News in brief - May 16, 2011

Repeal of health reform law doomed, key Republican says

The Republican effort to repeal and replace the health system reform law is dead, said Rep. Dave Camp (R, Mich.), chair of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Camp voted for a House GOP measure to repeal the law, and he supports his version of reform legislation to replace it. Given the current political situation, he said now is the time to put those efforts aside and build consensus with Democrats on ways to reform federal entitlement programs.

"I'm not really interested in just laying down more markers," Camp told reporters during a May 5 briefing sponsored by the journal Health Affairs. "I'd rather have the committee, working with the Senate and with the president, focused on savings and reforms that can be signed into law."

Camp was asked about the Republican campaign promise to repeal and replace the health reform law. The House passed a repeal bill on Jan. 19, but the bill has not moved forward in the upper chamber.

"Is the repeal dead?" he said. "I don't think the Senate is going to do it, so I guess yes."

The House may vote on legislation to repeal the individual mandate provision of the reform law during the 112th Congress, Camp added. But that issue probably will hinge on legal challenges to the law, he said.

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Arizona governor vetoes interstate insurance purchasing

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a bill April 28 that would have allowed individual Arizonans and small businesses to buy health insurance from out-of-state insurance companies.

The bill would have permitted health plans licensed in other states to sell policies in Arizona, bypassing benefit mandates adopted by the state Legislature. Brewer said in her April 28 veto letter that the Legislature had carefully weighed each of these mandates, and therefore they should not change based on legislative decisions in other states. She said she shares the Legislature's concerns about the cost of health insurance, but that the bill would have limited the Arizona Dept. of Insurance's ability to regulate out-of-state health plans and could have put local policyholders at risk.

Bill supporters said it was an attempt to give individuals and small businesses the ability to buy insurance from around the country, an option available only to larger employers. Brewer received thousands of calls, emails and other contacts about the bill.

The Arizona Medical Assn. did not return messages seeking comment on the bill and the veto. The Arizona Nurses Assn. had sent a letter to Brewer signed by 30 other health care organizations opposing the bill.

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Medicare streamlines telehealth credentialing

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has simplified credentialing requirements for hospitals and doctors seeking to deliver telehealth services in remote areas.

CMS changed the process hospitals use for granting privileges to physicians who provide care using telemedicine systems, the agency stated in a final rule released May 2. The regulation extends the option of a streamlined enrollment process to small hospitals and critical access facilities that use telemedicine services. The action will improve access to specialty services for Medicare patients, CMS said.

"CMS' new rules will truly help patients receive the care they need, no matter where they live or where their doctor is located," said Dale Alverson, MD, president of the American Telemedicine Assn.

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Missouri hospitals lose suit against tobacco companies

A St. Louis jury has ruled in favor of large tobacco companies in a lawsuit filed by 37 Missouri hospitals seeking compensation for treating patients with smoking-related illnesses.

The suit, which took more than 12 years to reach trial, sought about $455 million in damages from six large tobacco companies, including Philip Morris USA. After a nine-week trial, jurors on April 29 returned a 9-3 verdict in favor of the defendants.

A Philip Morris spokesman said the jury correctly rejected the hospitals' claims and confirmed that ordinary cigarettes are not negligently designed or defective. At this article's deadline, the hospitals had not indicated if they planned to appeal.

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