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Monday,
October 4, 2004
Hospital employees unable to get to the polls on Nov. 2 can ensure their voices will still be heard by using absentee ballots. OHA is distributing absentee ballot application brochures to hospitals throughout the state, helping hospital employees and others weigh in on a devastating threat to health care -- Ohio’s medical liability insurance crisis.
Voting absentee can serve as an important tool for health care workers who may have difficulty visiting the polls due to their shifts, the location of their hospitals or on-call responsibilities. The absentee ballot request forms provide a checklist that hospital employees, patients and others can choose from to indicate why they are requesting an absentee ballot.
If requesting an absentee ballot by mail, the request must be received by noon, Saturday, Oct. 30 by your local county board of elections, which is listed on the application brochure. In person, individuals may request an absentee ballot until the close of regular board of elections’ hours the day before the election, Monday, Nov. 1. Don’t forget patients are eligible to vote absentee as well. Individuals in a hospital for a medical emergency must request an absentee ballot by 3 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 2. All ballots must be returned to the local County Board of Elections by 7:30 p.m. Nov. 2.
Look for absentee ballot application brochures at your hospital or download one at www.askyourdoctorohio.com/managed_content/downloads_absentee_card.pdf. To learn more about Ohio’s medical liability insurance crisis and its connection to the Ohio Supreme Court, go to www.AskYourDoctorOhio.com.
Tuesday, October 5, 2004
A federal judicial panel in Philadelphia last week heard arguments on a motion to consolidate 39 class-action lawsuits against non-profit hospitals and health systems involving their billing practices. The American Hospital Association, which is named in the lawsuits, and the hospital defendants oppose the motion. Consolidation would ignore the unique benefit each individual hospital provides to its community through charity care, community health programs and other charitable services. A decision is not expected for at least 30 days.
Background information, key messages and other resources on the issue are available for OHA member hospitals in Bulletin 04-011, online at www.ohanet.org/bulletins/2004/04-011.htm. Resources from AHA are available at www.aha.org/aha/key_issues/bcp/index.html along with additional resources for AHA members at www.aha.org under “Mission challenged… Hospitals respond.” (Mary Gallagher, maryg@ohanet.org)
Report Outlines Bush, Kerry Health Plans
With one debate down and two around the corner, health care’s presence
in this year’s presidential race is likely to heat up. To help compare
the health plans of candidates President George W. Bush and Sen. John
Kerry, the Lewin Group recently released a nonpartisan, independent
comparison of how each plan would reduce the number of uninsured
Americans, and at what cost.
Kerry’s plan to combine private sector incentives with expanded federal programs would cover an additional 25.2 million, compared to Bush’s plan to cover 8.2 million new individuals through tax credits and deductions. However, Kerry’s strategy would cost $1,249 billion in federal net expenditures, whereas Bush’s proposal rings up at $227.5 billion. Employer health spending would decrease by $4.7 billion under the Bush plan and $52.1 billion under the Kerry plan. For the complete report, visit www.lewin.com. (Jonathan Archey, jonathana@ohanet.org)
Wednesday,
October 6, 2004
Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. John Edwards put the medical malpractice insurance crisis in the national spotlight during the vice presidential debate, held last night at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
During the debate, which covered a variety of issues from national security to health care, both candidates acknowledged the need for federal medical liability reform. “My concern is specifically with what’s happened to our medical care system because of rising malpractice insurance rates, because we failed to adequately reform our medical liability structure,” Cheney said. Edwards also acknowledged the crisis and offered, “I would be the first to say that what the vice president described a few minutes ago, problems with malpractice premiums, that’s true, it’s real."
However, they differed on solutions to the crisis. Cheney favored capping non-economic damages and limiting trial attorneys’ awards, while Edwards favored having cases reviewed by independent experts to determine their merit and imposing sanctions against lawyers not meeting the requirement. A bill similar to Edwards’ proposal, the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2004, was recently passed in the U.S. House of Representatives but has been stalled in the Senate. Other federal bills regarding medical liability reform, including the HEALTH Act of 2004, the Patients First Act of 2003, and the Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies Access to Care Act of 2003, were also unsuccessful in the Senate.
The issue is especially relevant in Ohio, since according to the American Medical Association, the state is one of 20 in a full-blown medical liability crisis. To learn more about Ohio’s medical malpractice insurance crisis and its connection to the Ohio Supreme Court, go to www.AskYourDoctorOhio.com.
Research on Specialty Hospital Impact Continues
Nearing the end of Congress’ 18-month moratorium on physician
self-referral of Medicare and Medicaid patients to new limited-service
hospitals, research continues on the impact of these facilities on
availability of care in their communities.
The American Hospital Association recently released a report raising concerns about the growth of specialty hospitals and the potential drain on the resources full-service community hospitals need to provide their many health care services. The TrendWatch report, by The Lewin Group, examines several recent studies and cites the dangers of physicians referring patients to niche providers in which they have an ownership interest and the blow to hospitals when specialty providers skim those lucrative services that full-service hospitals use to support other essential but money-losing care. To view the report, visit www.aha.org/ahapolicyforum/trendwatch/twsept2004.html.
