Still hope for bills aimed at child abuse and death cases and regulating managed care, senator says

Costs seem to have stymied a bill aimed at creating oversight for child abuse and death cases. “The problem seems to be the funding for it,” Republican state Senator Julie Denton told Pure Politics Tuesday.

The bill, which would create a review panel to evaluate circumstances surrounding child abuse and death cases, also would require $500,000 a year to create a new division within the Health and Family Services Cabinet, said Denton of Louisville.

Denton said she and the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Susan Westrom, D- Lexington, are looking for a “creative way,” to have independent oversight, but Denton says, “right now the money seems to be the big problem.”

House Bill 200 can be called back for a vote in the Senate on Thursday, April 12th, the last day of the 2012 legislative session and Sen. Denton hopes an amendment can be found and agreed upon, “There is a slim glimmer of hope and it’s helpful now that the budget is out of the way,” (at 2:07 in the video.)

Denton also discussed a bill aimed at requiring prompt pay by managed care organizations (starting at 3:00 of the interview) and her concerns with a bill to regulate pain clinics that turn into “pill mills” through House Bill 4 (7:00 of the interview).

Others have raised concerns about the way the bill is written, saying it also could add more secrecy to an already secretive cabinet.