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Monday,
April 18, 2005
Late last week, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) pulled its proposed rule to recalibrate Medicaid inpatient hospital payment rates and outpatient services. The rule was supposed to be heard by the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR) today. However, ODJFS withdrew the filing to continue working to resolve data issues raised by OHA and member hospitals that could not be resolved prior to the JCARR hearing. Once these issues are reconciled, ODJFS will again provide data files to hospitals upon request. The recalibration would have cost hospitals $66 million in reductions for state fiscal year 2006.
In addition to working with ODJFS, OHA sought legislative support for an amendment to House Bill 66—the state biennial budget bill—to instruct ODJFS to both rebase and recalibrate payment rates, but it was not included in the House’s version of the budget bill, passed last week. OHA will continue to analyze the situation to gauge potential impact on hospitals and keep members apprised. For more information on the impact of ODJFS’ initial proposed recalibration, view an OHA white paper at www.ohanet.org/advocacy/state/resources/recalibrationwhitepaper.pdf (Berna Bell, bernab@ohanet.org)
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Legislation was introduced last week that would require hospitals to submit patient billing data to the Ohio Department of Health, where it would be adjusted and hospital outcomes information posted on a public Web site. House Bill 197, sponsored by Rep. Jim Raussen (R-Cincinnati), closely mirrors his proposed House Bill 541 during the last session and raises the same concerns among Ohio’s hospitals.
Though OHA supports informed health care consumers, it opposes requiring hospitals to submit case-level billing data to a state agency for the purposes of measuring hospital performance. In a letter to Raussen, OHA noted that the submission of patient-level data could result in a costly bureaucratic system with unreliable and outdated consumer information—and hospitals could pay the price to the tune of $9.3 million each year.
OHA also seeks to minimize duplication as hospitals currently submit quality data to a variety of state and national organizations and many sources of information are available to the public. The latest resource is a Web site released last week by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) with comparative hospital information offered to the public. The site provides data, based on information hospitals submit annually to ODH, on each hospital’s top 100 most frequent treatment classifications. It includes the number of discharges, the average charge, the average length of stay as well as the lowest and highest charges and the corresponding lengths of stay. Visit this site at http://pubapps.odh.ohio.gov/pwh/publicwarehouse.aspx.
To learn more about HB 197 or to access OHA’s letter and a grid outlining what each Ohio hospital can expect to be charged to meet the bill’s requirements, visit www.ohanet.org/advocacy/state/issues/public_disclosure.htm. (Jeff Klingler, jeffk@ohanet.org)
Wednesday,
April 20, 2005
Legislation to grant advance practice nurses (APN) admitting privileges was introduced last week by Rep. Merle Kearns (R-Springfield). APNs' scope of practice would not be changed under the bill. House Bill 196 would not require hospitals to grant admitting privileges to APNs, but would provide hospitals the option. OHA’s Quality Improvement/Accreditation Committee has been apprised of the new bill. OHA has not yet taken an official position on HB 196. Last session, the association did not oppose a similar bill to grant podiatrists admitting privileges because hospitals retained the authority to determine admitting criteria through the credentialing process. (Jean Scholz, jeans@ohanet.org; Jeff Klingler, jeffk@ohanet.org)
Thursday, April 21, 2005
State Auditor Betty Montgomery yesterday testified in support of legislation giving her office greater authority in conducting audits of the Medicaid program. Senate Bill 32, sponsored by Sen. Robert Spada (R-North Royalton), would give the state auditor authority to audit Medicaid providers and the Medicaid program without first obtaining permission from the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services, as currently required.
The bill would also allow for an initial performance audit of the Medicaid program, whereby the auditor’s office would explore several issues, including implementing a new claims processing system, Montgomery said. She noted that the reconciliation process, whereby providers are overpaid and seek to return money to the state, is broken and in need of repair. She urged members of the Senate Health Committee, which is considering the legislation, not to confuse overpayments by the state with provider fraud. “It’s not theft, but rather very bad management on our part,” Montgomery said.
OHA does not oppose the bill, the provisions of which are also included in the House-passed version of the biennial budget bill, House Bill 66 (Jeff Klingler, jeffk@ohanet.org)
Nurses Can Renew Licenses Online
Beginning May 1, registered nurses (RNs) can renew their licenses online. The Ohio Board of Nursing is offering that option to RNs with active licenses through Aug. 31. The board will mail standard paper renewal applications, which will include the online renewal Web site address, a password and a user ID. Online renewal is not required, but the board is strongly encouraging registered nurses to utilize the new, faster technology. Nurses with inactive and lapsed licenses cannot renew online and must contact the Board’s Renewal Unit at 614.995.5420 to reactivate a license. For more information, visit www.nursing.ohio.gov/. (Jean Scholz, jeans@ohanet.org)
ODH Seeks Comments on Draft Radiological Licensure Rules
The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) is seeking comments on draft radiological licensure rules that govern the scope of practice for general X-ray machine operators (GXMOs), nuclear medicine technologists, radiation therapy technologists and radiographers. Draft rule revisions were circulated earlier in the year but have been revised recently in response to comments. Two changes of interest to hospitals are a new prohibition against using general X-ray machine operators in hospitals and clinics, and a change to allow hospitals to employ GXMOs for one year if they are currently enrolled in the last year of a two year radiography education program. The draft rules are posted on the ODH web site at www.odh.ohio.gov/Rules/rulesdraft.html or www.odh.ohio.gov/Rules/Draft/Chap72/DR72_lst.htm. Comments are due to ODH by May 3 and final revised rules are expected to take effect by the fall. Hospitals are asked to send a copy of their comments to Rick Sites at OHA at ricks@ohanet.org.
Friday,
April 22, 2005
The face of Ohio is under construction. Young professionals and baby boomers ready for retirement are moving toward sunnier locales as the state’s number of international residents continues to grow—requiring hospitals to adapt their services and communications to meet the changing needs of their patients.
The largest minority in the state, Ohio’s Hispanic population grew from 139,696 in the 1990 U.S. census to 217,123 in 2000. As this demographic continues to increase, hospitals are implementing new services to connect with Spanish-speaking patients. In those communities where hospitals see a large number of Spanish-speaking patients, some facilities employ part-time or full-time interpreters. Other facilities translate documents and post signs in Spanish or take stock of the languages spoken by their current staffs in case a need arises.
Whether it’s providing a new mom with information in Spanish on caring for her baby, or offering a translator for a frantic emergency room patient who does not speak English, Ohio’s hospitals understand the importance of reaching beyond cultural barriers to provide the necessary care. For examples of what Ohio hospitals are doing, view the April Healthbeat article online at www.ohanet.org/healthbeat/2005/0405.htm. (Mary Sterenberg, marys@ohanet.org)