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Minutes for HB2358 - Committee on Federal and State Affairs
Short Title
Permitting mid-level practitioners to provide medical certification to attest to an individual's cause of death to file a death certificate.
Minutes Content for Mon, Mar 18, 2024
Jason Long, Office of the Revisor of Statutes gave an overview of the bill. HB2358 would modify the Uniform Vital Statistics Act provisions concerning who may certify a cause of death, specifically, adding physician assistants (PAs) and advance practice registered nurses (APRNs). The bill also includes a liability immunity provision for cause of death certifiers who complete the certification in good faith. (Attachment 1)
After a period of questions for the revisor, the Chairman called for proponent testimony.
Proponent Oral Testimony
Pam Scott, Kansas Funeral Directors Association, spoke as a proponent of the bill. She stated the intent of the bill is to expedite the timely filing of death certificates, and all it does is add PAs and APRNs amongst those medical professionals who are able to sign. She said sometimes it can take weeks to get death certificates certified, which holds up the publishing of obituaries and the holding of funerals, as well as getting the cause of death reported to the National Center for Health Statistics. She stated sometimes the deceased hasn't seen a physician, and an APRN or PA may be the only ones who have seen the patient. (Attachment 2)
Proponent Written Only Testimony
Cathy Gordon, APRN, MS, FACNM, private citizen (Attachment 3)
Doug Smith, Executive Director, Kansas Academy of Physician Associates (Attachment 4)
There was no neutral, nor opponent testimony.
After a period of questions and answers, the Chairman closed the hearing on HB2358.
