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Monday, April 19, 2004
Hospitals have until April 30 to complete the field review for potential 2005 National Patient Safety Goals underway through the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Information from the field review will be compiled for review by the Sentinel Event Advisory Group for its May meeting. Hospital feedback will help the group prioritize and refine the goals and requirements for 2005. To complete the field review, visit. www.jcaho.org/accredited+organizations/05_npsg_fr.htm. (Rosalie Weakland, rosaliew@ohanet.org)
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Increasingly frequent and more severe medical malpractice claims are primarily responsible for Ohio’s skyrocketing liability insurance rates, executives from the five companies that write 72 percent of Ohio’s med mal premiums told the Ohio Medical Malpractice Commission yesterday.
Agreeing the medical liability market is beginning to stabilize, in part because of last year’s law capping non-economic jury awards at $350,000 per plaintiff or $500,000 per occurrence, were top administrators for OHIC Insurance Company, American Physicians Assurance Corporation, The Doctors Company, Medical Assurance and Medical Protective Company. Further, the executives cited the necessity for the Ohio Supreme Court to uphold the caps law to provide long-term stability and halt the trend in double-digit increases in physician premiums, which have led doctors to stop certain services, retire early or pull out of Ohio altogether. They denied the companies’ declining investment returns have played any meaningful part in the increasing rates.
Insurance executives also opposed pending legislation to cap med mal rates for one year, indicating they could not continue to lose money writing insurance in Ohio. OHA opposes the measure pending in the Senate Insurance, Commerce Committee -- Senate Bill 204 -- as a rate freeze could undermine the stability of the fragile Ohio market.
Find copies of the testimony at www.ohanet.org/med-mal/ under “What’s New.” For more about OHA’s education campaign to help voters understand the crisis, visit www.ohanet.org/CareCampaign/. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)
HIPAA Seminar Postponed
The seminar, HIPAA Insurance Reform Security Standards: Planning for
2005, scheduled for Monday, April 26, at the Villa Milano in
Columbus has been postponed. A rescheduled date for the program will be
announced as soon as possible, stay tuned to the
OHA
Center for Education Web site for additional details on this and the
many other educational opportunities available. (Charles Cataline,
charlesc@ohanet.org)
Wednesday,
April 21, 2004
Medicaid Commission Hears All Sides
The Ohio Commission to Reform Medicaid
finished two days of public testimony yesterday and the group will now
separate into subcommittees to address specific areas before reconvening
as a full committee.
During Monday and Tuesday’s testimony, the commission heard from representatives of various groups including hospitals, children’s hospitals, mental health organizations, the Ohio Association of Health Plans, optional service advocates and groups in favor of greater involvement of private managed care. OHA will submit written testimony explaining that current Medicaid reimbursement to Ohio’s hospitals does not cover the cost of treating these patients, adding to the financial burden of other uncompensated care.
The subcommittees will now look at the issues of open-ended budget, costs caused by administrative complexity, quality and accountability issues and the high cost of prescription drugs. The full commission’s next meeting will be in Cincinnati on June 21 and it will draft a report by October, offering recommendations for Gov. Bob Taft as he prepares to introduce a budget plan for fiscal years 2006-2007 in January. For more information on the commission, including its full schedule, visit www.ohiomedicaidreform.com/. (Ryan Biles, ryanb@ohanet.org)
Med Mal Reform Bills Ubiquitous
The Ohio General Assembly yesterday took action on two bills and a first
look at one piece of legislation all aimed at reforming Ohio's medical
malpractice market.
Receiving its first hearing in the Senate Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee was Senate Bill 204, legislation introduced by Sen. Kirk Schuring (R-Canton) to freeze medical malpractice insurance premiums. Schuring testified the bill responds to physicians in his district experiencing 200-400 percent increases in premiums. In separate testimony before the Ohio Medical Malpractice Commission this week, Ohio’s five largest medical malpractice insurers voiced their opposition to the bill. OHA also opposes the bill given a rate freeze could undermine the stability of the fragile Ohio market if Ohio’s major med mal insurers pull out of the state. Sen. Scott Nein (R-Middletown), chair of the committee, expressed strong reservations about the proposal.
The full Senate yesterday passed the health care immunity bill to modify Senate Bill 86, signed by Gov. Bob Taft earlier this year. Senate Bill 124, introduced by Sen. Ron Amstutz (R-Wooster), would extend immunity from liability to volunteer health care workers in more health care facilities and increase the maximum allowable income of those receiving volunteer care. OHA supports the bill.
