January 24, 2005
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MHA's Monday Executive Briefing
January 24, 2005
In this week's edition...
State News
1. Flaggs to lead SLC panel
2. Mississippi Press Association to roast Gov. Barbour
3. Proposal to take $20M from anti-smoking fund 'foolish,' Moore says
4. Campaign finance bills are back
National News
5. Report on U.S. tort system costs published
6. Courts dismiss cases in Ohio, Georgia
7. CMS article reviews mandatory submission of electronic claims to Medicare
8. Liability premium shock is spreading, an AMNews exclusive survey shows
9. HHS tests alternatives to malpractice lawsuits
10. Frist calls for health insurance tax changes, payment incentives for EHRs
11. Sarbanes-Oxley Act in askSam Database
12. Medicare to cover cardiac device
13. RNC chair unveils 'durable majority' plan
14. Confirmation process starts for Leavitt as HHS chief
State News
1. Flaggs to lead SLC panel
Rep. George Flaggs, Jr., D-Vicksburg, is incoming chairman of the Southern Legislatie Conference's committee on public health and public safety.
He takes over as chairman at an SLC meeting in Mobile in August. His panel brings together lawmakers from 16 Southern states to share ideas on issues from Medicaid to homeland security.
Flaggs, who will serve as chairman for two years, hopes to bring some meetings to Mississippi. Representing District 55 in Warren County, he's served since 1988.
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2. Mississippi Press Association to roast Gov. Barbour
Gov. Haley Barbour has agreed to be the main course for the 2005 Celebrity Roast. It will be held Feb. 5, at the Hilton Hotel on County Line Road in Jackson. The reception will begin at 6 p.m. with dinner beginning at 7 p.m.
Roasters will include State Auditor Phil Bryant, Clarion-Ledger editorial cartoonist Marshall Ramsey, State Representative Steve Holland, and other surprise speakers. Clarion-Ledger perspective editor Sid Salter will again serve as "roastmaster" this year.
Over the last 15 years, the roast has marked one evening each year when the state's politicians and the press come together for a common goal to advance journalism education. Over $75,000 in scholarship funds has been raised over the last decade.
The public is invited to attend the 2005 roast on Feb. 5. Tickets are $75 each or $500 for a table of eight. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact MPA Office Manager Kimberly Haydu at khaydu@mspress.org or (601) 981-3060.
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3. Proposal to take $20M from anti-smoking fund 'foolish,' Moore says
Former Attorney General Mike Moore said today it would be a "foolish" if lawmakers approve Gov. Haley Barbour's proposal to kill $20 million in annual funding for the Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi. For the full story from The Clarion Ledger, click here.
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4. Campaign finance bills are back
They're baaaacckk. The House Elections Committee on Jan. 18 approved a bill that would require more public disclosure about who's paying for Mississippi campaigns.
The bill is similar to one that was vetoed by Gov. Haley Barbour at the end of the 2004 legislative session. It has some provisions that Barbour and Republican senators objected to during lengthy discussions on last year's plan, including a $5,000 limit on what one political action committee can give to another.
Some lawmakers say that after one PAC passes money to another, it's difficult to know who originally gave the cash. The PAC-to-PAC provisions were removed before last year's bill went to the governor.
In vetoing the bill last year, Barbour said businesses would have been limited in what they could give to political action committees "as diverse as the Sierra Club or a right-to-life organization."
A separate campaign finance bill has been filed in the Senate this session.
House Elections Committee Chairman Tommy Reynolds, D-Water Valley, said he expects another long process of give-and-take between the two chambers, with plenty of input from the governor.
Secretary of State Eric Clark and Attorney General Jim Hood are among the officials who've called for greater disclosure about the sources of campaign money.
The bill approved Jan. 18 in the House Elections Committee would increase from $1,000 to $2,000 the amount that corporations could give to candidates. Rep. Hank Zuber, R-Ocean Springs, said if businesses are limited in their giving, unions should be, too. The committee amended the bill to reflect his wish.
The bill passed committee on a voice vote with no opposition. The bill, HB 1101, moves to the full House for consideration.
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National News
5. Report on U.S. tort system costs published
Towers Perrin’s in-depth study of U.S. tort system costs discloses recent data and ongoing trends. For the full report, click here.
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6. Courts dismiss cases in Ohio, Georgia
A federal judge for the Northern District of Ohio Friday dismissed all federal claims against ProMedica Health System, Inc. and the American Hospital Association. The case was based on an alleged breach of contract related to ProMedica's tax-exempt status. In his dismissal, the judge said that "…no court has ever held - and I refuse the invitation to be the first - that … tax-exempt status creates a contractual obligation." On the same day, a U.S. District Court judge for the Middle District of Georgia also dismissed federal claims in two lawsuits, one against the Central Georgia Health Systems, Inc., and the other against Athens Regional Health Services, Inc. The AHA was named in both lawsuits. In all three cases, the judges declined to rule on the state claims, but instead dismissed them without prejudice, which allows plaintiffs to refile them in state court.
