More Legislative News from the ISMA
This bill was signed and passed by the Governor. I had blogged on it a couple of weeks ago.
BILL: SB 159 – Silent PPOs
AUTHOR: Sen. Beverly Gard, R-Greenfield
SPONSOR: Phil Hoy D-Evansville
ISMA POSITION: Support
STATUS: The governor signed SB 159 into law on March 13.
The bill requires conspicuous language in a physician contract if a network intends to sell a physician's discounted reimbursement rate to third parties. The network also will be required to maintain a Web site or toll-free phone number listing all networks to whom the contracting network has sold the discount.
SB 159 additionally requires third parties who purchase the discount to include contact information on explanation of benefits statements for the network that sold the discount.
Finally, the bill prohibits aggregators from selling or leasing physician reimbursement rates.
The following is a list of bills that have ended up in the Legislative Morgue and will not move forward at this time. The ISMA was supportive of some and opposed to others. But at this time, they will have to be re-introduced before further action can be taken.
BILL: SB 3 – Dispensing Drugs by a Pharmacist
AUTHOR: Jeff Drozda, R-Westfield
ISMA POSITION: Neutral with concerns
This bill would have permitted a pharmacist to refuse to fill a prescription if he/she believed that it would cause an abortion, destroy an unborn child, or cause the death of a person by means of assisted suicide.
BILL: SB 181 – Order of Priority for Health Care Decisions
AUTHOR: Sen. Sue Errington, D-Muncie
ISMA POSITION: Oppose
As introduced, the bill would have specified the order of priority by which persons are authorized to consent to health care for an individual who is incapable of consenting to health care and who has not appointed a health care representative.
The ISMA objected to the measure due to concern that specifying an absolute order of priority would complicate the already difficult situation that accompanies end of life decision making.
Current law lists many individuals eligible to make such a decision in the absence of a health care representative, without specifying a pecking order. Such flexibility is viewed as important by the ISMA.
BILL: SB 221 – Warning to Pregnant Women of Tobacco Use
AUTHOR: Sen. Vi Simpson, D-Bloomington
ISMA POSITION: Support
The bill would have required tobacco vending machine owners and establishments that sell tobacco to post a notice stating that smoking by pregnant women may result in fetal injury, premature death and low birth weight.
BILL: SB 270 – Jail Inmate Health Care
AUTHOR: Sen. Tom Wyss, R-Fort Wayne
ISMA POSITION: Support
SB 270 would have required a county to reimburse physicians, hospitals and other health care providers at the reimbursement rate of the county's health plan.
The bill also would have required that a sheriff could not release a person who was subject to lawful detention for the purpose of allowing the county to avoid payment of a person's health care expenses.
BILL: HB 1053 – Meningitis Vaccinations for College Students
AUTHOR: Rep. Tim Neese, R-Elkhart
ISMA POSITION: Support
The bill would have required incoming freshmen at any public university in Indiana to be vaccinated for meningitis, in addition to the current requirement of vaccination for diphtheria, tetanus, measles, mumps and rubella.
The bill contained an exemption for qualifying students and repealed the notice requirement to students encouraging voluntary vaccination for meningococcal meningitis.
BILL: HB 1055 – Assignment of Benefits
AUTHOR: Sen. Beverly Gard, R-Greenfield
ISMA POSITION: Support
This bill would have required insurers to honor a patient's assignment of benefits to out-of-network providers.
BILL: HB 1057 – Smoking Ban in Certain Public Places
AUTHOR: Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary
ISMA POSITION: Support
HB 1057 would have prohibited smoking statewide in:
• Public places
• Enclosed areas of a place of employment
• Certain state vehicles
Although the ISMA supported the bill, there were concerns that this legislation would not have provided a comprehensive smoking ban. Language in the bill exempted private residences, family- owned and operated businesses, certain hotel and motel rooms, retail stores that provide 60 percent of their business from the sale of tobacco, a private or semiprivate room of a health or long-term care facility, private vehicles, bars, clubs, fraternal organizations, bowling alleys, live pari-mutual horse-racing facilities and their satellite locations, riverboats and casinos.
BILL: HB 1082 – Medical Exams for School Bus Drivers
AUTHOR: Rep. Bob Bischoff, D-Greendale
ISMA POSITION: Support
The bill would have allowed an out-of-state doctor to perform a necessary medical exam before a person was allowed to drive a school bus. Current law only allows an in-state doctor to perform this exam.
BILL: HB 1126 – Wrongful Death or Injury of a Child
AUTHOR: Rep. Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington
ISMA POSITION: Oppose
HB 1126 would have included a viable fetus in the definition of a child for purposes of the Wrongful Death Act (WDA).
