NHHA LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
May 3, 2004
Medical malpractice bill passes in amended form
HB 1413, creating screening panels for medical injury
claims, passed the Senate in an amended form this week. The
Senate changes restore key elements and addresses concerns we
had with the House version. Now we expect the bill to go to a
Committee of Conference to see if the differences between the
House and Senate versions can be reconciled in a way that
preserves the key elements of the bill as passed by the
Senate.
A 'Christmas tree' bill passes
SB 376, which we support, passed House Finance this week. This bill started out in the Senate as an entirely different piece of legislation, but now pertains to this interesting collection of issues:
- It gives non-profit hospitals the option of participating in the State's group contract for the purchase of pharmaceuticals and other products and services. Any savings realized would be retained by the non-profit hospital;
- It amends the Medicaid Enhancement Tax calculation from '6% of gross patient service revenue' to '6% of net patient service revenue' as required by CMS;
- It amends the county nursing home Proshare program;
- It amends the statewide nursing home tax designed to 'enhance' Medicaid payments to nursing homes;
- It requires DHHS to get Legislative Fiscal Committee approval for any State Medicaid Plan changes; and
- It provides an exemption from the nursing home bed moratorium for hospitals seeking critical access hospital designation, allowing them to reclassify swing beds as a distinct part unit.
Contract disputes bill killed
SB 389, relative to health carrier and provider contract disputes, was killed in the House.
The House Commerce Committee felt that an existing
statutory Joint Committee (the SB 470 committee) should
examine the effects of such disputes, the mediation approach,
and other responses in depth. That committee is already
charged with examining the accelerating points of conflict
between insurance carriers and health care facilities. SB 470
is expected to continue during the summer months.
Fix for SB 110
SB 419 was intended to fix problems in the small group health insurance market reportedly caused by the passage of SB 110 last year. SB 419 is expected to be killed in the House this week. The Commerce Committee determined that promulgating SB 419 was premature, as SB 110 had not had an opportunity to mature.
To view any of these bills, go to
http://www.nhha.org/nhha/state_law/bills.php.
