Week 7~Legislative Happenings with the Montana Medical Freedom Alliance
Recap of our mRNA bills
I won’t lie and say that it wasn’t a frustrating week. HB 371, which would have banned mRNA vaccines in humans, was killed in the first House floor vote. The final vote was 34 - 66, with 24 Republicans voting with Democrats in opposition. It’s hard to know all of the reasons why the Republicans voted against it, but some were getting pressured by physicians or hospital lobbyists, some felt it was a personal choice, some truly wanted to keep getting their boosters, and some just seemed to lack the needed courage. It did let us see who the true fighters of medical integrity are and future allies with other difficult bills.
Which brings me to our next bill, HB 418, which would ban mRNA vaccines in animals in Montana. We just can’t seem to stay away from these contentious bills and hopefully we can get through the session without giving our good sponsor, Rep Kmetz, an ulcer.
The committee hearing for HB 418 occurred this afternoon, February 20. It started off well enough with at least twelve witnesses testifying, including two physicians, a vet, a pharmacist, two nurses, multiple ranchers, representatives from US Cattlemen’s Association, R-CALF members, and citizens concerned about their food supply. The hearing went sideways when two vets in opposition to the bill gave inaccurate information multiple times about the properties of the mRNA with no way for rebuttal. I would recommend that anyone who is passionate about this bill to email the ten Republican members of the Ag committee and urge their support:
Melissa.Nikolakakos@legmt.gov 406-223-2380
Braxton.Mitchell@legmt.gov
Russel.Miner@legmt.gov 406-899-4514
Julie.Darling@legmt.gov 406-471-4125
Shane.Klakken@legmt.gov 406-217-6107
Greg.Kmetz@legmt.gov 406-853-1636 (he’s the sponsor- just thank him)
Greg.Oblander@legmt.gov 406-652-3553
Morgan.Thiel@legmt.gov 406-480-6271
Eric.Tilleman@legmt.gov
Zack.Wirth@legmt.gov 406-750-5852
If you’d like to watch the hearing, click here. The committee will most likely vote on the bill Tuesday, February 25th. If you are going to email or call the committee, do it soon!
Another bill that we are engaged with is HB 377, sponsored by Nelly Nicol. We are working with the Montana Family Foundation in supporting the bill, and I will forward their URGENT CALL TO ACTION:
Representative Nelly Nicol's "HB 377: Generally revise access by parent to child patient health care information" is a priority for the Foundation. Presently in Montana when a child turns 13 many hospitals and medical providers are requiring a child grant access to their parent to gain access to their medical records. This is absurd! HB 377 seeks to fix this problem. Children should not be allowing parents to fulfill their role. In the case of many parents this has been detrimental to their ability to support their children through difficult stages they are going through.
Bill Information and Text
Presently the bill is held up in the House Human Services Committee. In order to pass it out, we need every Republican to vote yet as we won't get any Democrat support. We currently do not have the following individuals:
1. Rep. Valerie Moore
2. Rep. George Nikolakakos
They have had a significant amount of pressure from their local health providers to oppose the bill for two primary reasons:
1. The 3-day time limit to get the medical records to the parent after request is apparently unworkable even though the records are digital and can be sent with the click of a button. We are trying to show good faith with their concerns though and the sponsor has brought an amendment to give them 10-days, more than 3x the amount of time from what the initial bill stated.
2. (This is the one we won't move on.) They want to add in HIPAA standards to the bill regarding medical records that will result in an entire gutting of the intent of the bill. This change is unnecessary because the bill already provides 3 different exemptions to them having to provide medical records which cover their concerns.
We really need to get some messages and calls in to these two individuals urging them to vote yes on this bill. If you are concerned about this issue and willing to help, I have talking points below, as well as ways to reach these two representatives.
Talking Points
1. Concern: The 3-day time limit to get parents medical records is too tight and impossible for medical record assistants to comply with.
Response: The sponsor has addressed this concern by bringing an amendment to allow for 10 days versus 3.
2. Concern: In order to protect children's privacy and protect them from abusive parents, we need to add in HIPAA guidelines.
Response: Doctors/Pediatricians are already mandatory reporters and have full authority to report any concerns of abuse to the appropriate agency. This bill does nothing to limit this. We care about protecting children too. If a doctor chooses to report an abusive/potentially abusive situation taking place, an exemption provided in the bill already under Section 6, sub-section C that states: "The access to health care information by a child's parent that is required to be provided under 19 subsection (5) does not apply when: (C) the parent is the subject of an investigation or proceeding involving allegations that the parent: (i) has committed a crime against the child in violation of state, tribal, or federal law; or 25 (ii) has committed child abuse or neglect, as defined in 41-3-102, against the child."
**This is a parent's rights bill. As a parent/guardian we must maintain access to our children's health records to be able to actually support them through difficult challenges they are facing. When we are limited, our children are put at greater risk by not getting the support at home or beyond that they need.
Contact Methods
1. Legislative Info Desk (Open 8am-5pm Mon-Fri): (406) 444-4800 - Ask to leave a message for Rep. George Nikolakakos and Rep. Valerie Moore to vote YES for HB 377.
2. (Most Impactful) Call the Representatives on their preferred contact numbers.
a. Rep. George Nikolakakos: 406-823-0363; George.Nikolakakos@legmt.gov
b. Rep. Valerie Moore: (406) 385-7983; Valerie.Moore@legmt.gov
Lastly, if you know of others who care about this issue, please feel free to forward this email to them specifically and request they reach out as well. We especially want to demonstrate that there are healthcare professionals in Montana who support this change in law where possible.
Our deadline to get these messages and calls in is this week. The bill will likely have Executive Action early next week where the vote will take place.
We are regularly updating our legislative tracker here as well as on our website. More good bills to come!
Thank you all for engaging in the legislative process and helping to RESTORE INTEGRITY TO HEALTHCARE.