State Senate Banking Committee moved bills addressing health care access, telemedicine, financial services

The state Senate Banking & Insurance Committee sent four bills to the full Senate for consideration.

The bills, announced by committee Chairman Sen. John DiSanto R- Dauphin/Perry, would streamline the process for patients to receive approval for care from their health plans, provide guidelines for telemedicine services, improve the marketing and financial stability of annuities and modernize background check processes for insurance brokers and agents.

Here’s a synopsis:

Senate Bill 225, introduced by Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill, R- York, seeks to make it easier for providers to get approval from a health plan regarding the payment coverage of a patient for a specific procedure or service.

Supporters say the bill would improve transparency, accessibility and consistent application by standardizing how health care providers receive approval from insurers, according to Phillips-Hill.

“The lack of standardization of paperwork; lack of transparency, accessibility and consistent application of prior authorization requirements, restrictions and amendments; and lack of electronic submission capability all contribute to the impaired delivery of quality health care to our constituents,” she wrote in the bill’s memo addressed to senate members in January.

Senate Bill 705, introduced by Sen. Elder Vogel Jr., R- Beaver, Butler and Lawrence, is a direct response to the growing use of telemedicine among providers following the pandemic and would define telemedicine, offering guidelines outlining how providers can offer such services.

“Telemedicine played an instrumental role in patient access to quality health care services during the pandemic,” said DiSanto. “This legislation ensures patients will continue to enjoy the convenience and innovation of telemedicine services well into the future.”

Senate Bill 772, introduced by DiSanto, would improve the marketing and financial stability of annuities by following two changes recently made by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, according to the Senator.

House Bill 1349, introduced by Rep. Tina Pickett, R-Sullivan, Bradford and Susquehanna, permits the Insurance Department to electronically process national criminal history records.