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Monday, July 11, 2005
Feedback Needed on Hospital Component of State Trauma Plan
As Ohio continues to develop its trauma system, trauma advocates are pursuing a formal plan to ensure optimal care of the traumatically injured. Ohio hospitals now have the opportunity to review and comment on the final draft of the Hospital Component of the State Trauma Plan. The Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) provided a grant to a consortium of regional trauma systems to work together to provide input from the hospital perspective. Over the past six months, this steering committee worked with trauma stakeholders in the state to develop this document, which aims to ensure optimal care for the traumatically injured and fulfill requirements for continued federal trauma system funding for Ohio from the Health Resources Service Administration. The final draft includes the proposed trauma plan as well as the process for developing the plan.

Hospitals are encouraged to view the document online at http://www.ohanet.org/advocacy/state/issues/trauma.htm and submit comments by July 31 to Jane Riebe at jriebe@hcno.org or Bridget Gargan bridgetg@ohanet.org. Based on the feedback of hospital stakeholders, the Project Steering Committee will finalize this draft and submit a final plan that the majority of hospitals can support to the ODPS’ Division of Emergency Medical Services. Legislation needs to be enacted to implement key elements of the plan. (Bridget Gargan, bridgetg@ohanet.org)

Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Medicare Ruling Could Affect Hundreds of Hospitals
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld a decision last week that could result in more than $1 billion in Medicare reimbursement to hospitals. The court affirmed a March 2004 district court decision ordering the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to reopen its determination of Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments for 26 hospitals between 1994 and 1996.

Four circuit courts previously found that the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) had improperly restricted DSH eligibility and reduced payments to eligible hospitals. The payment determinations must now include eligible-but-unpaid Medicaid days in the disproportionate share calculation for cost reporting years that were settled within three years before the issuance of the HCFA ruling. More than 250 hospitals that have filed similar federal lawsuits could be affected by the recent Court of Appeals’ ruling. (Charles Cataline, charlesc@ohanet.org)

Wednesday, July 13, 2005
SEIU, Sykes Dig into BWC Payments to Hospitals
At a news conference today, Rep. Barbara Sykes (D-Akron) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) District 1199 announced a proposal to implement a new payment system for injured workers in which hospitals would be paid cost plus 10 percent. They also unveiled a request to the Senate president and Speaker of the House to launch a joint investigation on how hospitals are using tax dollars.

Alleging hospitals are currently overpaid by the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC), Sykes and the SEIU plan to ask the BWC’s oversight committee to implement the “cost plus 10 percent” plan immediately. Hospitals are currently reimbursed at 60 percent of charges for outpatient services and 70 percent of charges for inpatient services. The current payment system is based on ongoing negotiations between OHA and BWC in the best interest of the BWC and Ohio hospitals, and especially injured workers seeking care in Ohio hospitals. OHA is analyzing the potential impact on hospitals and will keep members apprised as the situation develops. Today’s news conference is the third in a series in which Sykes and the SEIU have challenged hospital billing and collection practices and tax-exempt status.

Resources for hospitals are available online at www.ohanet.org/pr/, including links to past SEIU reports and OHA messages. (Charles Cataline, charlesc@ohanet.org; Bridget Gargan, bridgetg@ohanet.org)

Tobacco Foundation Forms Unique Partnership with Insurance Companies

The Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation (TUPCF) yesterday announced an innovative partnership with four health care insurance carriers to spend $2 million on nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and cessation counseling for Ohioans through the Ohio Tobacco Quit Line (1.800.QUIT.NOW). TUPCF Executive Director Mike Renner announced the collaboration between TUPCF, Medical Mutual of Ohio, Paramount Care, Summit and CareSource at a press conference in Columbus. This is the first NRT funding partnership in the nation and is estimated to help hundreds of thousands of Ohioans quit smoking.

During the 18-month pilot program, Ohioans who call the Quit Line and are insured by one of the participating carriers can sign up to receive up to eight weeks of free Nicoderm® patches and to work with a Quit Line “quitting specialist.” The supply of free patches is worth nearly $200 and the cost will be divided equally between the insurance carrier and TUPCF.

Medical Mutual, Paramount, Summit and CareSource serve a total of more than 2 million people in Ohio, and the Quit Line receives approximately 3,000 calls a month. To date, the Quit Line user rate of success in staying tobacco free after six months is 25.6 percent, and the partners hope to see that rate increase through the NRT fund.