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7. CMS article reviews mandatory submission of electronic claims to Medicare
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has published information on enforcement of mandatory electronic submission of Medicare claims under the Administrative Simplification Compliance Act. The act, which is associated with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, has required Medicare health care providers to submit claims electronically since Oct. 16, 2003, unless the provider meets certain exceptions. Violations may be subject to claim denials, overpayment recoveries and interest. The article outlines the exceptions to the requirement and the process for documenting them.
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8. Liability premium shock is spreading, an AMNews exclusive survey shows
But physicians in Texas and Mississippi say they're a little better off today than they were in 2001. For the full story, click here.
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9. HHS tests alternatives to malpractice lawsuits
As medical malpractice reform ranks high on President Bush's national domestic agenda, members of his administration are testing a complementary plan to speed the malpractice litigation process and potentially reduce costs.
HHS quietly introduced its Early Offers pilot program for resolving malpractice suits against its own providers last fall, HHS General Counsel Alex Azar told a group of health care attorneys at the American Bar Association's Washington health care summit in December. The program is an updated version of an idea first introduced in Congress in 1984 that never made it out of committee.
In this program, patients file a malpractice claim with HHS and are sent an Early Offers program notice confirming receipt of the claim. A review board then flags claims that are promising for early resolution. If they choose to participate, both sides have 90 days to file an offer amount to settle. The offers are filed independently with a third party, or "settlement depository." If the patient's settlement offer is equal to or below the HHS offer, the case is resolved immediately and both parties are notified.
The program was endorsed by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Federation of American Hospitals.
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10. Frist calls for health insurance tax changes, payment incentives for EHRs
In an article in the Jan. 20th New England Journal of Medicine, Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist outlines his vision for transforming the nation’s health care system, including tax changes intended to spur health coverage and payment incentives to promote electronic health records. The senator, a doctor, calls for limiting the tax exemption for employers that provide health coverage, saying tax incentives “that tightly bind health benefits to employment” are outdated and “universally blamed by economists for inflating health care costs.” He recommends tax credits to allow low-income Americans to buy into public or private health insurance programs, tax incentives to encourage higher income Americans to buy high-deductible catastrophic coverage, and payment incentives to encourage health care providers to deploy electronic health records. He also calls for doubling the capacity of community health centers over the next 10 years.
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11. Sarbanes-Oxley Act in askSam Database
A free, searchable database of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has been released by askSam Systems. Signed in the wake of the Enron and Worldcom scandals, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act reformed public accounting practices and other corporate governance processes and shored up the capital markets. For the full story, click here.
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12. Medicare To Cover Cardiac Device
The government has decided to expand its coverage for surgically implanted heart-shocking devices for people with weakened hearts, in what could be the most expensive single decision in Medicare's history, federal officials said Jan. 19. For the full story from The Washington Post, click here.
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13. RNC chair unveils 'durable majority' plan
Ken Mehlman took over leadership of the Republican Party on Jan. 19 and outlined plans to find new voters among the ranks of churchgoers and social conservatives.
"We can deepen the GOP by identifying and turning out Americans who vote for president but who often miss off-year elections and agree with our work on behalf of a culture of life, our promoting marriage, and a belief in our Second Amendment heritage," Mehlman said, referring to the party's opposition to abortion, gay marriage and gun control.
Bush's re-election campaign, headed by Mehlman, worked with the Republican National Committee in 2004 to target conservatives, independents and moderate Democrats who had rarely voted in past elections. Bush became the first president since 1936 to be re-elected while his party expanded majorities in the House and Senate. Republican governors head 28 states, including the four largest.
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14. Confirmation process starts for Leavitt as HHS chief
Confirmation hearings began for HHS Secretary-nominee Michael Leavitt in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, while Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) threatened to delay Leavitt's confirmation in an effort to force a vote on legalizing prescription drug imports from Canada. Leavitt, Environmental Protection Agency administrator and a former governor of Utah, said he favors giving states more flexibility in Medicaid programs. As Utah's governor, Leavitt secured the first-ever Medicaid waiver allowing a state to reduce benefits for some enrollees to finance coverage for more people. The Senate Finance Committee begins hearings on the nomination Wednesday and is expected to ask Leavitt more about his Medicaid views. A full Senate vote has not been scheduled.
Leavitt's confirmation is widely expected. However, a Dorgan spokesman said the senator may block the confirmation to force a reimportation vote. Dorgan held up the confirmation of CMS Administrator Mark McClellan last year until Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) promised a vote on the issue. The vote didn't occur. Dorgan would expect a more substantial commitment this time, the spokesman said.
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