House Speaker Greg Stumbo

Medicaid Prompt Pay Bill Approved in Kentucky General Assembly, Could Be Vetoed

Kenny Colston (KPR) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:49:30 +0000

A bill requiring prompt pay for health care providers participating in Kentucky's Medicaid managed-care system is heading to the governor's desk — but it isn't veto-proof.

The bill is sponsored by House Speaker Greg Stumbo and would move disputes between providers and managed care organizations to the Department of Insurance to be settled.

House Passes Medicaid Prompt Pay Bill 99-0

Kenny Colston (KPR) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 13:52:08 +0000

A bill moving Medicaid managed care late payments to the Department of Insurance's review process has overwhelmingly passed the state House. The measure passed on a unanimous vote of 99-0.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo is the bill sponsor and says his goal is to make sure health care providers start getting paid by Medicaid managed care organizations, which has been a problem since the MCO system was implemented.

"Because if claims are in fact being withheld unfairly, this will remedy that," Stumbo said. "If claims are being changed as far as the criteria goes in the claims process after they've been submitted this will change that."

House Passes Two Pension Bills But Controversy Over Vote Looms

Kenny Colston (KPR) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 11:50:31 +0000

The House has narrowly passed two bills dealing with the state's underfunded pension system, but not without controversy.

The House passed an amended version of Senate Bill 2, which keeps the pension systems as a defined benefit and creates a new oversight panel for Kentucky's many pension plans. It passed on party lines 55-45, with Democrats favoring.

It also passed House Bill 416, which takes revenues from the potential expansion and legalization of Instant Racing, from online lottery sales and a new Keno game.

That bill passed with 52 votes, but many Republican members argued that the action was illegal, since revenue bills take a House supermajority of 60 votes to pass in odd-year session.

Smoking Ban Bill Not Likely to Get Out of House

Whitney Jones and The Associated Press — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:19:05 +0000

Legislation that would institute a statewide smoking ban in restaurants and other public places has been sent to the House Judiciary Committee for further review, making it unlikely to pass this legislative session.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo says he doesn't expect the measure to make it back to the full House for consideration. The bill has proven divisive in Kentucky, one of the nation's top tobacco-producing states.

House Committee Passes Revenue Bill for Pensions

Kenny Colston (KPR) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 11:50:03 +0000

The House budget committee has passed a bill that would help shore up the state's underfunded pension system. House Bill 416 would take revenues from expanding Kentucky lottery sales and online games, as well as from Instant Racing if the state Supreme Court upholds the legality of the game.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo says the bill would generate at least $100 million a year to be put into a trust fund for pensions. And he says using money from lottery sales won't hurt scholarship funds tied to lottery profits.

"Those are left harmless, they'll still be funded. And they'll be allowed 2 percent growth in this proposal so they'll still continue to grow," Stumbo said.

Bill Transferring Kentucky Medicaid Late Payments to Insurance Department Clears House Committee

Kenny Colston (KPR) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 19:35:38 +0000

House Speaker Greg Stumbo's bill that would transfer late payments claims in Medicaid managed care has cleared its first committee.

Stumbo Says No Tax Reform This Session

Whitney Jones and The Associated Press — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 13:53:37 +0000

Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo says he doesn't expect a tax reform package vote during the current legislative session. Stumbo says such a package doesn't have the 60 votes necessary to pass in the House.

A special commission appointed by the governor proposed reforms that could generate almost $700 million a year in additional revenue.

House Plans to Move Forward on Redistricting

Kenny Colston (KPR) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 12:40:00 +0000

Kentucky House lawmakers are moving forward with redistricting, despite hesitation from the Senate and pleas from the governor to focus on other issues.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo says the regional caucuses are still working on drawing new maps of their districts. And the main holdup is in Eastern Kentucky, where the 2010 Census showed large drops in population. Despite those issues, Stumbo says he wants to finish redistricting this session.

"Our caucus voted to move forward on redistricting and I didn't look at every hand but it looked like it was a pretty unanimous vote so Democrats in the House want to move on this issue," he said.

House Leaders Considering Instant Racing Legalization to Help Pay for Pensions

Kenny Colston — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 18:14:06 +0000

Kentucky House leaders are considering legalizing Instant Racing across Kentucky to help plug the funding gap in the state's pensions.

House Working to Revamp Senate Pension Bill

Whitney Jones and The Associated Press — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 13:42:09 +0000

Pension reform legislation that passed in the Senate last week is undergoing changes in the House. House Speaker Greg Stumbo says he expects some of the proposed changes to be unveiled this week.

The version that cleared the Republican-controlled Senate requires the state to make its full contribution to the pension system but doesn't identify a funding source to do that. Stumbo says the Democratic-led House wants a designated funding source.