GOVERNMENT & MEDICINE

News in brief - May 5, 2008

Specialty hospital ban dropped - CMS offers $50 million in grants to boost primary care access - Massachusetts EMR project extended

Specialty hospital ban dropped

Senate negotiators working on a farm bill last month proposed including language that essentially would have banned physician-owned specialty hospitals, but they pulled the provision after an outcry from House lawmakers and the American Medical Association.

The move would have offset some of the cost of the farm bill by prohibiting doctors from referring Medicare patients to specialty hospitals in which they have an ownership interest.

Physician organizations, including the AMA, say specialty hospitals provide patients and doctors more opportunity to pursue high-quality care in an alternative setting to the general hospital.

"As we work to improve the health care system, it is bad policy to take away patients' health care choices by banning specialty hospitals -- especially under the cover of the farm bill," said AMA Immediate Past President William G. Plested III, MD. "This is a sneak attack by general hospitals attempting to eliminate competition."

CMS offers $50 million in grants to boost primary care access

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last month announced the recipients of $50 million in grants to help Medicaid programs support local and rural initiatives to help individuals access preventive care through alternative settings.

The awards were created by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and will go to 29 entities in 20 states to establish new community health centers, extend the hours of existing clinics and allow facilities to share electronic health information. The grant list is available online (www.cms.hhs.gov/grantsalternanonemergserv).

Massachusetts EMR project extended

An electronic medical record pilot program run by the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative will be extended for six months, the organization announced on April 10. The pilot program was funded by a Massachusetts BlueCross BlueShield grant. However, because of efficient project management, there is enough surplus remaining for medical practices to participate in the program's health information exchange through the end of the year, the collaborative stated.

"We are extending the program at a critical juncture for the pilot practices," said Micky Tripathi, the collaborative's president and CEO. "These technologies are difficult to get up and running, and it takes time for physicians to fully incorporate these new functions into their day-to-day care processes. With six additional months of support, we expect to see increased utilization and adoption of both the EMRs and the HIE," he said.

The collaborative was formed in 2004 to establish an EMR system in the state. The program provides EMRs to 435 medical practices in three communities.