News in brief - Nov. 3, 2003

Senate passes late-term abortion ban - Mass. doctors back tort reform bill - HHS sets Medicare premiums - Drug reimportation savings

Senate passes late-term abortion ban

The Senate on Oct. 21 voted 64-34 agreeing to final legislation banning so-called "partial-birth" abortions. President Bush has said that he will sign the legislation.

The measure includes an exception to preserve the life of the woman, but not her health. Abortion rights groups have vowed to challenge the law on constitutional grounds, and many experts expect the law to be overturned in the courts, as a similar Nebraska abortion ban was. Medical groups, including the AMA, opposed the bill as an inappropriate imposition of federal regulation on medical decision-making. Physicians also voiced concern that the bill's definition of the procedure could have chilling effects on all late-term abortions.

Mass. doctors back tort reform bill

Physicians from the Massachusetts Medical Society in October told lawmakers that they support a bill before the state's House that proposes medical liability reforms similar to those adopted in California in 1975.

The bill would allow physicians to pay judgments of more than $50,000 over time rather than in one lump sum; allow the courts to consider health insurance and other future collateral sources in determining judgments so that plaintiffs do not collect twice for economic damages; and require expert witnesses to be board certified in the same or similar specialties as defendant physicians.

The legislation also proposes eliminating a mechanism that allows people to easily avoid the state's existing $500,000 cap on noneconomic damages.

HHS sets Medicare premiums

The monthly premium paid by Medicare beneficiaries to enroll in Part B in 2004 will be $66.60, an increase of 12.5% from $58.70 in 2003, the Dept. of Health and Human Services announced.

About 95% of Medicare's 42 million beneficiaries enroll in the program, and nearly 90% have some form of supplemental coverage, such as medigap or Medicaid, that reduces their out-of-pocket costs.

HHS also announced the Medicare Part A deductible would be $876 in 2004, an increase of $36 from 2003.

Drug reimportation savings

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that House legislation to allow reimportation of prescription drugs would save the federal government and American consumers more than $40 billion over 10 years. The bill would ease drug reimportation more than language included in the Medicare reform legislation now being ironed out by House and Senate lawmakers. The reimportation bill is the position of House negotiators, but a majority of the Senate lawmakers oppose the measure.

An earlier CBO report estimated that no significant cost savings would result with the reimportation provisions currently in the Medicare bill.