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Monday, December 2, 2002
OHA Peer Review Bill Passes Another Hurdle
Legislation to modernize Ohio’s peer review law today passed the House Civil and Commercial Law Committee by a 7-2 vote. Senate Bill 179, sponsored by Sen. Lynn Wachtmann (R-Napoleon), would allow a legal presumption that a hospital did not negligently credential a physician as long as the hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations or the American Osteopathic Association. It would also specify that incident and risk management reports are considered peer review documents and would be confidential, giving physicians assurances that they can participate in peer review processes without fear of being subpoenaed into court or sued for calling into question medical practices of their peers, facilitating ongoing quality improvement in a hospital. OHA is working to secure a House floor vote on the bill. OHA encourages hospitals to contact their state representative and urge support of SB 179.

SB 179 is one of three OHA-supported tort reform bills winding through the legislature. Other bills are Senate Bill 120, which would link medical malpractice liability to actual responsibility, and Senate Bill 281, which would cap non-economic damages in medical malpractice jury awards, among other things. Details of SB 120 and SB 281 are still being worked out. OHA will monitor the bills and keep member hospitals apprised of how they can be involved in tort reform advocacy efforts. (Bridget Gargan, bridgetg@ohanet.org)

Hospitals Reminded to Return Smallpox Surveys
As part of the Ohio Department of Health’s (ODH) preparation of a plan to address the possibility of a smallpox bioterrorism event, hospitals were asked to estimate the number of volunteer health care workers requiring immunization as the first step in combating the disease. OHA reminds hospitals to return completed surveys to OHA or their regional allied associations by the date noted on the survey. ODH will assimilate this information into its plan, which must be submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by Dec. 9.

The surveys are one piece of the national effort to establish a three-phase plan to respond to a potential smallpox event. The first phase involves the voluntary immunization of health care workers who would treat the first smallpox patients requiring admission, the second phase is the voluntary immunization of first-responders, EMS and additional health care workers, and phase three consists of voluntary immunization for the general public. For more information on this plan, read an article in the Nov. 29 OHA News at http://www.ohanet.org/OHANews/. OHA will continue to provide member hospitals with updates. (Carol Jacobson, carolj@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.)

Tuesday, December 3, 2002
Tort Bills Still Undecided
Three pending tort reform bills to address the medical malpractice insurance crisis are being heard today on the House floor. The bills are Senate Bill 120, to link liability to actual responsibility, Senate Bill 179, to modernize the peer review process, and Senate Bill 281, to cap non-economic damages.

OHA has concerns with two provisions of SB 281. One provision would create a committee to develop a risk pool to cover catastrophic claims, which could result in assessments on hospital and other health care providers. Second, the cap on non-economic damages would apply to each plaintiff, meaning several individuals could each receive a jury award for each case of medical malpractice. As currently drafted, the caps range from $300,000 to $1 million.

Additionally, there is controversial debate today surrounding a provision in SB 120 that would address product liability. If the provision is not stripped from the legislation, it could jeopardize support for the bill among the business community and SB 120 will likely head to conference committee to work out the differences. Stay tuned to HEALTH e-NEWS Plus for updates on the tort reform legislation. (Bridget Gargan, bridgetg@ohanet.org)

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Wednesday, December 4, 2002
Two Tort Bills Head to Governor; One Stalled
Two of the three OHA-supported tort reform bills are on their way to Gov. Bob Taft for his signature. The Senate today concurred with changes made by the House of Representatives to Senate Bill 120, to link liability to actual responsibility, and Senate Bill 179, to modernize Ohio’s peer review process. If the governor signs the bills, they will be effective 90 days following his signature.

The Senate did not concur with House changes to Senate Bill 281, to cap non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits. The legislation goes to a conference committee tomorrow, where the House and Senate must work out differences on the bill before it can go to the governor for his signature. (Bridget Gargan, bridgetg@ohanet.org)

Focus on Conflict of Interest Legislation Continues
The House health committee heard testimony today in support of House Bill 666 addressing the conflict of interest issue. Jean Mitchell, Ph.D., one of the top researchers in the U.S. on physician self-referral and a professor of public policy with Georgetown University, presented her research on physician self-referral. Mitchell said physician self-referral increases utilization of health care, increases costs to consumers, limits access for the uninsured and underinsured, reduces the quality of care and restricts competition among providers. She advocated the proposed legislation as a prevention measure for problems created by these conflicts of interest.

Mike Curtin, chairman of the board, Mount Carmel Health System, and Mary Jo Welker, M.D., chair of The Ohio State University Department of Family Medicine, also spoke in favor of the legislation. The proposed state legislation would extend current state law on physician conflict of interest to include inpatient hospitals, ensuring that physicians are not in a position to make medical decisions based on the profit of a specialty hospital in which they have an ownership interest. (Mary Yost, maryy@ohanet.org)

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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.)

