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Tuesday, September 3, 2002
JCAHO Receives Deeming Authority for CAHs
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently approved the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) as a national accrediting organization for critical access hospitals (CAH) seeking to participate in the Medicare program. Following an evaluation, CMS determined that JCAHO standards for CAHs meet or exceed the Medicare conditions of participation. CAHs accredited by JCAHO will be granted deemed status under the Medicare program effective Nov. 21. (Rosalie Weakland, rosaliew@ohanet.org)

Taft to Host Sept. 11 Tribute
Gov. Bob Taft invites all Ohioans to join in a statewide service to remember the victims and recognize the responders of the events of Sept. 11, 2001. “An Ohio Tribute to the American Spirit” will be held Sept. 11 at the Ohio statehouse, on the West Lawn beginning at 8:30 a.m. During the ceremony, Taft will host a statewide moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., the time the first plane hit the World Trade Center, followed by a ringing of the bells at 8:47 a.m. Taft will also recognize more than 300 Ohio disaster responders who bravely served in response to the Sept. 11 attacks. Taft will order flags to fly at half-staff statewide on Sept. 11. More information is available at www.state.oh.us/gov/releases/083002sept11ceremony.htm.

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(Editor’s note: StateHealthClips.com has gone to a subscription service. Please note that the link to access clips will change daily. If you visit www.statehealthclips.com, you will be required to enter a subscriber password. No password is required for the link published in HEALTH e-NEWS Plus.)

Wednesday, September 4, 2002
Court Favors OHA on Medicaid Managed Care Losses
The Ohio Supreme Court today voted 4-3 in favor of OHA regarding negligence suits against the state. In the majority opinion, Justice Deborah L. Cook writes “once the decision has been made to engage in a certain activity or function, the state may be held liable, in the same manner as private parties, for the negligence of the actions its employees and agents in the performance of that activity of function.” The decision was rendered in conjunction with a case raising similar issues. OHA and the Ohio State Medical Association originally filed a lawsuit against the Ohio Department of Insurance and the Ohio Department of Human Services (now the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services) in 1999 for the right to sue the state of Ohio on claims that its negligent oversight of Medicaid managed care providers caused hospitals and physicians to sustain millions of dollars in losses that should have been prevented. The suit was dismissed in lower courts and will return to the court of appeals for further proceedings. (Mary Gallagher, maryg@ohanet.org)

Hospitals, Physicians Work Toward Med Mal Fix
Under consensus that the medical malpractice insurance market is headed for, if not already in, crisis, representatives from hospitals, OHA and the Ohio State Medical Association (OSMA), which represents Ohio physicians, last week met to address the problem and develop insurance and tort reform work plans. The entities agreed that hospitals and physicians, and OSMA and OHA must continue working together on the problem, which had dramatically affected access to services as doctors are forced to retire or leave practices because of increased medical malpractice insurance premiums.

The group will recommend to the OHA Board of Trustees that OHA explore allowing specialty physician groups to form a malpractice self-insurance mechanism as a group with other parties, such as hospitals, providing some of the capital. The group also recommended OHA position itself to respond if a major Ohio medical malpractice insurer leaves the market in the future.

Additionally, the group discussed its tort reform work plan which includes restoring balance to the Ohio Supreme Court, enacting tort reform, including Senate Bills 281, 120 and 179, and developing a long-term strategy to keep the Supreme Court favorable to heath care. OHA’s political action committee, Friends of Ohio Hospitals, has endorsed Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton and Lieutenant Governor Maureen O’Connor in this year’s Ohio Supreme Court races. According to a recent poll published in the Columbus Dispatch, 49 percent of respondents support O’Connor over her opponent Tim Black and Stratton is in a dead heat with Janet R. Burnside, each with 39 percent support. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)

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(Editor’s note: The news clips are being password-protected on the OHA Web site. OHA members will be notified separately of the password. HEALTH e-NEWS Plus subscribers can still access news clips through the daily e-mail without a password.)

Thursday, September 5, 2002
HCAP Payments Altered
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) this week informed OHA that assessment revenues under the Hospital Care Assurance Program (HCAP) were insufficient to obtain the maximum amount of funding allotted to the state from the federal government. Consequently, ODJFS will not be able to make full payments to Ohio hospitals and has reduced total payments slightly by .264125 percent. Hospitals are scheduled to receive payments on Sept. 6 and Sept. 23. With the reduction, each installment will be roughly equal to 49.8679 percent of the total distribution listed for each hospital in the 2002 HCAP final model. Certain providers have not met their assessment obligation this year, leaving the remaining Ohio hospitals unable to maximize the federal funding. Once additional funds are available, ODJFS will make additional payments to hospitals accordingly. Stay tuned to HEALTH e-NEWS Plus and the OHA HCAP Web site at www.ohanet.org/hcaphttp://www.ohanet.org/hcap for further updates. (Ryan Biles, ryanb@ohanet.org)

Ohio Receives Funds to Combat West Nile Virus
Ohio will receive $310,300 as one of 14 states and two cities receiving aid from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to combat West Nile Virus. This money is a portion of the $6 million in funds available immediately to these states from the CDC.

As of last week, Ohio had 40 reported cases of the virus in humans, four resulting in death. Twenty-seven other states have also confirmed human cases of West Nile Virus. In addition to the financial contribution, CDC and the federal government continue to provide technical and scientific support to these states.

West Nile Virus is a disease transmitted through a bite from an infected mosquito, and cannot be passed from person to person. Few mosquitoes are carrying the virus even in areas where the disease has occurred, and less than one percent of people infected by a mosquito experience severe symptoms.

CDC issued a health update to answer questions on the possible effects of West Nile Virus on blood transfusions. This information, as well as other questions and answers regarding West Nile Virus, is available online at www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/q&a.htm. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)

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Friday, September 6, 2002
ODI to Help Docs Find Med Mal Insurance
The Ohio Department of Insurance (ODI) this week unveiled a program designed to assist physicians in obtaining medical malpractice liability insurance coverage and alleviate coverage availability problems in Ohio. The Medical Coverage Assistance Program (MCAP) is a voluntary market assistance program to assist providers in locating potential insurers. Any Ohio physician unable to obtain coverage through one or more medical malpractice carriers is eligible for MCAP assistance. The application and more information are available at www.ohioinsurance.gov. OHA is meeting next week with ODI to discuss the program and other issues related to medical malpractice.

In order to assist physicians experiencing challenges in the current market, ODI is asking all medical malpractice insurers to give at least a 60-day notice when non-renewing a commercial policy, notify policyholders of premium increases at least 60 days prior to renewal and notify ODI 60 days prior to withdrawal from the medical malpractice market. In light of the current situation, physicians this week rallied at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus in conjunction with a series of OSMA-hosted statewide town meetings about the medical malpractice crisis. For more, see www.osma.org/TownMeeting.cfm. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)

CMS Announces Long-Term PPS
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last week issued a final rule creating a prospective payment system for long-term care hospitals. The new system, which is required by statute, is designed to assure appropriate payment for services to severely ill or medically complex patients, while providing incentives to hospitals for more efficient care of Medicare beneficiaries. The final rule, published in the Aug. 30 Federal Register, has a single payment rate for both operating and capital costs, without regard to urban or rural location. The new system, which affects 270 hospitals nationwide, will become effective for cost reporting periods beginning on or after Oct. 1. More information is available at www.cms.hhs.gov/media/press/release.asp?Counter=483.

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