This bill was sought to counter a decision by the Indiana Supreme Court in 2002 that prohibited recovery under the WDA for the mother's unborn child as the result of an automobile accident.
The ISMA does not have a position on the underlying issue the bill addresses, which is recovery under the WDA for personal injury to an unborn child. The ISMA's concern with this bill is its potential impact on the Medical Malpractice Act.
The bill would likely change current case law holdings that allow for only one recovery to the mother for losses of unborn children.
The ISMA was prepared to express concern with the impact this bill would have on an already problematic malpractice situation for obstetrics, emergency medicine and primary care.
BILL: HB 1167 – Hand-held Mobile Telephone Use
AUTHOR: Rep. Vanessa Summers, D-Indianapolis
ISMA POSITION: Support
The bill would have made it a Class D infraction to operate a motor vehicle while using a hand-held mobile telephone. It provided exemptions for emergency situations, operators of authorized emergency vehicles, medical service vehicles, volunteer firefighters and emergency services professionals.
BILL: HB 1268 – Regulation of Cigarette Retail Sales
AUTHOR: Rep. Bill Cochran, D-New Albany
ISMA POSITION: Oppose
The bill would have exempted wholesale cigarette vendors from the Cigarette Fair Trade Act, which does not allow wholesalers or retailers to sell cigarettes below cost.
The ISMA was concerned that this bill would allow wholesalers to sell cigarettes to retailers below cost, which could lead to a reduction in the price of cigarettes statewide.
BILL: HB 1342 – Electronic Health Records System
AUTHOR: Rep. Mike Ripley, R-Monroe
ISMA POSITION: Oppose
HB 1342 would have required health care facilities and practitioners to use electronic health records systems for purposes of billing and receipt of claim payment services rendered by the facility or practitioner by Jan. 1, 2010.
The system would have had to allow for the exchange of information between the system and the claim payment system of each third party to which the practitioner submitted a bill.
BILL: HB 1362 – Non-Profit and County Hospitals
AUTHOR: Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary
ISMA POSITION: Oppose
This bill would have required physicians employed or contracted with a non-profit or county hospital to accept Medicaid patients.
HB 1362 was forwarded due to concerns of American Health Network about non-profit and county hospitals' ability to subsidize physician employees and contractors with tax breaks and public funds without requiring those physicians to accept Medicaid patients.
BILL: SB 159 – Silent PPOs
AUTHOR: Sen. Beverly Gard, R-Greenfield
SPONSOR: Phil Hoy D-Evansville
ISMA POSITION: Support
STATUS: The governor signed SB 159 into law on March 13.
The bill requires conspicuous language in a physician contract if a network intends to sell a physician's discounted reimbursement rate to third parties. The network also will be required to maintain a Web site or toll-free phone number listing all networks to whom the contracting network has sold the discount.
SB 159 additionally requires third parties who purchase the discount to include contact information on explanation of benefits statements for the network that sold the discount.
Finally, the bill prohibits aggregators from selling or leasing physician reimbursement rates.
The following is a list of bills that have ended up in the Legislative Morgue and will not move forward at this time. The ISMA was supportive of some and opposed to others. But at this time, they will have to be re-introduced before further action can be taken.
BILL: SB 3 – Dispensing Drugs by a Pharmacist
AUTHOR: Jeff Drozda, R-Westfield
ISMA POSITION: Neutral with concerns
This bill would have permitted a pharmacist to refuse to fill a prescription if he/she believed that it would cause an abortion, destroy an unborn child, or cause the death of a person by means of assisted suicide.
BILL: SB 181 – Order of Priority for Health Care Decisions
AUTHOR: Sen. Sue Errington, D-Muncie
ISMA POSITION: Oppose
As introduced, the bill would have specified the order of priority by which persons are authorized to consent to health care for an individual who is incapable of consenting to health care and who has not appointed a health care representative.
The ISMA objected to the measure due to concern that specifying an absolute order of priority would complicate the already difficult situation that accompanies end of life decision making.
Current law lists many individuals eligible to make such a decision in the absence of a health care representative, without specifying a pecking order. Such flexibility is viewed as important by the ISMA.
BILL: SB 221 – Warning to Pregnant Women of Tobacco Use
AUTHOR: Sen. Vi Simpson, D-Bloomington
ISMA POSITION: Support
The bill would have required tobacco vending machine owners and establishments that sell tobacco to post a notice stating that smoking by pregnant women may result in fetal injury, premature death and low birth weight.
