ACC
Hosts Third Annual Medical Directors’ Institute
Cardiovascular specialists and medical directors from several
of the nation's largest managed care organizations, including
Aetna, CIGNA and Blue Cross Blue Shield, met in Dallas last
week to discuss the collaboration of health plans and cardiovascular
specialists in providing high-quality care. The Medical Directors'
Institute (MDI) is an annual forum for medical directors and
ACC members to interact and explore new initiatives. With
open forum discussions on topics ranging from pay-for-performance
to imaging utilization, attendees had the opportunity to analyze
the challenges in delivering quality cardiovascular care in
a cost-conscious  business
environment. Michael Valentine, M.D., F.A.C.C., of Virginia,
served as the 2004 MDI Chair.
Elections
2004: Four States to Vote on Medical Liability Reform
On Nov. 2, residents of Florida, Nevada,
Oregon and Wyoming will
cast their votes for or against ballot initiatives dealing
with medical liability reform.
- Florida voters will consider three proposed
constitutional amendments intended to change the state’s
current medical litigation system. Physicians introduced
Amendment
3, which would limit the contingency fees attorneys
receive in medical liability cases. Lawyers are sponsoring
two competing amendments, Amendment
7 and Amendment
8, to make information about adverse medical events
available to the public and revoke the licenses of physicians
who have been found responsible for three or more incidents
of medical malpractice.
- In Nevada, Ballot
Question #3 would enact several reforms, including:
a limit on attorney fees, removal of exceptions to the current
$350,000 cap on noneconomic damages, a reduction in the
current statute of limitations for filing a medical liability
lawsuit, and strengthened joint and several liability reforms
for both economic and noneconomic damages. Trial lawyers
introduced Ballot
Question #5, which would preserve an individual’s
right to sue, while penalizing lawyers who repeatedly file
frivolous lawsuits.
- Measure
35 in Oregon would establish a $500,000 cap on noneconomic
damages.
- Ballot initiatives in Wyoming would authorize
the state legislature to enact medical liability reform
laws. Amendment
C allows the legislature to pass bills establishing
review panels or arbitration procedures for medical liability
lawsuits.
Amendment
D gives state legislators the authority to impose caps
on noneconomic damages.
FDA
Approves Artificial Heart for Transplant Patients
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved
a partial artificial heart for use in patients who are
awaiting a heart transplant. The device replaces the diseased
ventricles of the heart, and patients are connected by tubes
to a computerized console that powers and monitors the artificial
heart. Of the 4,000 heart transplant patients in the United
States, the FDA estimates that about 100 of them would be
eligible for the new artificial heart. In clinical studies
performed by the manufacturer, Syncardia Systems, Inc., 79
percent of heart failure patients who received the device
lived long enough to receive a transplant. Patients still
experienced complications, including infection, bleeding and
stroke. Therefore, the FDA approved the device only for use
in patients who are
not eligible for alternative treatments and whose life expectancy
is less than 30 days without a transplant.
Rise
in Social Security Payments Offset by Medicare Part B Premiums
Federal officials announced
last week that Social Security payments for 47 million Americans
will rise by 2.7 percent next year to keep up with inflation.
For seniors enrolled in Medicare, this cost-of-living adjustment
will be diminished due to higher health insurance premiums.
As the average monthly Social Security check increases by
$25 to $955, Medicare beneficiaries will be paying $11.60
more for their Medicare Part B services, which include doctors’
visits and outpatient care. Federal law prevents increases
in Medicare Part B premiums from exceeding the annual adjustment
to Social Security payments, but the Congressional Budget
Office has predicted that premiums may outpace payments once
the Medicare drug
benefit takes effect in 2006. (New York Times, 10/21/04)
Report:
Obesity Is Major Driver of Health Care Costs
Emory University researchers reported last week in the journal
Health
Affairs that obesity has contributed to more than
25 percent of the growth in health care spending over the
past 15 years. The rising prevalence of obesity among American
adults has also led to increased spending for diabetes, high
cholesterol and heart disease. Studying data collected from
1987 to 2001, researchers found that if obesity rates had
remained at 1987 levels, then the U.S. health care system
could have saved $301 per person. The study concludes that
future cost containment initiatives need to center on intervention
programs for obese patients
and prevention measures
for all individuals.
Wellstone
Fellowship Accepting Nominations for Social Justice Program
Each year, Families USA offers a one-year paid fellowship
to an individual interested in health care advocacy. Named
in honor of the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, the fellowship is
based in Washington D.C. and provides the recipient an opportunity
to learn more about Medicare, Medicaid, efforts to achieve
universal health coverage and other health policy issues.
The Wellstone Fellowship is designed to increase the number
of Black/African American, Latino and American Indian social
justice leaders, and the recipient will be engaged in Families
USA’s outreach to and mobilization of communities of
color. To learn more about the Wellstone Fellowship and to
download an application, click
here. Completed
applications are due by Jan. 7, 2005.
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Advocacy Division of the American College of Cardiology. Questions
or comments regarding this publication should be directed
to the Advocacy Division at 800-435-9203 or to advocacydiv@acc.org.
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