News in brief - Jan. 3, 2011

Obama signs red flags bill

President Obama on Dec. 18, 2010, signed legislation that excludes physicians from being considered creditors and thus from being required to implement an identity theft prevention plan.

Congress approved a bill that would keep most doctors from having to comply with the so-called red flags rule, which mandates certain ID theft protection measures such as monitoring programs. The American Medical Association and other physician organizations have argued for years that the red flags regulation poses a bureaucratic burden for medical professionals who already are subject to regulations that safeguard patient information.

The organizations said the measure is a step toward resolving the problem. But they still are waiting for the Federal Trade Commission to acknowledge publicly that the agency will comply with the physician exemption.

Until that happens, a lawsuit filed by the Litigation Center of the American Medical Association and the State Medical Societies against the FTC will continue. The suit also will not be dropped until the resolution of a similar lawsuit filed by the American Bar Assn. against the FTC, the AMA said.

"The AMA is pleased that this legislation supports AMA's long-standing argument to the FTC that physicians are not creditors," AMA President Cecil B. Wilson, MD, said in a statement.

"AMA's efforts have made a difference for physicians, with five delays of the red flags rule implementation date already," he added. "We hope that the FTC will now withdraw its assertion that the red flags rule applies to physicians."

The FTC said it was pleased that Congress clarified the original statute, which was "clearly overbroad." But at this article's deadline, the agency had issued no further announcement about anything concerning the red flags rule since the enactment of the latest bill.

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Insurance mandate repeal could keep uninsured numbers high

The national health reform law would not be nearly as effective at expanding coverage to the more than 50 million people who are uninsured without the law's requirement for nearly all individuals to have health coverage.

That's according to "Why the Individual Mandate Matters," an analysis released Dec. 21 by the Urban Institute and commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The health reform law is expected to reduce the number of uninsured to 22.1 million people, or 8.3% of the population, if implemented with the individual insurance mandate. If the mandate were eliminated and the remainder of the health reform law were implemented, the number of uninsured would decrease to only 40 million, or 15% of the population.

The calculation assumes full implementation of the act and the individual mandate based on 2010 figures, although neither will be fully in place until 2014.

The report is available online (www.rwjf.org/coverage/product.jsp?id=71601).

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Health reform law could save states money

States will spend between $21 billion and $43 billion more on Medicaid coverage for low-income adults from 2014 to 2019 under the national health reform law's Medicaid expansion. However, states' net spending on health care during this period could decrease due to less uncompensated care and the availability of subsidized coverage for certain Medicaid enrollees, according to a new study.

"Net Effects of the Affordable Care Act on State Budgets" was released Dec. 1 by the Urban Institute and commissioned by First Focus, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that advocates for children and families.

The health reform law is expected to increase federal spending, sometimes to the benefit of states. States could save at least $21 billion between 2014 and 2019 if they shifted most Medicaid enrollees earning more than 133% of poverty to subsidized coverage that will be available in health insurance exchanges, the report concluded. States also could save at least $43 billion through decreased spending on indigent care under the coverage expansions. Also, the Medicaid expansion will increase the federal share of spending on mental health and substance abuse treatment, savings states at least an additional $20 billion.

The report is available online (www.firstfocus.net/library/reports/net-effects-of-the-affordable-care-act-on-state-budgets).

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More Maryland doctors signing up for EMRs

Maryland's regional extension center for health information technology signed up its 200th clinician in December, something the state considers a "major milestone" in its mission to assist 1,000 primary care physicians in transitioning to electronic medical records by 2014.

EMR certification is part of a broad Obama administration initiative, and RECs were created to provide outreach and support services to about 100,000 primary care physicians and hospitals nationwide.

In 2010, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced the final meaningful use objectives physicians need to meet to be eligible for EMR incentive payments starting this year. As of Dec. 1, 2010, more than 22,000 primary care physicians nationwide had signed on to work with 62 RECs on implementing paperless systems. Maryland has been supported by the nonprofit Chesapeake Regional Information System for Our Patients.

This content was published online only.

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