News Releases / Newsletter - Donny Lambeth NC House District 75

Newsletter

News From Raleigh - is the weekly newsletter recapping the week's activities.  Below are links to view:

NEWS RELEASE  March 19, 2015         
Lewis, L. Hall, Lambeth, Avila File NC Cancer Treatment Fairness Bill

           Raleigh, NC- Yesterday, Rep. David Lewis (R-Harnett), Rep. Larry Hall (D-Durham), Rep. Donny Lambeth (R-Forsyth) and Rep. Marilyn Avila (R-Wake) filed HB 306 NC Cancer Treatment Fairness Act. This bill meets the vital needs of many North Carolinians by improving access to life saving oral cancer medications, some of which are the most effective medications on the market today.
          This bill also seeks to address a serious healthcare issue. Out of pocket expenses for patients prescribed an oral cancer treatment regime are cost prohibitive. In fact, studies show that 25% of patients chose not to fill prescriptions when the out of pocket expenses hit $500 a month. 
          Scientists and Oncologists across the nation recognize the cost savings in total treatment costs for oral therapies over traditional IV medications. Currently, oral cancer drugs can be extremely costly for patients because insurance plan design has not kept pace with advances in chemotherapy treatment.  This is unfairly penalizing patients utilizing newly created orally cancer drugs, and it’s time to recognize the industry wide savings that a more broad based distribution of oral cancer therapies can bring to the health care system. A study by Prime Therapeutics, a pharmacy benefits manager for insurance companies, says that “high out-of-pocket costs may have an impact on patient care and therefore long-term costs.”
          The old “one size fits all” cancer treatment adversely affects many families and access to an oral chemotherapy drug would lift the burden of expensive and time consuming treatments.
          “Expanding treatment options to cost saving drugs that prove to be extremely effective is the right thing to do for the people of North Carolina,” said Rep. Lewis. “There is no good reason that a person should have to choose to take an IV drug over an oral drug because of a co-pay differential. This bill simply increases access to an effective form of treatment that is often preferable to IV chemotherapy.”
           Rep. Lewis is in his seventh term as a North Carolina State House Representative and is Chairman of the Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House and Elections Committees.
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GUEST EDITORIAL June 12, 2014
From the Office of
Representative Donny Lambeth

To the Editor:

Strong disagreements and debates regarding the best direction for our State occur often in Raleigh. However, there is one topic on which we all agree – Medicaid must be reformed. The path we are on is not sustainable.

Governor McCrory, the House, and the provider community are aligned in their solution for reform. The basic platform would be structured around an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) that would accept full risks for managing and coordinating care across all disciplines of care with payment set under a capitated, fixed rate of payment. An ACO can be defined as a set of health care providers – including primary care physicians, specialists, and hospitals that work collaboratively and accept collective accountability for the cost and quality of care delivered to a population of patients. Providers would be rewarded for improving quality of care and reducing costs for their eligible Medicaid populations.

Currently, inefficiencies, poor outcomes, lack of care coordination, and competing incentives exist that often result in higher costs and frequent budget gaps in the current plan. For example, approximately one-half (50%) of the Medicaid patients who visit one of our state’s emergency rooms are classified as “non-emergent.” Emergency Rooms are the highest cost treatment areas in hospitals. Consequently, the ER serves as a patient’s primary care practice. Better coordination would result in improved quality, lower costs, and a more reasonable, fair, and equitable economic model for the State.

The provider community is ready to accept this responsibility. The momentum to reform Medicaid is present. Let’s not miss this opportunity. The time is now to move forward. Anything less is irresponsible. Let’s change the course we are on to one that will be a model for other states across the nation.  


If you have questions or comments, please contact:
Representative Donny C. Lambeth or
Panthea Briles, Legislative Assistant
(919) 733-5747

NEWS RELEASE  March 27, 2013         
                              HANES AND LAMBETH
                  TO INTRODUCE HOUSE BILL HB 428

           Representatives Edward Hanes and Donny Lambeth, 75th District, have introduced HB 428 to make school bus stops safer for all children.  The NC State Institution for Transportation, Research, and Education estimates that 3200 vehicles illegally pass stopped school buses every day, which would equal approximately 576 thousand violations each school year - a disturbing number.  In Forsyth county alone, an estimated 80 vehicles pass stopped school buses on a daily bases or 14,400 violations each year.
           In December 2012, Hasani Wesley, a sixth-grade student at East Forsyth Middle School, was killed while boarding his bus as a vehicle ran the bus stop arm.  A second grader at Gibson Elementary was struck on January 7th as a vehicle passed her school bus with the stop arm out.  Tragically, only weeks after North Carolina's Operation Stop Arm that raises awareness of stop are violations, Adam Kempf, a Harnett County middle school student was killed as a result of a stop arm violation. 
           "We must do all we can to make the public aware of this serious issue and be cautious around school buses as they approach stops," Lambeth said.
           According to Lambeth, this bill increases the penalties and fines for violators.  School boards across the state are encouraged to start installing cameras on buses as an additional means to identifying violators.  Additional research is being investigated to increase student safety that includes extending bus stop arms to make them more visible.  Our students are our most precious resources and we must increase the awareness among drivers to pay attention and be very cautious around out school buses; always watch for the unexpected.
           If you have questions, please call:  Edward Hanes (919) 733-5829 or Donny Lambeth (919) 733-5747.
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                                                   NEWS RELEASE  March 6, 2013         
             LAMBETH TO INTRODUCE HOUSE BILL HB 235

           On Wednesday, March 6, Representative Donny C. Lambeth, 75th District, filed HB 235 an act that would require parental consent before a child is allowed to drop out of school.  Representatives Marcus Brandon, Nathan Ramsey, and Chris Whitmire are primary sponsors of this bill. 
           Schools across the nation are focusing on improving the graduation rate and keeping students in school.  North Carolina is moving positively in this effort, going from a drop-out rate of 6.43% in 2006 to 3.01% in 2012.  In today's global economy, having earned a high school diploma is critical when entering the workforce. 
           Taking away the decision to drop out from the student and requiring parental involvement in the decision-making process is a step in the right direction.  We still have a lot to do; however, attaining a high school diploma can only lead to a brighter future for these young adults.  We owe it to our children to make certain we have exhausted every means possible in preparing them for work. 
           For questions, please contact:  Panthea Briles (919) 733-5747

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                                                   NEWS RELEASE  March 5, 2013         
             LAMBETH TO INTRODUCE HOUSE BILL HB 196

           On Tuesday, March 5, Representative Donny C. Lambeth, 75th District, will introduce HB196, to clarify the process by which the Winston-Salem / Forsyth County Board of Education will fill an unexpired term of a member on its Board.
           In North Carolina, the majority of Boards of Education have the responsibility to fill a vacancy when one occurs.  Current state statute which defines the process for the Winston-Salem / Forsyth County Board of Education is vague and unclear as it relates to filling a vacancy.  This oversight was highlighted recently as Representative Lambeth resigned his seat on the Winston-Salem / Forsyth County Board of Education to assume his new role in the North Carolina House of Representatives. 
           This local bill will clearly define the process and delineate the responsibility. 
          
           Additional Primary Sponsors: Debra Conrad and Julia Howard.
      
           Citizens may contact Donny in Raleigh at  [email protected].

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PAID FOR BY THE COMMITTEE TO ELECT DONNY LAMBETH

Donny C. Lambeth
NC House of Representatives
75th District - Forsyth County
Donny.Lambe[email protected]