For more information on the NRT funding program, visit www.standohio.org/special_projects/index.asp?id=638 or contact Natalie Palmatary at 614.545.3145 or npalmatary@northlich.com. (Lynne Ayres, lynnea@ohanet.org)

Thursday, July 14, 2005
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Approves Spending Bill
The U.S. Senate Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee this week approved a federal fiscal year 2006 spending plan that restores funding for health professions programs that would be eliminated under President George Bush’s budget and deeply cut in the House version. The Senate version also provides increases above the House appropriations bill to many other programs of interest to hospitals.

At hospital and rural health advocates’ urging, the subcommittee voted to appropriate $454 million for health professions, $155.6 million for nursing programs and level funds for pediatric graduate medical education at $300 million. The bill also recommends $39.2 million for rural outreach grants, $39.2 million for rural FLEX grants, $8.8 million for rural health policy development and $8.3 million for state offices of rural health. The panel also recommended funding hospital bioterrorism efforts at $510 million and health information technology at $95.2 million.

Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH) was among those supporting the improvements for health care. The full Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to take up the subcommittee’s bill Thursday, and congressional debate on the spending plans will continue throughout the summer. The U.S. House and Senate must agree on a final version of the FY06 federal appropriations package by mid-September. (Jonathan Archey, jonathana@ohanet.org)

Update Issued on 2005 Influenza Vaccine

The National Immunization Program for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued the year’s first Influenza Vaccine Bulletin, reporting on the ability of manufacturers to produce adequate flu vaccine for the 2005 flu season. Two large manufacturers have announced their production levels, but a third manufacturer is making changes in response to an inspection by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and may not be able to make changes and receive FDA approval in time for the 2005-06 flu season. To view the complete bulletin, visit www.ohanet.org/flu/doc/bulletin062905.pdf.

Both CDC and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) continue to encourage the use of Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine (FluMist) when feasible for eligible persons, including health care workers. ACIP will also publish recommended changes for the 2005-06 influenza season in the July Morbidity Mortality Weekly Report.

Hospitals are encouraged to visit both the CDC Web site at www.cdc.gov/flu and the OHA flu Web site at www.ohanet.org/flu/ for communication updates. If not already doing so, hospitals are encouraged to work with their vendors to ensure they receive adequate amounts of the flu vaccine and to discuss use of FluMist. (Carol Jacobson, carolj@ohanet.org)

Friday, July 15, 2005
HHS Names Medicaid Commission Members
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced the members of a 28-member advisory commission charged with identifying reforms to stabilize and strengthen the Medicaid program. Former Tennessee Gov. Don Sundquist will serve as chair of the commission and ex-Maine Gov. Angus King will serve as vice-chair.

Sundquist and King are among 13 voting members on the commission. The other 15 non-voting members include hospital representation: Joseph Marshall, chairman and CEO of Temple University Health Systems; James Anderson, president and CEO of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; and Joseph Piccione, corporate director of mission integration, OSF Healthcare System.

The commission members were named by HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt, and they will submit their first report to Leavitt by Sept. 1, identifying potential areas of Medicaid savings for federal fiscal year 2006. (Jonathan Archey, jonathana@ohanet.org)

Year’s First Human West Nile Case Found

For the first time in 2005, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) announced that a probable case of West Nile Virus was found in a human. The patient is a 27-year-old man from Darke County.

ODH reported tests had found the virus present in 10 birds, two horses and 15 mosquito pools in Ohio this year; however, the disease appears to be declining among humans since the first cases in Ohio were detected in 2002. That year, 142 cases of West Nile Virus were confirmed and 31 people died from the disease. Those figures grew smaller throughout 2003 and 2004 with only 12 confirmed cases and two fatalities in 2004.

ODH Director J. Nick Baird, M.D., said, “West Nile is now a fact of life in Ohio, even though it is a preventable disease.” He emphasized the importance of taking protective steps against West Nile infection whenever Ohioans are outdoors. As a protective step, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends use of mosquito repellants containing DEET or Picaridin.

West Nile Virus is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito and causes an influenza-like illness in humans. According to ODH, the virus can lead to aseptic meningitis, encephalitis, and death, especially in those over 50 years of age. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)