inspections of certain manufacturers, processors, repackagers, or wholesale distributors. Amends the information a local child fatality review team and the statewide child fatality review committee may review in conducting a child fatality review. Allows a suicide and overdose fatality review team and a fetal-infant mortality review team to provide records to the state department. Requires the state department to maintain the confidentiality of these records. Requires a medical school to: (1) include nutrition education in the school's curriculum; and (2) require students to complete a rural health rotation. Voids administrative rules concerning infectious waste and the state trauma registry.
Prohibits a state employee health plan, a policy of accident and sickness insurance, and a health maintenance organization that provides coverage for advanced, metastatic cancer and associated conditions from requiring that, before providing coverage for a prescription drug, the insured fail to successfully respond to a different prescription drug or prove a history of failure of a different prescription drug.
Amends the duties of the office of the secretary of family and social services (office) concerning home and community based services waivers (waiver). Requires: (1) a provider of waiver services to provide certain documentation to a waiver recipient; (2) a waiver recipient to review the documentation and report errors or inconsistencies; and (3) the recipient's case manager to provide assistance to the recipient in reviewing the documentation and reporting any errors or inconsistencies. Establishes a time frame in which the bureau of disabilities services must review and approve or deny requests for an increase in service units provided to certain individuals with a disability. Creates an exemption for presumptive eligibility standards. Provides reimbursement exemptions under certain Medicaid programs when operating under a value based health care reimbursement agreement. Provides that a provision prohibiting the office from reducing reimbursement for home health services expires June 30, 2027. Requires the office to collaborate with certain entities to develop a new reimbursement methodology for home health services. Specifies that public notice of at least six months (rather than one year) must be provided before a health facility service reimbursement that results in a reduction in reimbursement may be changed. Provides that a claim by the estate recovery unit of the office of Medicaid policy and planning (estate recovery unit) is forever barred unless the estate recovery unit files a claim in the court in which the decedent's estate is being administered not later than nine months after the date of death of the decedent.
Authorizes the attorney general to enforce provisions concerning health care debt wage garnishment and principal residence lien restrictions and establish a complaint process. Requires hospitals to do the following: (1) Offer a person who meets certain income guidelines and has received health services the opportunity to pay the charges through a payment plan that satisfies certain requirements. (2) Develop a written notice about a charity care program operated by the hospital, provide the notice to patients, and post the notice. (3) Include certain information concerning financial assistance on a billing statement. (4) Requires a hospital that reports an annual gross patient revenue of at least $20,000,000 to provide written notice and information to a person who has requested an eligibility determination concerning a payment plan or charity care. Provides that the unpaid earnings of a consumer who meets specified income eligibility requirements may not be attached by garnishment if an individual makes 200% of the federal income poverty level or less, and limits the amount to be garnished over a certain amount of the individual's disposable earnings in satisfaction of: (1) health care debt owed or alleged to be owed by the consumer; or (2) any amount of the judgment that represents health care debt determined to be owed by the consumer. Provides that: (1) health care debt owed or alleged to be owed by a consumer; or (2) in an action against a consumer in which a judgment has been entered, the amount of the judgment that represents health care debt determined to be owed by the consumer; does not constitute a lien against the consumer's principal residence for a consumer. Requires the disclosure of whether a debt is a health care debt in the execution of a judgment. Provides that in any action filed in Indiana for the recovery of health care debt owed or alleged to be owed by a consumer, the principal residence of the consumer is not liable to judgment or attachment or to be sold on execution against the consumer.
Modifies the definitions of "abortion" and "abortion inducing drug". Amends the information required to be reported to the Indiana department of health (state department) concerning an abortion complication. Requires the state department to send each abortion complication report to the office of the inspector general. Provides that a person who manufactures, distributes, mails, transports, delivers, prescribes, or provides an abortion inducing drug is jointly and severally liable for: (1) the wrongful death of an unborn child or pregnant woman from the use of an abortion inducing drug; and (2) personal injury of an unborn child or pregnant woman from the use of the abortion inducing drug. Allows the mother or father of an unborn child to bring a wrongful death action for the wrongful death of the unborn child from the use of abortion inducing drugs. Provides affirmative defenses. Allows for qui tam actions against certain persons. Adds an exception for the prohibition on abortion inducing drugs.
