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Minutes for HB2325 - Committee on Insurance
Short Title
Adding maternity center to the definition of "healthcare provider" for purposes of the healthcare provider insurance availability act.
Minutes Content for Wed, Feb 15, 2023
The Chairman opened the hearing on HB2325.
David Wiese, Revisor provided a briefing on the bill.(Attachment-1)
Proponents:
Kendra Wyatt, Chief Executive Officer, New Birth Company provided testimony by Webex for the bill. (Attachment-2)
The New Birth Company is a KDHE state licensed facility in Overland Park, KS. This bill is the result of two years of on-going diligent work in order to fix a gap in facility malpractice coverage for state licensed birth centers. Without this legislation, the facility would not be able to meet the mandated facility coverage requirements that are mandated by the Kan-Care managed care companies and as a result would not be able to continue serving Kan-Care mothers and families past July 1, 2023. This bill will not change anything that other birthing centers are doing, as it is not a mandate. It will enable credentialed, licensed and naturally accredited birth centers to obtain this required malpractice coverage.
Rebecca Williams, Account Executive, Shareholder at HUB Mid-America provided testimony by Webex for the bill. (Attachment-3)
As the insurance agent that has worked with this birthing center for a number of years she wants to state emphatically of being in support of this bill to include birthing centers within the Health Care Stabilization Fund. It will be much easier and more cost effective to obtain professional liability insurance for them. Doesn't understand why they weren't included in the Health Care Stabilization Fund from the beginning. The birthing center was insured with MMIC. MMIC chose to quit serving birthing centers because they had bad experiences with birthing centers in other states and decided to no longer serve birthing centers. There are 16 companies in Kansas that typically write medical professionals in Kansas and all of them have declined because they said in other states they were having large claims paid out to independent birthing centers. The New Birth Center has had no claims.
Opponents: None
Neutral:
Clark Schultz, Executive Director, Kansas Health Care Stabilization Fund provided testimony for the bill. (Attachment-4)
The Health Care Stabilization Fund was put into place by Statute in 1976 when we were in a hard market condition. Health care providers were having difficulty finding affordable medical malpractice insurance, if they could find it at all. The legislature created this new body of law that also created the Availability Plan. This means that if you are a defined health care provider and you can't find insurance out on the open market it will be available for you in the Availability Plan for sure, and in addition to that the Stabilization Fund provides a second layer of coverage. Current Statute allows maternity centers who are organized as professional corporations to be included in the definition of health care provider. HB2535 provides for a maternity center that is not a professional organized corporation to have access to the Availability Plan and Stabilization Fund. Two things to qualify (1) being a licensed maternity center and (2) having accreditation. This bill is for the legislature to decide who's going to be a defined health care provider.
Mr. Schultz indicated that page 2 line 29 which is currently "or" needs to be changed to "and". Feels this was a wrong interpretation when originally set up.
The New Birth Company is the only accredited and licensed maternity center facility in the State of Kansas.
The Chairman closed the hearing on HB2325.
