Issue Position: Health Care & Community Services

Issue Position

"Since becoming your State Representative, I've been an advocate for those who need and provide quality health care. Back in 2003, I was proud to be part of the tort reforms we passed, so that medical staffs can worry about their patients, not lawsuits. More recently, during the 81st Legislative Session, which ended June 1, lawmakers faced some new health care challenges. But as the saying goes, with challenges come opportunities.

One of those unique opportunities for me was being asked by House Speaker Joe Straus to serve as the Chair of the Public Health Committee. Since accepting the gavel, I've been honored to preside over one of the most important House committees, and one that affects you and your loved ones directly." --- Lois

*As the Chair of the House Public Health Committee, Kolkhorst sponsored several healthcare policy initiatives, and has worked with many local doctors, dentists, nurses and other health care providers in all four counties she represents.

*She worked hard sponsoring Senate Bill 346 to improve the Texas immunization registry. The bill was passed on the heels of the H1N1 flu scare, and allows for a person's childhood immunization records to be carried over into adulthood, if the person so chooses. Currently, records are deleted when a child becomes 18 but in many instances, a person would prefer to have records retained.

*She wrote and passed House Bill 4471, which will help fill an estimated shortage of 22,000 nurses across Texas, increasing the incentives schools receive for hiring more nursing teachers and graduating more nurses. House Bill 4471 also resulted in an accompanying $30 million budget increase for the Nursing Shortage Reduction Program, created by Kolkhorst in 2007. Early estimates indicate the amendment will increase the local Blinn nursing program by $320,000 over the next two years. She's even been awarded by the Texas Hospital Association for her efforts to increase funds to our nursing education programs.

*As the sponsor for legislation (Senate Bill 527) to toughen the standards on mammography facilities that fail an inspection, Lois made sure we require the facility to notify patients who recently received a mammography prior to inspection.

*She sponsored legislation to require more drug price transparency within large state pharmacy benefit management contracts (PBMs). The provision may save state taxpayer dollars and also lower prescription prices for thousands of active and retired state employees, retired teachers, and employees of UT and Texas A&M. To further help to lower pharmaceutical costs by ordering a state study of prescription data mining, by sponsoring Senate Bill 646.

*Working with local childhood cancer activists who have been touched by childhood cancer in our area, she pushed to include a new ad hoc committee seat for childhood cancer advocates to the new Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.

*She also promoted and enhanced the Brenham State School. She's worked closely with family advocacy groups to help Texans who have been touched by mental retardation. She's been a supporter for Brenham State School and has fought to protect the school from unfair attacks by those who want to close all institutional care.

*She supported legislation to increase funding and reporting standards within state schools, as well as to carefully scrutinize "community homes."

*In 2009, she worked on a crucial amendment to House Bill 1454 to protect state schools from entering into a controversial pilot program that would have allowed advocacy groups to remove someone from state schools against the wishes of family members.

*Lois supports health care solutions that improve the health for all Texans, but at the same time won't bleed the taxpayers to death. To help those who can't afford health insurance, she's voted in the past for reasonable government programs that assist our most needy Texans, such as the Children's Health Insurance Program.

* As a longtime budget-writer, she's worked directly to improve medical schools and research institutions like M.D. Anderson, UT Health Science Center-Houston, UT Southwestern in Dallas and UTMB along with the Texas A&M and Texas Tech Medical Schools.

*The Texas Council on Family Violence worked with Lois to pass legislation that empowers family violence victims and service providers by guaranteeing that a renter cannot be evicted simply for reporting a domestic dispute in their home.

*To help low-income senior citizens, she helped secure almost $500,000 through the Home Investment Partnership Program for the town of Sealy. The program replaces derelict, code-deficient homes that are currently occupied by needy Texans.

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