News in brief - Sept. 22/29, 2003

State court says doctor can be sued for fetus' death - CMS targets fraud in power wheelchair industry - NIH seeking applicants for loan repayment programs - Health insurance premiums up in 2003 - FMA says patients should keep more of lawsuit awards

State court says doctor can be sued for fetus' death

Mississippi's wrongful death statute covers unborn children that are "quick" in the womb, and a physician treating a pregnant woman can be sued for wrongful death if the fetus dies, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in August.

"Viability is not the appropriate criterion to determine whether the unborn is a person within the context of the wrongful death statute," the state's highest court said. "In truth, a viability standard is arbitrary and all too often results in an injustice when a nonviable fetus would have most likely survived, but for the intervening wrongful, tortious conduct of another." The court said the abortion issue is not relevant to wrongful death.

The decision means that Tracy Tucker will be able to proceed with a wrongful death lawsuit against family physician Scott Nelson, MD.

According to court records, in 1997 Tucker was five months pregnant when she went to see Dr. Nelson because of vaginal itching. He treated her symptoms and performed an ultrasound. That night Tucker experienced stomach pains and went to Bolivar County Hospital. She was released the next day and readmitted that same night. Four days after her initial doctor's visit, she miscarried.

CMS targets fraud in power wheelchair industry

Medicare is trying to put the brakes on runaway spending for motorized wheelchairs.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced a 10-point initiative aimed at curbing abuse of the program by unscrupulous vendors of power mobility products. Spending on power wheelchairs has increased nearly 450% over the last four years, according to CMS Administrator Tom Scully.

Scully said that Medicare now would require physicians to see patients before prescribing wheelchairs or scooters. The agency also plans extensive physician education on physicians' prescribing responsibilities and necessary criteria of Medicare coverage.

CMS will start its campaign, Operation Wheeler Dealer, in Harris County, Texas, which saw tenfold growth in power wheelchair sales from 2001 to 2002.

NIH seeking applicants for loan repayment programs

The National Institutes of Health is accepting applications to its five loan repayment programs, which cover up to $35,000 a year of qualified educational debt. The agency is seeking health professionals pursuing careers in clinical, pediatric, contraception and infertility, or health disparities research. The application deadline is Dec. 31.

Program participants must possess a doctoral-level degree, devote at least 50% of their time to research funded by a nonprofit organization or government entity, and have educational debt equal to 20% or more of their institutional base salary. More information is available online (www.lrp.nih.gov).

Health insurance premiums up in 2003

For the third year in a row, the average increase in health insurance premiums has hit double digits, according to a new survey of benefit managers for small and large companies.

The survey, sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust, found that premiums rose by an average of 13.9% in 2003. The average price for a family health insurance policy is now more than $9,000.

Despite this dramatic rise in prices, employers say they will continue offering their workers the option to buy health insurance. At the same time, employers are looking at cost-control measures, such as passing more of the expense of coverage onto employees. But many employers see the increases as an unsustainable trend over which they have little control.

FMA says patients should keep more of lawsuit awards

After seeing a tort reform package signed into law earlier this summer, the Florida Medical Assn. next will pursue a state constitution change that would allow patients to keep more of the money they are awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.

The FMA at its annual meeting in late August voted to support a requirement that patients keep 70% of the first $250,000 they are awarded and 90% of anything above that. Court costs would be deducted from that 70% or 90% awarded to the plaintiff.