As the Legislature tackles dramatic topics such as medical malpractice insurance costs and Workers Compensation, there are many issues we're discussing that will receive very little attention, but are of critical importance. Last week, my fellow members of the House Health and Human Resources Committee and I listened to a presentation about a major health problem among West Virginia's children which continues to quietly spread: obesity.
Our committee adopted a resolution asking the Joint Committee on Government and Finance to conduct a study of what we could only refer to as a childhood obesity "epidemic." Severely overweight children often are not getting proper nutrition or exercise and their obesity can lead to chronic diseases. The situation must be taken seriously.
Consider the facts presented to us by state Bureau of Public Health:
* Forty percent of West Virginia's children have been found to be overweight or obese, according to a 2001 survey.
* There is a severe lack of physical activity among kids in this state, with 22 percent of middle and high school students age 12 to 18 reporting they engage in little or no strenuous physical activity. Less than 40 percent of school age children can pass the President's Physical Fitness Test, according to the state Department of Education.
* Only 18 percent of children eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, while a 2000 study showed that 60 percent of West Virginia fifth-graders consume high-fat diets, 46 percent had elevated cholesterol and 18 percent had high blood pressure.
This isn't a question of vanity. Obesity is associated with Type II diabetes, coronary heart disease, and other illnesses. Physicians agree that excessive weight should be addressed early in life, but the solution will require a multi-faceted approach. There must be parent education, diet management and behavior modification. It will have to involve not only parents, but health officials, researchers, educators - and certainly legislators.
The Health and Human Resources Committee submitted the suggested study resolution to the full House late last week, and the House approved it Friday. The resolution requires the Joint Committee on Government and Finance to report back to the Legislature during the current session with recommendations and draft legislation.
Meanwhile, I'm continuing to monitor with great interest the status of House's four major pieces of legislation now that they have traveled to the Senate for consideration.
As I mentioned in my previous column, the House has already adopted bills which offer solutions to the problems of the medical malpractice crisis; the insolvency of the Workers Compensation Fund; the dangers all-terrain vehicles pose to children; and an overly costly higher education system. Long before the session began, the House leadership gauged what concepts the majority of delegates would like to be included in each piece of legislation, and the chairs of the major committees started working on proposed legislation as early as two months ago. As a result, consensus in the House came quickly.
But the ball is now in the Senate's court.
Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin has said he would like the Senate to finish work on the four bills almost as rapidly as the House did. But some differences are already surfacing, so it's likely that the House and Senate will soon be engaged in negotiation.
The Senate Transportation Committee made changes to the all-terrain vehicle safety bill before advancing it to the Senate Judiciary Committee. While the requirement that children under the age of 18 wear helmets was left in tact, the Senate version would allow ATV riders to travel up to 25 miles along the berm of highways, whereas the House bill would only allow riders to travel briefly along a berm, such as in order to get from one trail to another. Meanwhile, at least one senator has announced plans to amend more safety restrictions into the bill once it reaches the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Brooks McCabe has been working on his own Workers Compensation legislation, which would differ drastically from the House version in the method used to pay down the $2.5 billion debt. He proposes using a payroll tax, to be paid 50-50 by employers and employees, whereas the House bill would garner $20 million annually from the consolidation, merger or closure of two higher education institutions, as well as through other cuts in higher education. As I write this column the Senate Judiciary Committee is still trying to determine how much the tax should earn annually.
Another bill very likely to be the subject of House-Senate negotiation is the medical-malpractice legislation. The House approved its bill by a vast majority - an 84-14 vote - but the Senate Judiciary Committee members many have some different ideas, and lobbyists for insurance companies, trial lawyers and physicians are surely working hard to sway them.
It will come as no surprise to my constituents that a new Marshall University survey found that 94 percent of those polled want the Legislature to take action to stop skyrocketing malpractice insurance costs. Legislators feel that pressure, and it's my hope that we can come to a timely consensus.
* I welcome and appreciate your input on these issues, or any other legislative matter. Please call me at (304)340-3106 or write to Delegate Virginia Mahan, 215-E, Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305.