Med Mal News

Bill Would Require Missouri Doctors to Report Sexually Active Teens

The Missouri House is considering a bill (HB 580) that would oblige health care providers, teachers and some others to report to the state any teenagers under the age of 15 whom they suspect to be sexually active. Health care professionals and teachers fear that if the bill becomes law, they will be limited in their ability to discuss sexual matters with minors. It is also likely that if the law is passed, some young teens will avoid seeking needed medical treatment for fear of having their sexual activities investigated.

Medicare Incentive Payment Program Possible

Congresswoman Nancy Johnson (R-CT), House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair, has expressed her intention to replace the current Medicare reimbursement system with a pay-for-performance system that will give doctors higher rewards for providing better patient care. Reduced Medicare payments are scheduled to begin in January, prompting concerns that patient care will suffer.

Missouri Tort Reform Measure Moves Through Hurdles

The Missouri House is considering a bill passed by the Senate that will cap noneconomic damages in medical malpractice suits at $350,000 and limit punitive damages in all suits to $500,000, or five times the actual damages, whichever is higher. The bill also makes co-defendants liable for the damages attributed to lower-income co-defendants only if they are found at least 51% liable for overall damages.

Performing Abortions on Out-of-State Teens May Soon Lead to Sanctions

In mid-March, Congress' House Judiciary Subcommittee approved a bill that would make it a federal crime to transport a pregnant teenager across state lines for an abortion so that she could avoid application of her home state's parental notification law. The bill, HR 748 (the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act), would give parents the right to sue for civil damages, in addition to authorizing criminal sanctions.

Anticonvulsant Medication Causes Birth Defects

The March 22 issue of Neurology reported the finding by the North American AED (Anti-epileptic Drug) Pregnancy Registry that use of anticonvulsant valproate by pregnant women puts them at four times the risk of having a child with a major malformation compared with mothers taking other anticonvulsants. Valproate, used to control seizures, migraines and some psychiatric disorders, is sold in the United States under the names Depakote' and Depakene'.

Valproate was previously thought to pose risks for spina bifida, a serious neural tube defect, so doctors routinely advised their pregnant patients to take folic acid supplements to counteract the drug's adverse effects. However, the study found that other malformations were also much more common with use of valproate, and that folic acid supplements do not cancel out the effects of the drug in causing spina bifida.

AMA Observes That Tort Reform Measures Help Doctors

The American Medical Association's (AMA) March 28 edition of the American Medical News (at http:// www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005 /03/28/prl10328.htm) reports that three states in which tort reforms went into effect in 2003 – Ohio, Texas and West Virginia – are seeing positive signs of improvement for the medical profession. These include lower insurance premiums, increased numbers of medical professionals entering the market and more insurer presence in the state.

Indiana Attorney General Asks for Planned Parenthood Records

Echoing the controversy ignited recently when a Kansas prosecutor's attempt to gain access to abortion clinic records caused public outcry over patient privacy rights, Indiana Planned Parenthood went to court in March seeking temporary and permanent injunctions to prevent Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter from obtaining the confidential medical records of girls under the age of 14 who sought treatment at state family planning clinics. Carter, like Kansas' Attorney General Phill Kline before him, claims his purpose in seeking the records is merely to fulfill his duty to prosecute crimes such as rape and child molestation.

The legal mechanism being used by the Attorney General to access these private records is Medicaid law, which permits greater disclosure of private medical information than federal privacy laws that would normally allow if the records are needed for investigation of Medicaid fraud and abuse. Carter has already obtained similar records from three clinics and is attempting to access records from several other clinics. The Planned Parenthood lawsuit asks the court not only to enjoin the Attorney General from accessing any more records records, but also to order the return of records already taken.

Bill Would Require Missouri Doctors to Report Sexually Active Teens

The Missouri House is considering a bill (HB 580) that would oblige health care providers, teachers and some others to report to the state any teenagers under the age of 15 whom they suspect to be sexually active. Health care professionals and teachers fear that if the bill becomes law, they will be limited in their ability to discuss sexual matters with minors. It is also likely that if the law is passed, some young teens will avoid seeking needed medical treatment for fear of having their sexual activities investigated.

Medicare Incentive Payment Program Possible

Congresswoman Nancy Johnson (R-CT), House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair, has expressed her intention to replace the current Medicare reimbursement system with a pay-for-performance system that will give doctors higher rewards for providing better patient care. Reduced Medicare payments are scheduled to begin in January, prompting concerns that patient care will suffer.

Missouri Tort Reform Measure Moves Through Hurdles

The Missouri House is considering a bill passed by the Senate that will cap noneconomic damages in medical malpractice suits at $350,000 and limit punitive damages in all suits to $500,000, or five times the actual damages, whichever is higher. The bill also makes co-defendants liable for the damages attributed to lower-income co-defendants only if they are found at least 51% liable for overall damages.

Performing Abortions on Out-of-State Teens May Soon Lead to Sanctions

In mid-March, Congress' House Judiciary Subcommittee approved a bill that would make it a federal crime to transport a pregnant teenager across state lines for an abortion so that she could avoid application of her home state's parental notification law. The bill, HR 748 (the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act), would give parents the right to sue for civil damages, in addition to authorizing criminal sanctions.

Anticonvulsant Medication Causes Birth Defects

The March 22 issue of Neurology reported the finding by the North American AED (Anti-epileptic Drug) Pregnancy Registry that use of anticonvulsant valproate by pregnant women puts them at four times the risk of having a child with a major malformation compared with mothers taking other anticonvulsants. Valproate, used to control seizures, migraines and some psychiatric disorders, is sold in the United States under the names Depakote' and Depakene'.

Valproate was previously thought to pose risks for spina bifida, a serious neural tube defect, so doctors routinely advised their pregnant patients to take folic acid supplements to counteract the drug's adverse effects. However, the study found that other malformations were also much more common with use of valproate, and that folic acid supplements do not cancel out the effects of the drug in causing spina bifida.

AMA Observes That Tort Reform Measures Help Doctors

The American Medical Association's (AMA) March 28 edition of the American Medical News (at http:// www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005 /03/28/prl10328.htm) reports that three states in which tort reforms went into effect in 2003 – Ohio, Texas and West Virginia – are seeing positive signs of improvement for the medical profession. These include lower insurance premiums, increased numbers of medical professionals entering the market and more insurer presence in the state.