COMANCHE COUNTY DEMOCRAT

HOUSE APPROVES BILL INCREASING MEDICAL CARE FOR ELDERLY

OKLAHOMA CITY (March 15, 2007) - Legislation that could increase the number of doctors specializing in geriatric care in rural Oklahoma easily passed out of the Oklahoma House of Representatives

House Bill 1830, by state Rep. Ryan Kiesel (D-Seminole), creates the Oklahoma Geriatric Medical Loan Repayment Program. The program would provide educational loan repayment assistance for up to five Oklahoma  licensed physicians each year who have completed a fellowship training program in geriatrics, including geropsychiatry.  Each loan recipient would be eligible for $25,000 in annual assistance for up to five years.

In exchange, the doctors receiving financial assistance from the state would agree to provide medical care in high-need areas of Oklahoma.

"The demand for access to affordable and quality health care is rising at an exponential rate and it makes perfect sense for Oklahoma to provide an incentive for medical students to specialize in fields where the demand will continue to increase and then, when they graduate, to give them a further incentive to serve patients in high-need areas, including rural Oklahoma. The quality of healthcare an Oklahoman receives should not depend on what part of the state they live in," said Kiesel.

The bill passed the House on a 99-1 vote.

A recent report by the Oklahoma State University Center for Rural Health highlights the need for more doctors in rural Oklahoma. The report indicated residents of rural counties in Oklahoma experience
greater mortality and poor medical conditions.

Kiesel noted that the average age of someone living in rural Oklahoma is also much older than the average age in urban areas, creating a strong demand for geriatric care. According to the Oklahoma State University Center for Rural Health report, 15 percent of the population in rural areas is age 65 or older, compared to just 11 percent in urban areas. At the same time, there is just one primary care physician for every 1,535 people in rural counties, compared to one doctor for every 740 people in an urban area.

"Oklahoma's aging population will result in a greater demand for geriatric medicine and it is imperative that we have doctors with this specialty practicing in all areas of the state," said Kiesel.

House Bill 1830 will now proceed to state Senate for consideration.

HOUSE TABOR DEAD FOR THIS SESSION

Good news!  HJR 1024 did not come up for a vote yesterday in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.  Since Thursday, March 15 was the deadline for bills to be heard on the floor (3rd Reading) in the house of origin, HJR 1024 if effectively dead for this session.  HJR 1024 was a proposed constitutional amendment which would lower the existing limit on annual appropriations growth from 12 percent adjusted for inflation to six percent adjusted for inflation.  It also stipulated that the limit should equal the highest limit in any preceding year.  This would have created a more restrictive formula for determining the revenues available for appropriation.

Sean W. Voskuhl, Associate State Director
AARP Oklahoma
(405) 715-4475
Fax:  (405) 844-7772
swvoskuhl@aarp.org

LEGISLATION PROVIDES FOR AUTOMATIC RATE INCREASES FOR UTILITY IMPROVEMENTS BEFORE EQUIPMENT IS PUT ON LINE

Editor: This information is provided by Jack Wellborn, AARP Volunteer Specialist

Feb 6, 2007

Rate Adjustment Charges for Transmission – HB 1486 & SB 629

• The bill requires the Commission to adopt rules that would add a new charge to consumers’ electric bills related to the financing costs of utility generation and transmission investment, prior to the time the facilities are put into service.  This is in addition to the existing surcharges already permitted in law for recovery of costs outside of a rate case.   

• AARP opposes any sort of rate increase without a full review by the Commission to determine its reasonableness.         

• The imposition of the charge proposed in HB 1486 and SB 629 unfairly shifts the responsibility for financing utility investment from shareholders to ratepayers. Oklahoma law is already generous to utilities in permitting cost recovery outside of a rate case.

• This bill would unfairly shift responsibility for financing utility investment to consumers.   For any business, investors fund new facilities, and are rewarded for this investment through the “return” they receive for having made an investment. The same holds true for regulated utilities. Traditionally, shareholders and bondholders fund utility investment; the regulatory agency determines whether the investments are proper under law and then sets rates that allow a utility to recover its costs, including a “return” on investment. 

• The rate adjustment charge shifts responsibility and risk from the utility and its shareholders, onto the ratepayers thus eliminating the utility’s incentive to finance and manage investments in the most economical and efficient way possible. 

• If a rate adjustment charge is adopted, the law should mandate that the rate of return allowed in utility rates is reduced to reflect the considerably reduced risk to shareholders.  If ratepayers are given the responsibility for financing investment that isn’t even serving them yet, they should also be rewarded with lower rates that reflect a reduced rate of return.