GOVERNMENTHHS prodded to implement liability coverage for free clinic volunteersThese facilities would welcome any help with their overhead costs but are worried that the awaited rules will be too burdensome.By Joel B. Finkelstein, amednews staff. June 28, 2004. Washington -- The idea seemed so simple when it passed in Congress. To attract more retired and off-hours physicians to volunteer at free clinics, the government would provide their liability coverage. But nearly eight years later, this tiny provision of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act has been stymied by confusion over how to implement it. The delay is taking a toll. With medical liability premiums skyrocketing, many free clinics are feeling the pinch. "It's a major problem nationally that is closing some free clinics," said Patricia White, executive director of West Virginia Health Right, a free clinic in Charleston. Now some lawmakers are getting involved. In a June 4 letter, Sens. Judd Gregg (R, N.H.) and Ron Wyden (D, Ore.), urged the Health and Human Services Dept. to expedite the rule-making process so free clinics can begin to apply for participation in the federal program that provides liability insurance for federal workers and full-time staff at federally qualified health centers. "Part of our overall health plan must be to provide the staffing, legal protection and resources necessary to deliver basic and preventive care to patients without insurance," said Gregg, who helped appropriate close to $5 million for the free clinic provision. "Extending liability coverage to volunteer physicians is one way to encourage more doctors to serve uninsured patients in free clinics." Also this month, the AMA House of Delegates adopted a Board of Trustees report that found that many retired and semi-retired physicians want to volunteer their services to the indigent and uninsured. The report concluded that HHS should issue regulations to implement the HIPAA provision and that states should ease licensing barriers, such as fees, to enable these doctors to volunteer. [...]Full text of American Medical News content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2004 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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