News in brief - March 1, 2004

Washington Senate passes tort reform - Illinois bill aims to improve liability insurance climate - Federal government backtracks on disparities report - Stroke prevention bill offered - SCHIP up by 5.8 million children - Bill would halt growth of long-term-care hospitals

Washington Senate passes tort reform

In a first step toward enacting tort reform in Washington state, the Senate on Feb. 10 passed a bill that includes a $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages awarded in medical malpractice cases and allows future economic damages to be paid over time when they exceed $100,000.

The bill goes to the House, which failed to pass legislation last year after the Senate passed a bill similar to this year's measure. Physicians say that tort reforms included in the bill are essential to stabilizing insurance rates and keeping physicians in practice. Trial lawyers argue that the reforms will not solve the problem and are unfair to people harmed by medical negligence. The American Medical Association lists Washington as one of 19 states that is experiencing a medical liability crisis.

Illinois bill aims to improve liability insurance climate

The Illinois State Medical Society is backing state legislation introduced last month that it says will preserve access to health care services for patients and will reduce meritless lawsuits against physicians.

The Medical Liability Crisis and Access to Care Law of 2004 proposes requiring the filing of the names and addresses of physicians supplying required certificates of merit for medical malpractice lawsuits, allowing only one 90-day extension to file certificates of merit, and increasing the minimum qualifications of physicians signing certificates of merit.

The bill, introduced in both the Illinois House and Senate, also calls for enactment of good-faith immunity for physicians and other health professionals who provide emergency department or trauma care and expansion of the state grant program that awards money for professional liability premiums.

Federal government backtracks on disparities report

After congressional Democrats raised a hullabaloo about changes to a federal report on health disparities, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson promised to re-release the report in a form that is closer to the original and grimmer draft version.

Thompson said the previously released report was the work of department officials who "took it upon themselves to rewrite" the document, and it was a mistake that would be rectified. The revisions included cutting out conclusions about the prevalence and impact of disparities and editing out the use of the word "disparity" in most cases.

Stroke prevention bill offered

U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D, Calif.) has introduced a bill to raise public awareness about stroke prevention and treatment. The measure calls for new money for states to establish better access to care for stroke patients, creation of a national stroke registry and a clearinghouse of best practices in stroke treatment and prevention, and training of physicians and others in new methods of stroke treatment and prevention.

Stroke takes the lives of nearly 16,000 Americans and debilitates many more every year, Capps said. "What makes this so heartbreaking is the fact that much of this suffering can be prevented with the treatments we have today," she said.

SCHIP up by 5.8 million children

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services statistics show that 5.8 million children were enrolled in the State Children's Health Insurance Program at some point in 2003. That is a 9% increase from 2002, when 5.3 million children were enrolled in the program. "These numbers show that even in economic hard times, the states place a high priority on getting needed health insurance to children," said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.

But nearly 7 million SCHIP-eligible children went without coverage for at least part of 2003, and six states were freezing enrollment by the end of that year, said a December 2003 report from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Bill would halt growth of long-term-care hospitals

U.S. Rep. Pete Stark (D, Calif.) recently introduced legislation that would place a moratorium on any additional Medicare long-term-care hospital beds until the Dept. of Health and Human Services secretary can determine if more beds are needed.

Stark said the number of long-term-care hospitals has increased from 109 to 300 in the past decade, and Medicare spending for these facilities is expected to grow from $398 million in 1993 to $2.3 billion in 2005.

"With the dramatic growth of long-term-care hospitals, Congress ought to take a hard look at whether this growth corresponds to actual need," Stark said. "At issue is whether these facilities are merely cash cows for the corporate investors or if they are truly adding value to the care provided to our seniors and people with disabilities."