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In March we are beginning to see the effects of the large decrease in personal income taxes effective
January 1, 2013. Kansas has a 24% personal income tax reduction for 2013. This will result in $800 million tax decrease over the next 12 months. To pay for the $800 million tax decrease the Senate's tax position is to keep the 6.3% sales tax in place to pay for the personal income tax decrease and fund essential government services.
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| KANSAS HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND EXCHANGE ACT |
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Transitioning from Fax to Paperless
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 We worked on Senate Bill 210 last year and finished it up this year. The Senate will send it over to the House/Senate Conference Committee for final review. Then it will come back to the floor for an up or down vote. About 47% of medical practices have converted or in the process of converting to electronic medical records. The doctors and hospitals need a way to move from exchanging information via fax and paper copies to being able to share certain information electronically. This bill gives the state the authority to regulate the nonprofit entities that will enable the sharing of medical information between medical providers. These entities will be regulated in similar manner that Kansas regulates its banks, insurance companies, and health care surgical facilities. It is important to note that Kansas will not be involved with the actual transfer of any medical data, only serving in regulatory role. More than likely medical providers will start exchanging limited medical information in 2016. Kansas will regulate to make sure everything is safe, secure, and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 [HIPAA] compliant. It should be noted that this has nothing to do with the Health Benefit Exchanges and ObamaCare. Totally different and not related. I'm hoping to get appointed to the Advisory Board to monitor this very closely. An amendment I put on in committee was to not allow any state money to be given to the Information Exchanges. These exchanges are to stand on their own very similar to the exchanges that process medical provider's electronic claims. Medical providers pay a small fee to the exchanges that process their electronic claims. I wanted to insure the information exchanges adapt a business model that is self-sustaining and not look to the state to subsidize their operations. |
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To Work Together to Achieve Operational Savings
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 In his State of the State address at the beginning of the session, Governor Brownback asked the legislature to authorize the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) to oversee the Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA) in order to allow for greater efficiencies to be made and to help in reducing the size of state government. I reluctantly voted for HB 2234. The bill passed the Senate 26-14. It is on its way to the House for debate. I only agreed to vote yes after the Chair of Transportation put on an amendment which would require measureable efficiencies in two years. If savings and efficiencies are not measurable after that time the two entities would revert back to present status. My other reservation about the bill centers around the retail component of KTA and the toll road. Drivers of the toll road pay their toll electronically, drive on best road in the state, and drive as fast (75mph) as the law allows. I shudder thinking of the non-consumer friendly department of motor vehicle offices when I think of government running the KTA. We have been promised this will not happen but I remain leery. |
Capitol Office
Overland Park 8416 W. 115th Street Overland Park, KS 66210 913.345.9416
Paid for by "Jim Denning for Kansas Senate" Kathy Vance, Treasurer | |