BILL: SB 270 – Jail Inmate Health Care
AUTHOR: Sen. Tom Wyss, R-Fort Wayne
ISMA POSITION: Support
SB 270 would have required a county to reimburse physicians, hospitals and other health care providers at the reimbursement rate of the county's health plan.
The bill also would have required that a sheriff could not release a person who was subject to lawful detention for the purpose of allowing the county to avoid payment of a person's health care expenses.
BILL: HB 1053 – Meningitis Vaccinations for College Students
AUTHOR: Rep. Tim Neese, R-Elkhart
ISMA POSITION: Support
The bill would have required incoming freshmen at any public university in Indiana to be vaccinated for meningitis, in addition to the current requirement of vaccination for diphtheria, tetanus, measles, mumps and rubella.
The bill contained an exemption for qualifying students and repealed the notice requirement to students encouraging voluntary vaccination for meningococcal meningitis.
BILL: HB 1055 – Assignment of Benefits
AUTHOR: Sen. Beverly Gard, R-Greenfield
ISMA POSITION: Support
This bill would have required insurers to honor a patient's assignment of benefits to out-of-network providers.
BILL: HB 1057 – Smoking Ban in Certain Public Places
AUTHOR: Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary
ISMA POSITION: Support
HB 1057 would have prohibited smoking statewide in:
• Public places
• Enclosed areas of a place of employment
• Certain state vehicles
Although the ISMA supported the bill, there were concerns that this legislation would not have provided a comprehensive smoking ban. Language in the bill exempted private residences, family- owned and operated businesses, certain hotel and motel rooms, retail stores that provide 60 percent of their business from the sale of tobacco, a private or semiprivate room of a health or long-term care facility, private vehicles, bars, clubs, fraternal organizations, bowling alleys, live pari-mutual horse-racing facilities and their satellite locations, riverboats and casinos.
BILL: HB 1082 – Medical Exams for School Bus Drivers
AUTHOR: Rep. Bob Bischoff, D-Greendale
ISMA POSITION: Support
The bill would have allowed an out-of-state doctor to perform a necessary medical exam before a person was allowed to drive a school bus. Current law only allows an in-state doctor to perform this exam.
BILL: HB 1126 – Wrongful Death or Injury of a Child
AUTHOR: Rep. Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington
ISMA POSITION: Oppose
HB 1126 would have included a viable fetus in the definition of a child for purposes of the Wrongful Death Act (WDA).
This bill was sought to counter a decision by the Indiana Supreme Court in 2002 that prohibited recovery under the WDA for the mother's unborn child as the result of an automobile accident.
The ISMA does not have a position on the underlying issue the bill addresses, which is recovery under the WDA for personal injury to an unborn child. The ISMA's concern with this bill is its potential impact on the Medical Malpractice Act.
The bill would likely change current case law holdings that allow for only one recovery to the mother for losses of unborn children.
The ISMA was prepared to express concern with the impact this bill would have on an already problematic malpractice situation for obstetrics, emergency medicine and primary care.
BILL: HB 1167 – Hand-held Mobile Telephone Use
AUTHOR: Rep. Vanessa Summers, D-Indianapolis
ISMA POSITION: Support
The bill would have made it a Class D infraction to operate a motor vehicle while using a hand-held mobile telephone. It provided exemptions for emergency situations, operators of authorized emergency vehicles, medical service vehicles, volunteer firefighters and emergency services professionals.
BILL: HB 1268 – Regulation of Cigarette Retail Sales
AUTHOR: Rep. Bill Cochran, D-New Albany
ISMA POSITION: Oppose
The bill would have exempted wholesale cigarette vendors from the Cigarette Fair Trade Act, which does not allow wholesalers or retailers to sell cigarettes below cost.
The ISMA was concerned that this bill would allow wholesalers to sell cigarettes to retailers below cost, which could lead to a reduction in the price of cigarettes statewide.
BILL: HB 1342 – Electronic Health Records System
AUTHOR: Rep. Mike Ripley, R-Monroe
ISMA POSITION: Oppose
HB 1342 would have required health care facilities and practitioners to use electronic health records systems for purposes of billing and receipt of claim payment services rendered by the facility or practitioner by Jan. 1, 2010.
The system would have had to allow for the exchange of information between the system and the claim payment system of each third party to which the practitioner submitted a bill.
BILL: HB 1362 – Non-Profit and County Hospitals
AUTHOR: Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary
ISMA POSITION: Oppose
This bill would have required physicians employed or contracted with a non-profit or county hospital to accept Medicaid patients.
HB 1362 was forwarded due to concerns of American Health Network about non-profit and county hospitals' ability to subsidize physician employees and contractors with tax breaks and public funds without requiring those physicians to accept Medicaid patients.
Labels: bills, legislation
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