This bill is a concurrent resolution that formally recognizes the importance of having a physician present in every emergency department and highlights the critical need for improving rural health care in Kentucky. It does not create new laws or change existing regulations, but rather serves as an official statement of legislative intent to support physician staffing in emergency rooms and to prioritize efforts for recruiting and educating physicians for rural areas. The resolution emphasizes the unique clinical training physicians receive compared to advanced practice providers and calls for expanded health education programs and increased medical education slots to address rural health shortages.
Amend KRS 205.6412 to require the Department for Medicaid Services to seek authorization from the United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to implement a state-directed payment for physician and nonphysician professional services provided to a Medicaid beneficiary by a qualifying hospital's affiliated physician groups or physicians and other professionals employed or contracted by the qualified hospital; require the Department of Medicaid Services to direct Medicaid managed care organizations to issue payments back to January 1, 2026, upon federal approval; RETROACTIVE.
Amend KRS 205.6412 to require the Department for Medicaid Services to seek authorization from the United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to implement a state-directed payment for physician and nonphysician professional services provided to a Medicaid beneficiary by a qualifying hospital's affiliated physician groups or physicians and other professionals employed or contracted by the qualified hospital; require the Department of Medicaid Services to direct Medicaid managed care organizations to issue payments back to January 1, 2026, upon federal approval; RETROACTIVE.
Direct state agencies to deploy policies that support a focus on healthy lifestyles and evidence-based nutrition interventions in all health and medical education for students and active health professionals; specifically direct the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure, the Kentucky Board of Nursing, the Kentucky Department for Public Health, and the Kentucky Department of Education to collaborate with the Kentucky Hospital Association, the Kentucky Primary Care Association, and the American College of Lifestyle Medicine to take actions; require reports to the General Assembly by December 1, 2026, and December 1, 2027.
HB 721 amends Kentucky law to require a statewide prescreening and admissions review system for long-term-care facilities and certain hospital-based skilled-nursing beds. It directly affects residents seeking admission to these facilities, requiring them to meet a resource means test (sufficient funds for 365 days of care) and obtain preauthorization from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services before admission. Key provisions include mandatory preadmission screening teams, determinations about care needs and alternatives, and penalties (a Class B violation) for facilities admitting patients without prior authorization. The bill aims to prevent inappropriate placements and control costs by ensuring residents meet financial criteria and receive proper review before admission.
Create a new section of Subtitle 17A of KRS Chapter 304 to establish that any health benefit plan that provides coverage for hospital, medical, or surgical expenses shall include coverage for chronic pain treatments provided by a licensed professional; amend KRS 205.522 to require Medicaid and Medicaid managed care organizations to include coverage for chronic pain treatments provided by a licensed professional; amend KRS 218A.172 to require that a health care practitioner discuss and refer or prescribe alternative chronic pain treatments before initially prescribing or dispensing a controlled substance; provide that certain provisions apply to health benefit plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027; require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services or the Department for Medicaid Services to seek federal approval if they determine that such approval is necessary; provide authorization from the General Assembly to make changes to the Medicaid program as required under KRS 205.5372(1); EFFECTIVE January 1, 2027.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 211 to define terms; provide rights related to access to contraception; create private right of action; create a new section of Subtitle 17A of KRS Chapter 304 to require health benefit plans to provide coverage for contraception; amend KRS 304.17A-099 to exclude contraception from cost defrayal requirements; require health benefit plans to provide coverage for long-acting reversible contraception administered during a postpartum hospital stay; amend KRS 164.2871, 205.522, 205.6485, and 18A.225 to require self-insured employer group health plans provided by the governing board of a state postsecondary institution to its employees, Medicaid, the Kentucky Children's Health Insurance Program, and the state employee health plan to comply with the new section on contraceptive coverage; amend KRS 446.350 to provide that nothing in the new section on contraceptive coverage shall be construed to violate section; create a new section of KRS Chapter 205 to require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to apply for a Medicaid waiver to offer family planning services to certain low-income individuals; require the cabinet to report annually; create a new section of KRS Chapter 315 to allow pharmacists to prescribe and dispense hormonal contraceptives; require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to seek federal approval if they determine that such approval is necessary; provide authorization from the General Assembly to make changes as required under KRS 205.5372(1); include provisions for cost defrayal requirements; direct that provisions apply to health benefit plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027; EFFECTIVE, in part, January 1, 2027.
Create new sections of KRS Chapter 216B to define terms; require hospitals to maintain a publicly available chargemaster of all standard charges, in dollar amounts, and descriptions for all standard facility items or services; require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to promulgate administrative regulations to establish a template for each facility to use to create the chargemaster, monitor each facility's compliance, and provide administrative penalties; prohibit collective action of debt for noncompliant facilities.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 216B to require hospitals that offer emergency medical services to have at least 1 licensed board certified or board eligible emergency medicine physician on site and on duty who is responsible for the emergency department at all times the emergency department is open.
Create new sections of KRS Chapter 216B to define terms; require hospitals to disclose prices for certain items and services provided by hospitals; require hospitals to make public a digital list of all standard charges and a consumer-friendly list of charges for a set of shoppable services; require hospitals to provide descriptions of different services and standard charges of those services; require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to promulgate administrative regulations to establish a template for each hospital; require the cabinet to monitor each facility's compliance; provide for administrative penalties; require health care providers to provide patients with written pricing sheets for health care services provided except in an emergency; require the cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations to establish a template for the written pricing sheets; require the cabinet or the Department for Medicaid Services to seek federal approval if they determine that such approval is necessary to comply with KRS 205.5372(1).
