News in brief - April 10, 2006

Medicare rate freeze law challenged - Vermont Senate approves "I'm sorry" legislation - Millions more sign up for Medicare drugs

Medicare rate freeze law challenged

The consumer rights group Public Citizen has filed a federal lawsuit alleging the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, containing a major provision for physicians, is unconstitutional.

President Bush in February signed the legislation, which froze Medicare physician rates at last year's levels, among other policy changes. But because of an unrelated clerical error, the House and the Senate technically passed two slightly different versions of the bill. Congressional Republicans and White House officials refuted charges that the law is unconstitutional. If the court accepts Public Citizen's assertion that both houses must pass identical bills for the legislation to become law, lawmakers would need to re-legislate the entire deficit bill.

Vermont Senate approves "I'm sorry" legislation

The Vermont Senate in March unanimously passed a bill that would allow physicians to apologize to patients for medical errors without allowing the statements to be used against them in lawsuits. At press time, the measure, supported by the Vermont Medical Society, was expected to clear the House and receive Gov. Jim Douglas' stamp of approval.

The law would "encourage greater communication between physicians and patients and remove the element of fear of civil liability," said Paul Harrington, executive vice president of the Vermont Medical Society, which was active in drafting the bill.

If the measure is enacted, Vermont would become one of about 20 states with a safe apology statute, according to 2005 data from the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Millions more sign up for Medicare drugs

Nearly 2 million beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare's prescription drug benefit between mid-February and mid-March, the Dept. of Health and Human Services recently announced.

More than 27 million beneficiaries out of the 43 million eligible seniors and disabled people are receiving federal assistance with their drug costs, HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt said. Out of that number, just more than 7 million signed up for the stand-alone benefit. The remainder were automatically enrolled or receive subsidized drugs through a former employer, managed care plan or other federal program.

Leavitt said Medicare is expecting a big Part D enrollment rush in the final weeks and days leading up to the May 15 deadline for this year's coverage cycle. He urged seniors to sign up early to avoid a last-minute crunch.