STATE OF OKLAHOMA

2nd Session of the 52nd Legislature (2010)

SENATE BILL 2136	By:	Johnson (Constance)

AS INTRODUCED

An Act relating to public health and safety; stating legislative findings; creating the Community Health Worker Program Development Committee; stating purpose of certain committee; specifying duties of certain committee; providing for membership; directing the members of certain committee to serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority; providing for the selection of a chair and vice-chair; requiring quorum for final action; providing for travel reimbursement; directing staff support; providing for noncodification; providing for codification; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.     NEW LAW     A new section of law not to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes reads as follows:
The Legislature finds that:
1.  Increased attention is being given across the nation to the role of community health workers as effective components of a health care team and workforce;
2.  A March 2007 Community Health Workers National Workforce Study reported that, during the past decade, private insurers, business enterprises and the federal government have proposed and implemented changes in health care delivery and financing due to the high cost of providing adequate health care to the population at-large;
3.  Based on this study, the use of community health workers can be a cost-effective strategy and addition to the health care workforce in addressing the health care needs of communities that are disproportionately at risk of poor health outcomes; and
4.  There is a need to create a statewide training and certification program for community health worker alliances, community leaders, health professionals, and others interested in the public health workforce.
SECTION 2.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2061 of Title 63, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A.  There is hereby created the Community Health Worker Program Development Committee to study issues involved in developing a statewide training and certification program for community health worker alliances, community leaders, health professionals, and others interested in the public health workforce.
B.  The purpose of the Committee shall be to study ways to bring community health workers into the public health mainstream and to establish a community health safety net as a natural extension of health and human services agencies in order to improve health outcomes at the neighborhood level.
C.  The Committee shall:
1.  Review and assess community health worker programs currently in operation around the nation;
2.  Study the feasibility of establishing a standardized curriculum for community health workers;
3.  Study the options for certification of community health workers and the settings in which certification may be appropriate;
4.  Assess available methods to evaluate the success of community health worker programs;
5.  Create, oversee, and advise local pilot projects established under this section, subject to the availability of appropriations; and
6.  Evaluate the feasibility of seeking a federal waiver to provide for the inclusion of community health worker services as a Medicaid reimbursable service.
D.  The Committee shall consist of nine (9) members.  Members of the Committee shall be appointed as follows:
1.  The Governor shall appoint three members representing the Oklahoma Task Force to Eliminate Health Disparities;
2.  The President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall appoint three members representing health advocacy groups; and
3.  The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint three members representing health professionals.
E.  The members of the Committee shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority.
F.  The Committee shall select a chair and vice-chair from among the members.
G.  A quorum of the Committee shall be required for any final action by the committee.
H.  Members of the Committee shall receive no compensation for their service, but shall be reimbursed for necessary travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties in accordance with the State Travel Reimbursement Act.
I.  Staff support for the Committee shall be provided by the State Department of Health.
SECTION 3.  This act shall become effective November 1, 2010.

52-2-3433	JM	1/14/2010 2:08:11 PM