Legislative Update
July 7, 2003
LEGISLATURE NEARLY WRAPS UP 2003 SESSION – BUDGET WORK NOT
FINISHED
Ironically, the 3-month temporary budget provides the higher level of funding of the compromise budget that resulted in the Governor’s veto. Therefore, state business will continue uninterrupted, with Medicaid payments to providers being processed.
House and Senate leadership appointed budget conferees who are expected to begin their work Wednesday, July 9th. Legislators assigned to the Joint Budget Advisory Group are Senators Robert Clegg (Hudson), Dick Green (Rochester), Ted Gatsas (Manchester), Lou D’Allesandro (Manchester), Robert Boyce (Alton); and Representatives Michael Whalley (Alton Bay); Neal Kurk (Weare); Kenneth Weyler (Kingston); Rogers Johnson (Stratham) and Mary Jane Wallner (Concord). House alternates are Robert Wheeler (Goffstown); Robert Giuda (Warren) and Marjorie Smith (Durham).
NHHA 2003 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES
Hospitals’ priorities for the 2003 legislative session included medical liability, certificate of need, Medicaid budget, hospitals’ tax exempt status, and health data privacy. Hospitals fared well with these issues. Though the budget is not yet final, we were successful in securing support toward the end of the session to prevent the deep cuts in Medicaid reimbursement proposed by the Governor and the House.
MEDICAL LIABILITY: LOSS OF OPPORTUNITY DOCTRINE OVERRULED
NHHA, along with other healthcare groups, successfully negotiated legislation to fix a major medical liability problem created by the courts. Despite intense opposition, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 119, which overrules the decision in Lord v. Lovett (146 N.H. 232, NH Supreme Court decision of April 4, 2001) and specifically removes the “Loss of Opportunity” doctrine from state law. As applied by the courts, this doctrine had expanded the scope of the state’s medical injury statute, permitting patients to recover damages for a new type of injury – the loss of opportunity for a better outcome, i.e. if their medical care could have resulted in a substantially better outcome – not just if the care provided resulted in injury. The Legislature therefore determined that the passage of SB 119 is a necessary step in holding down the escalating costs of medical malpractice insurance. SB 119 went into effect June 30, 2003.
NHHA and our partners in the Fair Medical Liability Task Force were successful in killing a competing bill (HB 290) promoted by the NH Trial Lawyers Association, which would have codified the Loss of Opportunity doctrine into state law.
In a related bill (HB 287), the legislature created two commissions to address malpractice and medical errors. The Professional Malpractice Claims Study Commission will examine the Professional Malpractice Claims Panel established under RSA 519-A and determine how this panel can be used to contain the cost of liability insurance. Hospitals will have two represent-atives on the malpractice commission as well as the Commission to Identify Medical Errors and Their Causes.
CERTIFICATE OF NEED BOARD RETAINED
Two competing CON bills were defeated this year thus ensuring the continuation of the Health Services Planning & Review Board (the CON Board). NHHA supports continuation of the CON program operating under the auspices of a consumer/provider board, that provides a public decision-making process regarding availability of essential services which market forces working alone would not afford. House Bill 788 proposed to deregulate New Hampshire's health care market by abolishing the CON Board, transferring the CON review function to the Department of Health & Human Services, and limiting CON regulatory oversight to inpatient services only. NHHA supported the Senate’s CON bill, SB 163, which would have retained the CON Board and require review of equipment operating leases. However, once the House gutted SB 163, and inserted all the provisions of HB 788, NHHA worked to kill the bill which died in Committee of Conference.
TAX EXEMPT STATUS: STUDY COMMITTEE EXTENDED ONE YEAR
The Legislature passed House Bill 172 to extend the study committee on the property tax exemption for not-for-profit hospitals. The bill also requires the committee to include a study of the community benefits law and to file its report by November of 2003. This committee is one of several in which legislators have investigated hospital business practices. Throughout the past five years, none of these committees have reported problems with hospitals’ business practices.
HEALTH DATA PRIVACY
NHHA opposed a bill that would have created a quasi-government non-profit entity supported by provider taxes ($700,000 charged to hospitals) to oversee health care data in New Hampshire. Senate Bill 78 was one of numerous privacy bills stemming from the legislature’s Privacy Task Force. While NHHA applauds efforts to highlight the need for comprehensive health information to be made available, we’re opposed to the Legislature creating a quasi-governmental entity to be in charge of such an initiative. The proposed Health Care Information Council would have duplicated work presently carried out by the Department of Health & Human Services as well as data collection and analysis that DHHS is already authorized to conduct.
Senate Bill 78 has been ‘retained’ in committee, which significantly limits any further work on the bill this session. Instead, the Legislature added a very diluted version of SB 78 to House Bill 670 requiring DHHS and the Insurance Department to collect encrypted health insurance claims data and to collaborate to create a comprehensive health care information system.
For more information on legislation, visit the NHHA website at www.nhha.org.
To view any of these bills, go to http://www.nhha.org/state_law/bills/bills.php.
