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 February 2008
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. State Legislatures Start Sessions
With so much attention focused on the upcoming Presidential elections, it’s easy to forgot that most state legislatures are already in session this year. Although it promises to be a slower year, many significant bills were introduced in January. ASC State Affairs Staff are tracking more than 60 bills in addition to the 120+ bills that were carried over from 2007. Of those new bills, over half deal with trauma or medical liability reforms, while the remaining bills deal with issues such as insurance coverage, office-based surgery, scope-of-practice issues, patient safety, and more. Some highlights include: As always, if you know of any legislation in your state the ACS should know about, or if you would like the College’s help on a legislative issue, please contact Mindy Baker, State Affairs Associate, at mbaker@facs.org or call at 312-202-5363.
Steps Begin for Statewide Trauma System in South Dakota
California Health Coverage Proposal RejectedLate last month, a Senate committee rejected a health coverage proposal supported by Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger. The governor and legislative leaders had been negotiating for over a year to come up with a plan. While a number of factors came together to defeat the proposal, the most critical was the potential cost of the proposal ($14.9 billion) combined with a looming state budget deficit of over $14.5 billion. Had the proposal passed the Senate, it would have gone to the voters in a November referendum. Georgia Hospitals Sue Surgeons
As promised, the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals and the Georgia Hospital Association filed their lawsuit against the Board on December 31, and included Albany Surgical PC as a defendant – essentially attacking Georgia surgeons for the regulatory actions of a government body. In response, the Medical Association of Georgia filed to intervene in the lawsuit, and the American College of Surgeons set in motion efforts to file an amicus. With considerable political antagonism and hostility surrounding the entire CON process, hopes for a legislative solution appear dim at best. New York Office-based Surgery Standards EnhancedOn December 27, 2007, the New York State Department of Health released its list of nationally recognized organizations that have been approved to accredit physician offices that perform office-based surgery (OBS) procedures. These accrediting organizations include the: Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care; American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities, Inc.; and The Joint Commission. Full accreditation of surgeon offices is required by July 7, 2009, for surgeons performing office-based procedures, which are defined as “any surgical or other invasive procedure performed outside of a hospital, diagnostic and treatment center or other Article 28 facility in which moderate sedation or deep sedation or general anesthesia is utilized to provide comfort to the patient in order to perform the procedure.” In addition, as of Monday, January 14, adverse events must be reported to the New York State Department of Health Patient Safety Center. For further information, visit the Department of Health Web site at http://www.health.state.ny.us and click on “Office Based Surgery” in the top left corner.
Past Issues of ACS Cross Country:
Revised February 6, 2008
by the American College of Surgeons, Chicago, IL 60611-3211 |
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On January 29, the South Dakota Senate voted 31-3 to adopt SB 200. This bill, requested by Gov. Mike Rounds, establishes a statewide trauma system including a trauma registry. Under terms of the bill, the Department of Health would be responsible for developing rules to implement the system and registry, including trauma hospital level designations, prehospital emergency medical services triage and treatment protocols, and requirements for collection and release of trauma registry data. 
Following months of comment; a public hearing with extensive testimony in support of general surgeons from Georgia ACS Chapter representatives, the American College of Surgeons, and other surgical and medical organizations; support of the state’s governor for general surgery; and last-minute objections from a hastily arranged meeting of the Georgia House Health and Human Services Committee, the state’s Board of Community Health officially adopted rules on December 13 to amend the Certificate-of-Need (CON) program. On a unanimous vote and under the threat of a lawsuit from opponents of the amendment, the Board of Community Health recognized general surgery as a single specialty for purposes of applying for an exemption from the CON process when building an ambulatory surgery center.