ACC Advocacy - Advocacy Weekly

July 25, 2005	Printable Version	Newsletter Archive
MEDICAL LIABILITY REFORM • House Vote Pending on Medical Liability Reform • Wisconsin Supreme Court Strikes Down Cap on Damages • Conn. Medical Liability Reform Signed into Law
QUALITY IMPROVEMENT • Better Monitoring of Medical Devices Needed, Says IOM • NCQA Tool Helps Patients Measure Cardiac Care • Study Finds Consumer Support for Electronic Medical Records
LEGISLATIVE/REGULATORY • Floor Vote Expected on Patient Safety • High Risk Insurance Pools, Drug Tracking Bills Advance
MEDICAL LIABILITY REFORM
House Vote Pending on Medical Liability Reform The House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on a medical liability reform bill introduced by Rep. Phil Gingrey, M.D., R-GA. The legislation, which is identical to a measure passed by the House last year, includes a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages. While medical liability reform is expected to once again be approved by the House, the ACC and other reform advocates hope to achieve passage of the bill with as wide a margin—if not wider—than in the past. A drop in the number of votes in support of the bill could signal to opponents a drop in support. The ACC encourages its members to contact their representatives and tell them to vote yes on H.R. 5. Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to be connected to your representative’s office.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Strikes Down Cap on Damages Wisconsin’s Supreme Court voted 4-3 that the state’s $350,000 on non-economic medical malpractice damages is unconstitutional. The American Medical Association said in a statement that the July 14 decision sends “a message to Washington that we need federal liability reform.”
Conn. Medical Liability Reform Signed into Law Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell, R, has signed into law a measure that will require the state’s insurance department to approve malpractice insurance premium rates of 7.5 percent or higher. The measure also limits attorney fees in malpractice cases and reduces interest rates on malpractice settlements paid over time. It does not include caps on damages. The law takes effect October 1.
QUALITY IMPROVEMENT
Better Monitoring of Medical Devices Needed, Says IOM The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lacks effective procedures to monitor the safety of medical devices, the Institute of Medicine concluded in a panel report released July 18. According to the study, the FDA needs to improve its procedures for tracking and reviewing the post-market studies device makers are required to undertake as a condition of approval. In addition, the FDA should improve the links between its own databases and other reporting systems and make findings available to patients, health care providers, and researchers. Intended to focus on the devices used by children, the report was expanded once the panel identified broader problems. (Click here for details.) The study was released the same day that Guidant issued a new safety warning about several more of its pacemakers.
NCQA Tool Helps Patients Measure Cardiac Care The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has added clinical performance information to its Web-based Health Plan Report Card (HPRC). The Living with Illness reports are designed to help consumers and employers evaluate how effectively their health plans treat patients in four areas: cardiac care, asthma, diabetes, and mental illness. The tool allows users to see a health plan’s rate on up to 13 HEDIS measures and compare how the health plan performed in these four areas relative to the top 10 percent of all plans nationally. NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality.
Study Finds Consumer Support for Electronic Medical Records Ninety-three percent of respondents to a recent poll agreed that electronic medical records (EMR) can improve the quality of care. Ninety-two percent said they believe EMR will reduce the number of treatment errors in hospitals. Respondents also said EMR will lower overall health care costs and reduce the amount of time patients spend waiting in doctors’ offices and emergency rooms. The poll, conducted by management consulting firm Accenture, surveyed 519 consumers.
LEGISLATIVE/REGULATORY
Floor Vote Expected on Patient Safety The Senate passed long-awaited patient safety legislation last week, and passage is expected in the House this week. The bill, which reflects an agreement between House and Senate negotiators, would encourage the reporting of medical errors to patient safety organizations and shield the data from use in medical malpractice cases. The legislation, would also establish a national patient safety database to track and identify trends in medical mistakes. The Alliance of Specialty Medicine said in a letter to two key House lawmakers that it is “deeply appreciative of the bill’s strong confidentiality provisions and the protections it affords physicians.”
High-Risk Insurance Pools, Drug Tracking Bills Advance Measures dealing with high-risk insurance pools and drug tracking were considered by the House Energy and Commerce Committee July 20 and could also be taken up shortly by the full House. H.R. 3204 would authorize $50 million in federal funding for operation of state high-risk health insurance pools in fiscal years 2005 through 2009. These pools offer insurance to people with pre-existing, chronic illnesses or conditions who otherwise could not purchase health coverage. H.R. 1132 would provide grants to states to establish a uniform electronic database system to enable physicians and pharmacists to flag drug interactions. The measure would also allow providers to track patients who abuse prescription drugs.
Questions? Comments? Send your feedback to epubs@acc.org and include the name of the publication in the subject line.