The House Insurance Committee accepted substitute legislation to revise a bill originally designed to screen medical malpractice claims before they are formally filed with a court. The initial screening panel concept was scrapped after numerous organizations, including the Ohio State Medical Association and OHA, determined the proposal could actually be more costly and lengthen the court process. Substitute House Bill 215, sponsored by Rep. Jean Schmidt (R -Loveland), urges the Ohio Supreme Court to create new courts with exclusive jurisdiction over medical malpractice actions, specify times by when certain actions must be taken, and establish a statewide medical malpractice management system. The new bill also prohibits the use of a defendant's statement of sympathy as evidence in a medical liability action and establishes qualifications for expert witnesses providing testimony in medical liability action. OHA supports the modifications to the bill.
Find links to the full text of these and all other OHA-tracked bills
at
www.ohanet.org/advocacy/state/resources/status125.doc. Visit
www.ohanet.org/med-mal/legislation/ for more about Ohio and federal
tort reform legislation. (Bridget Gargan,
bridgetg@ohanet.org)
Thursday,
April 22, 2004
Mercy Health Partners-Western Ohio and Community Hospital, Springfield, yesterday announced the consolidation of health care services of Mercy Medical Center and Community Hospital. The new regional health system, Community Mercy Health Partners (CMHP), will combine the strengths of both hospitals and make the health care facility the largest employer in the county.
The size and scope of CMHP will be substantially larger, providing a critical mass of patients that allows development of a depth and breadth of services neither hospital can provide independently, said Andrew McCulloch, president and CEO of Mercy Health Partners-Western Ohio, and Neal Kresheck, president of Community Hospital.
The merger will take effect legally at the start of July, at which point Andrew McCulloch will become president and CEO of CMHP and Neal Kresheck, whose retirement was scheduled for 2004, will complete his 38 years of service as president of Community Hospital. The new health system will provide acute care, rehabilitation services, outpatient care, assisted living, long-term care, home health and health education to the community. A new state-of-the-art regional medical center will be constructed in Springfield in the next five years to house the newly merged hospitals. Until the facility is finished, two existing hospitals will continue to operate. For more information, view a news release at http://216.68.156.42/regions/springfield/content/news_show_local.asp?id=525.
Hospitals Fight Pollution on Earth Day and Every Day
As the nation celebrates Earth Day, business at hospitals statewide will
continue as usual -- including their waste reduction programs, recycling
efforts and mercury elimination endeavors. Ohio’s hospitals look for
ways to reduce waste, recycle hazardous materials and eliminate other
environmental risk factors every day, with examples such as:
OHA was also recently recognized as a Hospitals for Healthy Environment (H2E) Champion for Change. Resource kits with information on how hospitals can become involved with the H2E program are currently under development and will be distributed this month. For more information on hospital efforts to protect the environment, visit www.ohanet.org/p2/. (Susan Zabo, susanz@ohanet.org; Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)
Friday, April 23, 2004
Labor Department Issues New Overtime Rules
The U.S. Department of Labor this week issued its final regulations governing overtime eligibility under the Fair Labor Standards Act, intended to clarify which "white collar" workers are entitled to overtime pay. The new "FairPay" rules guarantee overtime protections to workers earning $23,660 per year or less, and clarify that licensed practical nurses and similar health care workers generally are entitled to overtime pay. In addition, the final regulations retain previous laws regarding the overtime rights of registered nurses, meaning if they are eligible for overtime now they likely will remain so, said Carla Luggiero, AHA senior associate director for federal relations. For more on the final regulations, visit www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/fairpay/main.htm. (Mary Gallagher, maryg@ohanet.org)
Making the Uninsured a Priority
Events across the state will raise awareness of the more than 2.5
million Ohioans, and 44 million Americans, without health insurance
during this year’s Cover The Uninsured Week (CTUW) May 10-16. A national
effort, this campaign features events from coast to coast to draw
attention to this problem and the facts behind it.
In Southwest Ohio, Health Alliance is sponsoring the “Coming Together Forum,” a regional kick-off event on Monday, May 10. TriHealth will sponsor Tuesday’s business and labor forum as well as Wednesday’s “Spread the Balm in Gilead.” Mercy Health Partners and St. Elizabeth Health Partners, working with the Greater Cincinnati Health Council, will also hold a community forum on Tuesday. In Central Ohio, OSU Medical Center and Children’s Hospital will join other sponsors in hosting a community forum and panel discussion Monday, May 10. In Northeast Ohio, Mercy Medical Center is sponsoring a prayer and interfaith service in honor of CTUW. In Cleveland, Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine Health System will sponsor a symposium for health care professionals and students on Thursday, May 13, and University Hospitals Health System, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital and Cleveland Clinic Health System-East are among sponsors of a Forever Family Wellness Fair on Wednesday, May 11. Events are under development in the Toledo area as well.
For more information on becoming involved with the campaign, sponsoring an event in the community or to publicize a CTUW event in a future OHA publication, contact Berna Bell at 614.221.7614 or bernab@ohanet.org. Stay tuned for more information on events in Ohio and visit www.covertheuninsured.org for more about the campaign and the issue of the uninsured. (Berna Bell, bernab@ohanet.org)