Thursday, December 5, 2002
Medicaid Cuts Evaded Earlier, Now Planned
While Ohio is one of only five states that did not cut Medicaid funding for the current biennium, the state’s budget problems are now prompting plans to freeze a scheduled 2.9 percent inpatient payment increase until June 1. Gov. Bob Taft is expected to sign an emergency rule enacting a 90-day freeze to keep the increase from taking effect Jan. 1. Approval by the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review would be required to extend the freeze to five months. OHA will continue negotiations to limit the freeze to the shorter time frame, and OHA’s executive committee has requested that OHA submit a letter to the governor voicing the concerns of Ohio’s hospitals regarding this issue.

Hospitals were budgeted to receive more than $1 billion in inpatient payments for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2003, and the proposed five-month hold would cost Ohio hospitals nearly $12.5 million in Medicaid reimbursements. The proposed reduction in payments is due in part to hospital expenditures being above budget estimates during the first quarter of SFY 2003. (Bridget Gargan, bridgetg@ohanet.org)

Foundation Welcomes New Board Members, Officers
The Foundation for Healthy Communities welcomes incoming members of the Board and new officers for 2003. Three new members will assume their duties in 2003: Karen Bankston, RN, MSN, PhD candidate, Vice President of Operations, The University Hospital, Cincinnati; David R. Lang, Vice President of Finance, Lodi Community Hospital; Michael J. Maiberger, FACHE, Executive Vice President and COO, The UVMC Health System, Troy.

The Foundation extends thanks to the immediate Past Chair, Thomas R. Childs, FACHE, COO, Holzer Medical Center, Gallipolis, and acknowledges the incoming 2003 Chair, Philip Hearing, President and CEO, Southeastern Ohio Regional Medical Center; Vice Chair, Patsy Matheny, Community Health Improvement, VHA, Inc.; and Secretary/Treasurer, Jan Ruma, Director of Healthy Communities Foundation, Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio.

The Foundation would also like to thank retiring Board member, James Kingsbury, President and CEO of the Fort Hamilton Hospital, Hamilton. (Lynne Ayres, lynnea@ohanet.org)

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Friday, December 6, 2002
Hospitals Can Lead the Way in Employee Safety
As leaders in their communities, hospitals are encouraged to continue working to improve the safety of the employees in their facilities and communities. More than 50 Ohio counties currently have local safety councils working to help businesses such as hospitals improve worker safety. Hospitals in counties without safety councils are asked to consider taking a role in creating such councils. Funded in part by the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC), these councils are an opportunity for hospitals to highlight their occupational health departments while striving for better employee safety in their communities. For more information, contact OHA.

To aid hospitals in their continuing efforts to improve the safety of workers within their facilities, the Hospital Safety Leadership Council requested that BWC and OHA create a resource to educate those involved in hospital renovation and construction on infection control issues such as aspergilla and legionella. The council is also drafting a resource on safety programs for hospitals, including model safety programs and general guidelines for improving the safety of hospital employees. For more information on exemplary safety programs in Ohio hospitals, visit the Best Practices section of OHA’s Web site at www.ohanet.org/workforce/. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)

New Tobacco Grants Available for High-Risk Populations
The Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation (TUCPF) plans to promote availability of another $2 million to support tobacco prevention and cessation programs. The funds will be targeted to underserved groups that may be disproportionately affected by tobacco use as well as high-risk individuals in minority and regional populations in Ohio. Grants will be awarded for a three-year period and will range from $100,000 to $200,000 per year.

Later this month, information about regional and technical assistance meetings and the grant process timeline will be posted to the TUPCF Web site, www.standohio.org, and sent to those on mailing lists as well as the media, city and county officials and state legislators. The deadline for letters of interest in applying for the funding is Jan. 31, 2003. (Lynne Ayres, lynnea@ohanet.org)

What’s New on the Web
Don’t miss these recent additions to the OHA Web site, available at www.ohanet.org. E-mail comments or questions about the Web site to oha@ohanet.org.

Conflict of interest testimony presented recently on behalf of OHA is available in the OHA Advocacy Center at www.ohanet.org/government/state_correspondence.asp.
For dates and locations of the upcoming winter regional meetings, go to www.ohanet.org/regional.htm.
OHA’s Disaster and Bioterrorism Preparedness section, available at www.ohanet.org/terrorism_preparedness/, was recently updated to include additional resources and several related links.
Information about hot health care issues is now available in OHA’s online News Media Center at www.ohanet.org/media/. Also find two recently added news releases on turnover rates and conflict of interest.

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