States ready to tackle health care issues

State legislatures continue to outpace Congress in addressing issues important to physicians and patients.

By Susan J. Landers and Tanya Albert, AMNews staff. Feb. 5, 2001.

Washington -- Legislatures in all 50 states and the District of Columbia are convening this year, and top agenda items include managed care reforms, prompt-payment law refinements and physician collective bargaining measures.

And the issues don't stop there. "We have bills related to practice liability, professional interest, public health, managed care reform and tort reform," said Virginia Latham, MD, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society.

Thirty-eight state legislatures will continue to address and refine independent appeals processes for health plan enrollees, and 37 said health plan liability was a priority, according to a recent poll by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The states have been a recent hotbed of health legislation activity, leaving federal lawmakers far behind. For example, most states already have patients' rights laws and prompt-pay mandates, while Congress struggles to pass similar laws.

Federal lawmakers are likely to watch their state counterparts even more closely now that states' rights advocate George W. Bush is in the White House and Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson is taking the helm at the Dept. of Health and Human Services.

Legislation to mandate that health plans cover specific services has been an ongoing trend over the past few years and is expected to continue, according to a survey conducted by the Health Insurance Assn. of America.

Bills requiring mental health parity, as well as coverage for clinical trial participation, contraceptives, diabetes treatment and infertility, will be debated, HIAA predicted. [...]