|
| Hot Issues |
| Publications |
| Advocacy Center |
| Research & Data |
| Education |
| News Media Center |
| Find a Hospital Job |
| Membership |
| Corporate Partners |
| Home |
Search:
 |
Monday,
February 17, 2003
Legislation on Conflict of Interest
To Be Proposed
Rep. Jon Peterson, R-Delaware, is planning a statehouse news conference
on Tuesday to announce he is introducing legislation to extend physician
conflict-of-interest statutes to include inpatient hospital services.
Peterson will be joined by Dr. J. Nick Baird, director of the Ohio
Department of Health, and Jim Castle, OHA president and CEO. The OHA
Board of Trustees voted last fall to seek state legislation to add
inpatient hospital services to those services already covered by Ohio’s
conflict of interest law. Current law prohibits physicians from
referring patients to outpatient prescription drug services, clinical
laboratory services and home health services in which they have an
ownership interest. Peterson’s bill would add inpatient hospital
services to that list. Similar legislation was offered late last fall
but was not enacted before the legislature recessed. Additional
information is available on the OHA Web site at www.ohanet.org/media/#conflict.
(Mary Yost, maryy@ohanet.org)
DAILY NEWS CLIPS
(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.)
February 18, 2003
Bill to Prevent Conflict of Interest
Working to prevent a statewide crisis before it begins, Rep. Jon Peterson (R-Delaware) today announced his introduction of legislation to extend physician conflict-of-interest statutes to include inpatient hospital services.
“The legislation removes the conflict of interest between good medicine and good investments,” Peterson said about the bill during a news conference today.
House Bill 71 would add inpatient hospital services to the current law prohibiting physicians from referring patients to outpatient prescription drug services, clinical laboratory services and home health services in which they have an ownership interest.
Peterson was joined in the news conference by Dr. J. Nick Baird, director of the Ohio Department of Health, and Jim Castle, OHA president and CEO. Castle thanked Peterson for introducing the legislation, calling it “a bold step, yet elegant solution to a problem before it happens.”
Advocating that boutique hospitals are not good for patients, communities and not-for-profit hospitals, Baird noted that “by ‘cherry-picking’ the most profitable and lowest-risk patients, boutique hospitals and the doctors who own them jeopardize the ability of full-service community hospitals to offer the full scope of health care services their communities need.”
Additional information is available on the OHA Web site at www.ohanet.org/government/state_correspondence.asp. (Mary Yost, maryy@ohanet.org; Jeff Klingler, jeffk@ohanet.org)
DAILY NEWS CLIPS
(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.)
Wednesday, February
19 , 2003U.S. Bill Proposes Answer to Medicaid Crisis
In an effort to assist Ohio and other states facing reductions in their Medicaid programs, U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-Lorain) and Peter King (R-NY) last week introduced legislation that could compensate for all of Gov. Bob Taft’s proposed cuts to Ohio’s Medicaid budget.
This legislation, the State Budget Relief Act of 2003, is an effort to provide states with resources to maintain sound Medicaid services and a strong health safety net, especially during the economic downturn. It would maintain, and in many cases increase, the matching rate of federal to state dollars throughout the nation. If enacted, the bill would bring an additional $477 million in federal funds to Ohio’s Medicaid program between April 2003 and April 2004 according to Brown. This could offset the $468 million in cuts Gov. Taft proposed to help balance the state’s budget. A similar bill, supported by OHA, was also proposed last year.
Gov. Taft’s proposed reductions to the state Medicaid program would include reduced eligibility for parents, eliminated adult services and freezes in reimbursement to hospitals and nursing homes. Under these provisions, approximately 30,000 parents will lose all Medicaid coverage, 800,000 will lose access to some services and hospitals will have to cope with a larger uninsured population and growing costs without adequate reimbursement. (Jonathan Archey, jonathana@ohanet.org)
DAILY NEWS CLIPS
(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,
February 20, 2003
OHIC Downgraded; Remains Strong
The OHIC Insurance Company was
downgraded Wednesday by A.M. Best from an “A-“ (Excellent) to a “B++”
(Very Good). The downgrade was largely the result of Best’s downgrade
of OHIC’s parent company, the Medical Liability Mutual Insurance
Company, which was also downgraded from an “A-“ to a “B++.” This
is still a strong rating, particularly in the current environment of
rising jury awards and limited availability of medical liability
insurance.
“We have every confidence in the OHIC Insurance Company,” said Jim Castle, OHA president and CEO and a member of the OHIC Board of Trustees. “The Best rating is not the only indicator of a strong company. OHIC’s other economic indicators are solid. OHIC remains a strong, vibrant and soundly managed company.”
Raymond R. Mazzotta was recently promoted to CEO of OHIC. Since he joined OHIC three years ago as president and COO, Ray has done an excellent job guiding the company through a difficult time in the world of medical liability insurance. This move gives Ray a lot more leverage in the day-to-day and long-term future of OHIC.
OHIC has taken steps to strengthen its position in the medical malpractice market. There is more hospital and physician involvement in nearly every mission-critical area of the company, they are maintaining their prudent underwriting guidelines, they have exited venues and lines of business in order to focus on core business in key states, and they are pursuing reinsurance from a non-affiliated company. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)
Senate Votes Out Budget Correction
Bill
The Ohio Senate
yesterday voted out the budget corrections bill and sent it back to the
House for concurrence. The $566 million budget-balancing plan still
leaves an estimated $162 million shortfall, which will be addressed
through executive budget cuts. Taft’s plan to fill the hole by June
30, the end of this state fiscal year, includes cuts to education,
programs for seniors, business assistance programs and drug and alcohol
treatment programs.
The Senate-revised House Bill 40 does not include Gov. Bob Taft’s proposed temporary sales tax of sin taxes on cigarettes or alcohol or a temporary sales tax debated by the state Senate. The House must concur with the Senate changes before the bill goes to the governor for his signature. (Bridget Gargan, bridgetg@ohanet.org)
DAILY NEWS CLIPS
(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.)
Friday,
February 21, 2003
Report Touts Economic
Benefit of Medicaid Spending
Though the primary importance of the Medicaid program is the health care
it provides to the more than 1.5 million children, parents, elderly and
disabled Ohioans who depend on it, a less publicized benefit is the role
it plays in stimulating the state economy. Medicaid spending brings
added federal dollars to Ohio, increases business activity and creates
new jobs within the state. In January, Families USA released a study, Medicaid:
Good Medicine For State Economies, focused on the economic benefit
of Medicaid in Ohio and nationwide.
A partnership between the state and federal governments, the Medicaid program increases the federal money flowing into Ohio, stimulating the economy. The Families USA study also found that every dollar spent on Ohio’s Medicaid program in fiscal year (FY) 2001 translated into $3.15 in new business activity. Medicaid infuses more than $8 billion into Ohio’s economy, $25.3 billion in new business activity, and the study also found that more than 132,000 new jobs were created in Ohio as the result of Medicaid spending in FY2001.
The report concluded that in Ohio and throughout the nation, “Medicaid spending is good medicine-both for the health of the state residents and for an ailing state economy.” The complete Families USA report is available at www.familiesusa.org and more information about the Medicaid program and how cuts would affect Ohio, can be accessed at www.ohanet.org/medicaid/. For more information, look for the February issue of OHA HealthBeat at www.ohanet.org/healthbeat/.
DAILY NEWS CLIPS
(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.)