News in brief - Aug. 21, 2000

Medicare speeds approval process for transplant centers

The Health Care Financing Administration recently shortened the time it takes for heart, liver and lung transplant centers to meet Medicare's coverage standards.

The transplant centers now need only one year of experience before Medicare will pay for procedures in their facilities, compared with the previous two-year waiting period.

Jeffrey Kang, MD, HCFA's chief clinical officer, said the change will increase access to transplantation services for seniors. "This coverage decision is another step in our ongoing efforts to provide a mechanism for reconsideration of past policies based on updated evidence," he said.

HCFA officials said the change was made after recent research showed that the number of transplants performed in centers is a better predictor of patient outcomes than the centers' years of experience performing transplant procedures.

The AMA took its patients' rights campaign to the floor of the Republican convention earlier this month by flashing a message to delegates and party officials on a giant electronic billboard.

The message: "Good enough for Bush. Good for America's patients. Senate GOP: Pass a real patients' bill of rights," flashed across the equivalent of 32 television screens every five minutes for 19 hours each day of the convention.

"We'll take our case to anyone, anywhere, anytime," said D. Ted Lewers, MD, chair of the Board of Trustees. "We will be relentless in our pursuit of this legislation until Congress passes a real patients' bill of rights."

Meanwhile, any additional congressional action on patients' rights legislation is on hold until Congress returns after Labor Day from its summer recess. Negotiations to craft a compromise bill from House- and Senate-passed legislation have been stalled for several months.

The AMA favors the House-passed Norwood-Dingell bill that would cover many more people than would the version passed by the Senate. The House bill would also expand individuals' rights to sue their managed care plans.

While Republican Presidential nominee George W. Bush did not mention patient protection legislation in his acceptance address, he did touch upon other major health issues.

Bush pledged to get Medicare on "firm financial ground" and to add a prescription drug benefit to the program. He also spoke of the need to provide tax credits to help low-income Americans buy health insurance. He has proposed a $1,000 tax credit for single coverage and a $2,000 credit for family coverage.