NHHA
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
April 29, 2005
MEDICAL LIABILITY
Pretrial Screening. The hearing on Senate Bill 214 was
held in the House Judiciary Committee this week. Al Felgar,
CEO, Frisbie Memorial Hospital, provided compelling testimony
on behalf of New Hampshire’s hospitals in which he illustrated
how rising malpractice premiums recently caused five Rochester
OB/GYNs to relocate to Maine to reduce their malpractice
premiums. Physicians, insurers, attorneys and patients all
weighed in at the six-hour hearing. A Maine attorney described
how well the panel system works in Maine. Representatives from
Medical Mutual Insurance Company of Maine explained the lower
costs in resolving claims in Maine versus New Hampshire.
SB 214 would establish a 3-member panel to review medical
malpractice claims prior to trial. The bill is supported by
physicians, hospitals, medical liability insurers, and health
insurers. SB 214 includes the three provisions needed for
meaningful reform: that the panels be mandatory, that an
appropriate standard of proof be met by the plaintiff, and
that a unanimous panel finding adverse to the plaintiff be
admissible at trial.
The Committee will be working on this bill over the next few
weeks.
Meanwhile, the House-passed screening bill – HB 702 – was
tabled by the Senate last week.
STATE BUDGET
Medicaid. The Senate Finance Committee held a public
hearing this week on the budget bills – House Bill 1 and House
Bill 2. NHHA testified and specifically requested that the
Senate restore the $6 million in Medicaid capital payments
that has always been recognized as an integral part of the
Medicaid payment methodology. When added to other payment cuts
imposed on hospitals since November 2003, hospitals will have
been hit with $24 million in cuts. Hospitals’ capital costs
are the result of medically necessary diagnostic and treatment
services involving sophisticated medical technology. Click
here to view NHHA’s testimony.
Next week, the legislative Fiscal Committee will determine
whether it can fund Medicaid services through the remaining
two months of the current Fiscal Year 2005. Medicaid has run
out of funds, and claims will not be paid until either the
Committee grants approval for the expenditure (contingent on
the transfer of funds) or the start of the new fiscal year
beginning July 1, 2005.
NURSE PRACTICE ACT
The House is considering a comprehensive revision of the Nurse
Practice Act, which has been passed by the Senate. NHHA
supports SB 170, which if passed, will update New Hampshire’s
Nurse Practice Act in conformance with national standards of
the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, and would
allow nursing practice to appropriately evolve over time. SB
170 is supported by the NH Nurses Association and the NH Nurse
Practitioner Association. The hearing on this bill was held
this week, and work sessions will begin next week.
SMALL GROUP INSURANCE
A hearing will be held May 5 on SB 125, which would remove
health status and geography as small group rating factors;
establish a reinsurance mechanism for sicker employees;
include a rate cap limited to 20% per year; and set a maximum
premium rate differential of 3.5 to 1.
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.
