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April 2006
Note: Questions relating to state legislative activity or any of the items noted in ACS Cross Country may be directed to Mindy Baker, State Affairs Associate, at mbaker@facs.org.
Bariatric Surgery Bill Enacted in Indiana
Classic textbook grassroots advocacy proved successful for the Indiana Obesity Coalition in the enactment of legislation to address problems with the state’s mandatory insurance coverage law for bariatric surgery. SB 266, unanimously passed by the House and Senate and signed by the governor on March 20, made common-sense statutory changes including: the protection of the physician in cases where patients cannot be located for tracking purposes (the law required monitoring of the patient for five years following the operation); the preservation of the confidentiality of the physician and institution when reporting deaths and complications to the Department of Health; and the reduction of the 18 consecutive month preoperative nonsurgical physician supervised weight loss period to only six months. To read the full text of the bill visit: http://www.in.gov/legislative/bills/2006/PDF/SE/SE0266.1.pdf.
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Not-For-Profit Hospital Billing Practices Under Scrutiny
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Congress, state governments, and the courts are taking a close look at the billing practices of not-for-profit hospitals, especially as they relate to uninsured patients. Recent media reports of hospitals charging the uninsured full price for services (and pursuing aggressive collection efforts), while accepting discount arrangements for patients with health insurance, have added to governmental scrutiny. The attorneys general of Kansas and Illinois have responded by opening investigations and introducing legislative proposals, respectively, to deal with the issue. On the federal level, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, has pushed for transparency in hospital pricing and recently requested information from the American Hospital Association related to methods used by hospitals to determine prices and discounts for services. Unless hospitals come up with their own plan for pricing transparency, the White House and Congress have stated they will develop a plan for them.
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Tennessee Legislation Provides Immunity from Liability
In an effort to address concerns that the Good Samaritan Act does not go far enough in providing immunity from liability in catastrophic emergency situations or major disasters, the Tennessee House unanimously passed HB 2526 on a 94-0 vote. Specifically, this legislation permits the governor to issue an executive order during a declared emergency that may provide limited liability protection to health care providers including hospitals and community medical health care centers that are providing services to victims or evacuees of a catastrophic or major disaster. The bill is now under consideration in the Senate, where it is also expected to pass with little or no opposition.
Currently, Tennessee offers protection to those health care providers who leave the state to help at the site of a disaster, but not to those providers who care for victims of a disaster that are brought into the state.
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Washington State Medical Liability Reform Enacted
After a few years of battles in the legislature and at the ballot box among physicians, trial attorneys, hospitals, consumer groups, and insurers, Gov. Christine Gregoire signed compromise medical liability reform legislation on March 6. The legislation, which was originally brokered by the governor, focuses on a few areas but does not address caps on noneconomic damages. While many legislators and physicians felt the legislation does not go far enough, there was consensus that this was the best they could do in the current legislative session.
Washington State HB 2292
- I’m sorry provision permitting doctors to apologize without it being used in a lawsuit
- Expanded authority to the insurance commissioner to regulate medical liability insurance rates and to collect closed claims data
- Increased reporting requirements for medical errors in hospitals
- Requirement that a certificate of merit be filed
- Imposed eight-year statute of limitations
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Wisconsin Legislature Caps Noneconomic Damages – Again
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Gov. Jim Doyle
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For months, the Wisconsin legislature has been battling with the governor to re-enact caps on noneconomic damages in medical liability cases. Last year, the state Supreme Court ruled that the state’s cap was unconstitutional, and the first try by the legislature to re-enact a cap was vetoed by the governor in December 2005. It finally got it right in early March, by passing legislation with a veto-proof majority to impose a $750,000 cap on noneconomic damages. Gov. Jim Doyle signed the bill into law on March 22, noting it was a reasonable compromise. Legal experts consulted by the governor also felt it would pass constitutional muster.
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Past Issues of ACS Cross Country:
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ACS State Affairs
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Division of Advocacy and Health Policy
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Jon H. Sutton
Manager, State Affairs
Chicago Headquarters
312-202-5358
jsutton@facs.org |
Mindy Baker
State Affairs Associate
Chicago Headquarters
312-202-5363
mbaker@facs.org |
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Revised April 6, 2006
Advocacy and Health Policy
This page and all contents are Copyright © 2003-2006
by the American College of Surgeons, Chicago, IL 60611-3211
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