Indiana hospital bill proposal rolled back amid protest
Indiana lawmakers on Monday rolled back a proposal that could cut how much insurance companies pay for medical services performed at offices located away from a hospital’s main campus.
Indiana lawmakers on Monday rolled back a proposal that could cut how much insurance companies pay for medical services performed at offices located away from a hospital’s main campus.
Indiana legislators have voted to end the mandatory use of student standardized test results in teacher evaluations, dropping a requirement long opposed by teachers.
Plans and updates from the 2020 Indiana General Assembly were hot topics of discussion at the Lawyer-Legislator Luncheon on February 25. More than 20 key players in this year’s session spoke about important pending legislation and answered questions from fellow IndyBar members and lawyers.
After a federal appellate court stopped Indiana’s process for removing ineligible voters from the registration rolls, the state is still looking for a way to clean its voter lists. But a new system being considered by the Legislature is not gaining support among voting rights groups and could spark more litigation.
From 2017 through 2019, nine legislators exited the Statehouse before their terms expired, requiring the state’s caucus system to ramp up to handle the large number of vacancies and bringing renewed attention to political party processes that choose who will represent voters. At present, 21.3% of Indiana legislators first entered the Statehouse through a caucus election.
A staple of the Indiana judiciary for more than 40 years, Indiana Court of Appeals Judge John G. Baker was honored by members of the Legislature ahead of his impending retirement.
Currently, Indiana employers must cautiously navigate a maze of different marijuana laws affecting their employees working across state lines. This is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.
Organizations and individuals around Indiana have been pushing for a solution to the lead problem. The toxin is everywhere and exposure, especially in very young children, can cause lifelong cognitive impairment.
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill’s ability to remain in office could be even further in jeopardy now that the Indiana House has adopted language that would disqualify for the office any attorney whose law license is suspended for 30 days or more.
The Republican-controlled Indiana House on Monday afternoon is expected to consider an amendment to a bill that would force Attorney General Curtis Hill out of office if he loses his law license or is suspended from office for 30 days or more.
A bill that could slow Indiana utilities from shutting down coal-fired plants is advancing to the Senate floor, after a panel voted Thursday to approve the measure — but with changes that could save money for ratepayers compared with the original bill.
As Indiana lawmakers wrestle with various ideas to reduce health care costs, one proposal that business groups say would have an immediate impact has drawn opposition from hospitals.
Indiana lawmakers are poised to double the fines stores could face for selling smoking or vaping products to anyone younger than 21 years old.
In ultimately denying transfer, a divided Indiana Supreme Court ended a dispute that pitted neighbor against neighbor and raised questions about whether the state’s Right to Farm Act was meant to cover an 8,000-head hog operation in Hendricks County.
The Indiana Senate has approved legislation that would ban drivers from holding cellphones while operating a motor vehicle.
Some Indiana doctors are raising fears about possible loss of emergency services under a plan to limit “surprise” medical bills that can plague patients who have been unknowingly treated by providers from outside their insurance networks.
A bill bringing uniformity to indigency determinations is headed for Gov. Eric Holcomb’s desk after clearing the Indiana House. The measure sailed through the General Assembly without a vote in opposition.
A legislative proposal for requiring annual training for teachers who carry guns inside Indiana schools was scuttled amid a disagreement over whether it infringed on gun rights. The legislation also was opposed by groups advocating for gun control.
The Indiana House of Representatives was scheduled to hear a bill Monday that deals with the disposal of fetal remains, building on a similar provision in an abortion law the state passed in 2016 and was subsequently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“How many more victims will there be?” Dawn Price, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, posed that question before the Indiana House Courts and Criminal Code Committee on Wednesday while testifying in support of legislation that would extend the amount of time victims have to prosecute their perpetrators.