News in brief - July 19, 2004

Percentage of uninsured children drops - Lawmaker proposes health insurance without bounds - Millions can't pay their medical bills - Md. tort reform task force named - HHS expands access to rapid HIV test

Percentage of uninsured children drops

Although the total number of people without health insurance has continued to rise over the past few years, the percentage of uninsured children hit an all-time low of 10.1% in 2003, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.

That marks a significant increase in coverage from 1997, when 13.9% of children didn't have insurance, and a small improvement from 2002, when 10.5% of children were uninsured. But that still means that 7.2 million children weren't covered in 2003.

Lawmaker proposes health insurance without bounds

Rep. John Shadegg (R, Ariz.) has introduced a bill that would allow private health insurers offering products in one state to sell policies to individuals in other states. Current law requires plans to be regulated by any state where they offer their products.

"Rather than going through 50 different regulatory processes, this bill will allow an insurance company to go through one process and sell to people in all 50 states," Shadegg said. Proponents said the legislation would foster competition while letting people shop nationally for the best product.

The White House released a statement saying that it supported the measure.

Millions can't pay their medical bills

Medical debt affects 20 million families, or about 43 million Americans, often causing them to delay seeking subsequent medical care, according to a recent report from the Center for Studying Health System Change.

Two-thirds of those families also report difficulty paying for basic necessities, such as rent or mortgage payments, transportation costs and food. Although the uninsured are twice as likely to have medical debt, the insured are not immune. Two-thirds of families with medical debt have health insurance. About half of the country's personal bankruptcies are due at least in part to medical debt.

"These findings underscore the growing affordability crisis in our health care system, which is jeopardizing the health and financial security of millions of Americans," said Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund.

Md. tort reform task force named

Maryland has a new governor-appointed Task Force on Medical Malpractice and Health Care Access. Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. June 25 announced a group of 20 people that includes legislators, lawyers, doctors, administrators, a trial court judge and others interested in the state's medical liability insurance problems.

The task force is scheduled to meet this summer and fall and consider changes to the tort system, patient safety and the insurance industry that could help temper rising insurance costs, which are driving some physicians out of business. It's expected to report its findings in November.

HHS expands access to rapid HIV test

The Dept. of Health and Human Services has extended the availability of a recently approved rapid oral HIV test from 38,000 labs to more than 100,000 sites, including doctors' offices, HIV counseling centers and community health centers. The department is also spending $4.8 million to add the rapid test to programs aimed at reducing HIV/AIDS among injection drug users.

Each year, 8,000 people with HIV get tested at public clinics but do not return a week later to get their results. The quick test enables patients to get their results in 20 minutes. The goal of the tests' expansion is to reduce the number of Americans -- now estimated at 225,000 -- who are unaware they are HIV-infected.