Congress placed the moratorium on new limited-service hospitals last year to allow time for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to study their impact on access to care in communities. A new CEO Policy/Advocacy Committee will help develop OHA's position on this issue toward the end of this year. (Bridget Gargan, bridgetg@ohanet.org)
Thursday,
October 7, 2004
With half of the United States’ expected supply of flu vaccine suddenly unavailable this year, Ohio hospitals may be asked to divvy up available vaccine to ensure all high-risk populations receive a flu vaccination.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) learned earlier this week that none of Chiron Corporation’s influenza vaccine, Fluvirin, would be available for the 2004-05 flu season because its license was suspended for three months by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. The remaining supply, approximately 54 million doses of Fluzone, is expected to be available from Aventis Pasteur, Inc. Approximately 30 million of those doses have already been delivered.
Because some Ohio hospitals had ordered their entire supply of vaccinations from Chiron, OHA is working with the Ohio Department of Health to identify hospitals with an adequate supply of flu vaccines to share with hospitals lacking vaccines to ensure all CDC-designated priority groups are vaccinated. ODH Director J. Nick Baird has indicated to OHA the department is prepared to assist hospitals in getting vaccinations to high-risk patients. OHA will keep members apprised as the situation develops.
CDC is asking health care providers to vaccinate only the designated priority groups, which includes all children ages 6-23 months, adults older than 65, persons 2-64 years old with underlying chronic medical conditions, all women pregnant during flu season, nursing home and long-term care facility residents, children ages 6 months to 18 years on chronic aspirin therapy, health care workers involved in direct patient care, and out-of-home caregivers and household contacts of children under 6 months old. View the CDC’s "Interim Influenza Vaccination Recommendations, 2004-05 Influenza Season" at www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm53d1005.pdf. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)
Ohio’s Small Rural Hospitals Get Financial Boost
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G.
Thompson this week announced $842,000 in grants to improve Ohio’s small
rural hospitals, promote economic development and health outcomes and
support rural health research and technical assistance.
Funneled through the Ohio Department of Health’s (ODH) Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, $600,000 will encourage the development of health networks and help improve emergency medical services in rural areas. The program also helps hospitals attain Critical Access Hospital designation, which permits hospitals to receive cost-based reimbursements for Medicare inpatient and outpatient services. Through the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program, $242,000 will help small rural hospitals improve quality, patient safety and confidentiality through investments in computers, software and technical assistance. (David Hendershot, davidh@ohanet.org)
Friday,
October 8, 2004
The U.S. Department of Labor is offering $10 million in demonstration grants to address labor shortages and other workforce challenges in the health care and biotechnology fields. Applicants are encouraged to submit projects that address shortages of qualified faculty to teach nursing and other health care-related skills in community colleges, focus on new and untapped labor pools, or competency models and career ladders for specialty nursing and allied health fields. Ten to 12 grants of $750,000 to $1 million will be awarded to projects involving strategic partnerships between the public workforce system, employers and education providers. Eligible applicants include private non-profit, and public and private for profit organizations. Applications are due by Nov 2. For more information see www.doleta.gov/BRG/JobTrainInitiative/RecentNews.cfm. (Jean Scholz, jeans@ohanet.org)
Working Wonders
In an effort to help solve the nursing shortage, Parma Hospital
is partnering with Cuyahoga Community College to open a new nursing
school on the hospital’s campus. Beginning in January, nursing students
will be offered free schooling in exchange for signing a contract for
two years of employment with Parma Hospital following graduation.
Ohio hospital caregivers are also being honored for their contributions to health care. Michael A. Petrochuk, director of planning at Akron General Health System, is the 2004 recipient of the American Academy of Medical Administrator’s (AAMA) Dr. Harry S. Shubin Statesman in Healthcare Administration Award. He will receive the national award, which honors health care administrators for their innovative contributions, at the AAMA’s annual conference on Oct. 22. For more information on the current health care workforce or other workforce-related issues, visit OHA’s Hospital Workforce Forum at www.ohanet.org/workforce/. (Jean Scholz, jeans@ohanet.org)
OHA Center for Education
Don’t miss the following OHA educational seminars. Visit OHA's
Center for Education or call 614.221.7614 for more information about
these and other upcoming seminars.
“Moving from Individual to Invincible” - Fall Conference of the Ohio
Society of Healthcare Administrative Professionals
Oct. 15, Sheraton Suites Hotel, Columbus
OPSI: Improving Patient Safety Through Technology
Oct. 15, Holiday Inn East, Columbus
2004 Ohio Network of Physician Recruiters Annual Meeting
Oct. 26-27, Cherry Valley Lodge, Newark
Flowing With the Health Care Current - Fall Conference of the Ohio
Society For Healthcare Consumer Advocates
Nov. 4-5, Cherry Valley Lodge, Newark
Focus on Stark Compliance (telephone seminar)
Oct. 19, Nov. 2 and Nov. 16
ISO: 9000 (telephone seminar)
Oct. 20, Nov. 3, Nov. 17 and Dec.1
Please note the Hospital Emergency Incident Command System (HEICS) Workshop, scheduled for Oct. 13, and the Hospital All Hazards Recognition & Response Course, scheduled for Oct. 26, are both full and registrations are no longer being accepted.