NHHA LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
November 22, 2004
Preview Update of 2005 Legislation
Legislators are submitting bill titles for legislation they will introduce in January. NHHA will continue tracking until the closing dates for submission. So far, the following issues of interest to hospitals will appear on next year’s legislative agenda.
State Budget: State
agencies have been presenting their budgets for Fiscal Years
2006 and 2007 to the Governor and Governor-elect. The
Department of Health & Human Services is scheduled to unveil
its budget Tuesday, November 23rd. As the largest
portion of the Department’s budget, the Medicaid Program
budget is expected to attract much of the attention. Also,
with Medicaid Modernization or “GraniteCare” in play, we
expect to learn more about the Department’s fiscal plans
relative to Medicaid reform.
Medicaid: Tied in with the Medicaid budget are the many
statutes that define the state’s Medicaid policy. In order to
carry out any Medicaid reforms, state laws must be changed.
These bills will be introduced at the request of the
Department of Health & Human Services.
New Hampshire Quality Assurance Commission: A bill was
drafted by the Medical Errors Commission for the purpose
of establishing a quality assurance commission responsible for
the collection, analysis and dissemination of quality
assurance information on a statewide basis. The New Hampshire
Quality Assurance Commission would review and analyze quality
of care issues and propose changes to improve care.
Information will be confidential and protected.
Reporting of Hospital Infection Rates: This bill is the
result of a nationwide grassroots effort to require public
disclosure of hospital-acquired infection rates. This
legislation is being proposed in several states. We believe
that the Medicare Hospital Quality Initiative meets the spirit
of what the proposed bill intends to accomplish by publishing
hospital quality information.
Small Group Insurance: So far, 8 bills will be proposed
to deal with the impact of the passage of Senate Bill 110,
which has disproportionately impacted many of New Hampshire’s
small businesses with sharp increases in the cost of their
health insurance. One bill goes so far as to propose the
repeal of the small group health insurance changes contained
in SB 110.
Medical Malpractice Reform: Following the failure last
year to pass malpractice reform legislation, several bills
will be introduced including a bill to create mandatory
pretrial screening panel for medical injury claims.
Mandatory Overtime: A study committee was formed last
session to look into medical errors associated with medical
residents’ work hours. The committee looked into nursing
overtime, and is proposing limits on mandatory overtime.
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.
