MINUTES
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH SERVICES
Monday, February 7, 2000
10:00 a.m.
Houston
*****
Pursuant to a notice posted in accordance with Senate Rule
11.18, a public hearing of the Senate Committee on Health
Services was held on Monday, February 7, 2000, in Houston,
Texas.
*****
MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT:
Senator Jane Nelson None
Senator Mike Moncrief
Senator Jon Lindsay
Senator Frank Madla
Senator Drew Nixon
*****
The chair called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. There being
a quorum present, the following business was transacted.
The chair made opening remarks thanking the University of Texas
MD Anderson Cancer Center for hosting the hearing and announced
that the purpose of the hearing was to solicit and consider
public testimony on each of the interim charges assigned to the
committee by Lieutenant Governor Rick Perry.
The chair laid out the January 11, 2000, minutes and called for
revisions. There being none, Senator Moncrief moved approval.
There being no objection, the motion prevailed by unanimous
consent.
The chair welcomed Representative Kyle Janek to the hearing.
The chair announced that the committee would begin with a
Telemedicine demonstration followed by testimony on charge #5
regarding health care workforce.
The chair welcomed Senator Mario Gallegos to the hearing.
The following persons provided written and oral testimony:
Axelrad, A. David, M.D., representing Texas Society of
Psychiatric Physicians
Cagle, Anthony, representing Vidimedix Corporation
Coleridge, Tim, D.O., representing Texas Academy of Family
Physicians
The following persons provided oral testimony:
Baumgartner, Jim, M.D., representing University of Texas
Houston Pediatric Neurosurgery
Berg, Bobbye, R.N., M.S.N., P.N.P., representing University
of Texas Medical Branch
Boultinghouse, Oscar, representing University of Texas
Medical Branch
Gilbert, Don, representing Health and Human Services
Commission
Raimer, Ben G., M.D., representing University of Texas
Medical Branch
Robinson, Sally S., M.D., representing University of Texas
Medical Branch
Seale, Deborah E., representing University of Texas Medical
Branch
Smith, Catherine E., representing Baylor College of
Medicine
Stone, T. Howard, representing University of Texas Medical
Branch
The following person registered but did not testify:
Montaine, John, representing Harris County Hospital
District
There being no further witnesses on this charge, the chair
called for the following witnesses to testify before the
committee on charge #1 regarding Medicaid managed care.
The following persons provided oral and written testimony:
Born, Christopher M., representing Texas Children's
Hospital, Texas Hospital Association, Children's Hospital
Association of Texas
Ellington, Owen B., M.D., representing Americaid Community
Care
Foxhall, Lewis, M.D., representing Harris County Medical
Society
Graves, Tim, representing Texas Health Care Association
The following persons provided oral testimony:
Clarkson, Douglas, representing Columbia HCA
Gilbert, Don, representing Health and Human Services
Commission
Ingham, Denise, M.D., representing Americaid, Mental Health
Mental Retardation Association
Schnee, Steven B., representing Mental Health Mental
Retardation of Harris County
Schwartz, Betsy, representing Mental Health Association of
Greater Houston
Williston, H.N., representing self
The following persons registered but did not provide testimony:
Baumgartner, Jim, M.D., representing University of Texas
Houston Pediatric Neurosurgery
Kajander, John, representing TIRR Systems
Montaine, John, representing Harris County Hospital
District
Rummel, Leah, representing Texas Association of Health
Plans
The chair welcomed Senator Buster Brown to the hearing.
There being no further witnesses on this charge, the chair
called the following witnesses to testify before the committee
on charge #2 regarding pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and
genetic issues.
The following persons provided written and oral testimony:
Luthy, Connie L., representing The Luthy Group
Patrick, James W., representing Baylor College of Medicine
Young, Terry A., representing Texas A&M University System
The following persons provided oral testimony:
Bazer, Fuller, representing Texas A&M University System
Health Science Center
Carson, Ronald, representing University of Texas Medical
Branch and self
Kennedy, Robert A., representing Texas A&M University
System
Rothstein, Mark A., representing Health Law and Policy
Institute, University of Houston
The following person registered but did not provide testimony:
Daniels, Carol, representing Texas Department of Health
There being no further witnesses on this charge, the chair
called the following witnesses to testify before the committee
on charge #3 regarding medical privacy issues.
The following person provided written and oral testimony:
Low, Jennifer, representing Express Scripts, Inc.
The following person provided oral testimony:
Rothstein, Mark A., representing Health Law and Policy
Institute, University of Houston
There being no further witnesses on this charge, the chair
called for witnesses to testify before the committee on charge
#4 regarding the Vaccines for Children Program.
The following person registered but did not provide testimony:
Stanley, Sharilyn K., M.D., representing Texas Department
of Health
There being no further witnesses on this charge, the chair
called the following witnesses to testify before the committee
on charge #6 regarding the Children's Health Insurance Program.
The following person provided oral testimony:
Gilbert, Don, representing Health and Human Services
Commission
The following person registered but did not provide testimony:
Rummel, Leah, representing Texas Association of Health
Plans
There being no further witnesses on this charge or any of the
others, the chair discussed the committee schedule; the
Committee will meet on Monday, April 10, 2000 at 10:00 a.m. in
San Antonio. The Committee staff will coordinate with each
office to provide the location for the next hearing.
With no other business to come before the committee and upon
motion by Senator Moncrief, the chair recessed the committee by
unanimous consent at 3:10 p.m., subject to the call of the
chair.
______________________
Senator Jane Nelson, Chair
______________________
Cheri Huddleston, Clerk