NHHA LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
January 13, 2005
Governor Lynch Inaugurated
Governor John Lynch was sworn in as Governor on January 6th
In his inaugural address, the Governor reinforced his positions on health care by committing to enrolling every eligible child in the Healthy Kids Program, as well as citing the “soaring cost of health insurance” as "the number one issue facing our businesses," and urging the repeal of Senate Bill 110. Governor Lynch announced the creation of a Task Force on Health Care that bring together consumers, providers, business leaders, and elected officials to recommend innovative solutions to the unsustainable costs of health care. Citing New Hampshire’s $300 million budget deficit, the Governor proposed a bipartisan/nonpartisan effort to meet the challenge together. Finally, the Governor repeatedly emphasized the importance of government that is open, ethical and honest.
The Legislature began the 2005 session with hearings and meetings on the following issues:
Fertility Services: The House Health & Human Services Committee held hearings this week on two bills: HB 105, “relative to denial of fertility treatment to a fertility patient” and HB 106, “establishing a commission to study the practices and procedures of fertility clinics and to develop standards of care for such clinics.” NHHA testified in opposition to HB 105, stating that while the bill prohibits hospitals from denying fertility treatment except for medical or payment reasons, we informed the committee that there may be legitimate reasons for denying treatment that fall outside the scope of medical or payment reasons. In addition, the bill proposes to amend the hospital statute, RSA 151, but fertility services are provided in non-hospital settings as well. Click here to view NHHA’s testimony.
A subcommittee will meet next week to deliberate on these two bills.
Mandatory Overtime for Nurses: The House Labor Committee heard testimony on HB 66, “Regulating mandatory overtime for nurses.” This bill stems from last year’s study committee on medical errors in which concerns over extended work periods and their effects on patient safety were aired. HB 66 would prohibit disciplinary action against a nurse who refuses to work more than 12 consecutive hours. NHHA informed the committee of the significant efforts with which New Hampshire’s hospitals are engaged prevent medical errors. We stressed the recognition that New Hampshire has received for its high quality health care, as well as efforts to address the nursing shortage in the state.
We reported on a recent survey in which no hospital reported mandatory overtime, except in those rare instances when patients are at risk. Click here to view NHHA’s testimony.
A subcommittee was formed to look into this issue further.
Go to
http://www.nhha.org/nhha/state_law/bills.php to view the
list of bills NHHA will be tracking in 2005. Additional bills
will be added as we become aware of them.
