June 2007

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Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) introduced S. 1408, which would offer tax and Medicare reimbursement incentives to doctors and hospitals that use electronic medical records and other health information technology.

S. 1408, the proposed Health Information Technology Act of 2007, would accelerate depreciation of health IT software and equipment. It also would increase Medicare reimbursements to providers who use health IT to improve the quality and accuracy of clinical decisions for patients with chronic conditions.

Stabenow introduced similar legislation in 2005 (S. 1227). That bill died without being brought before a committee.

Health IT is a vital tool to improve the safety and quality medical care and reduce medical and prescription errors, the lawmakers said. Once implemented and incorporated into medical routines, health IT will save the nation between an estimated $81 billion and $386 billion a year.

Every lawmaker at the briefing vowed to seek enactment of major health IT legislation this year, but Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) said that passage of such comprehensive legislation is unlikely in 2007.

In the meantime, Kennedy said, there is "reason to be hopeful" that some HIT incentives can adopted this year as part of must-pass legislation for the Food and Drug Administration, SCHIP, and Medicaid.

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Baucus, Enzi Propose Grants to States to Reform Medical Malpractice System

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee ranking minority member Michael B. Enzi (R-WY) introduced legislation (S.1481) to reform the medical malpractice system via grants for innovative state projects, such as health courts.

A similar bill is being introduced in the House by Reps. Jim Cooper (D-TN) and Mac Thornberry (R-TX).

Under the Baucus/Enzi bill (Fair and Reliable Medical Justice Act of 2007), grants would be made available to 10 states to develop "new and better ways to deal with medical malpractice cases," according to a summary of the legislation distributed at the briefing. Planning grants totaling $500,000 would be issued first, followed by implementation funding, according to the summary and a Baucus aide.

Qualifying for Grants

To qualify for a grant, states must show their proposal would provide prompt and fair dispute resolution, encourage early disclosure of medical errors, enhance patient safety, maintain access to liability insurance, and provide patients with notification and the choice to opt out, the summary stated.

Health courts would feature full-time judges specializing in medical malpractice cases. The court would choose impartial medical experts to testify, and winning plaintiffs would be reimbursed for their medical cost and lost income, plus a fixed amount that would be established via an awards schedule.

Supporters of the idea say that under such a system, cases would be resolved in months, not years, and legal fees would be reduced.

The American Bar Association opposes health courts, however, because malpractice cases would be removed from the court system and placed in a venue in which "judges and juries would be replaced by fact-finders with training in science and medicine," an ABA official said at a Senate hearing on the issue last year.

Baucus and Enzi hope the new bill will gain traction this year because it contains no damage caps for malpractice awards, does not impose a national solution on states, and would allow patients to opt out of an alternative dispute process if they decided instead to file a lawsuit, the lawmakers said.

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