E-DMN - October 12, 2009

October 12, 2009

Wayne County Health Dept. Needs Your Extra Flu Vaccine!
Editor's Column: Tort Reform: What Michigan Can Offer
In My Opinion: Tort Reform: Patronizing Inaction
Henry Ford Physician Named Chair-Elect Of National Group
Just A Distraction
Obama Administration To Offer Medical Liability Reform Pilots
Insurers Change Course, Attack Health Care Reform
Children's Holiday Party Donors 2009

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Wayne County Health Dept. Needs Your Extra Flu Vaccine

Wayne County Department of Public Health saw an increase in the uptake of the Seasonal Flu Vaccine this season. Therefore, while in previous seasons we were left with extra seasonal flu vaccine which we were able to give away, this year we are already running low. I would appreciate it if the WCMS membership can be queried to see if any providers have a surplus that they are willing to give to the health department. Cost of the vaccine to the provider could be reimbursed.

Thank you.

Talat Danish MD, MPH, FAAP
Medical Director
Wayne County Dept. of Public Health
33030 Van Born Rd
Wayne, MI-48184
Tel: 734-727-7010
Cell: 313-732-7855

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Editor's Column: Tort Reform: What Michigan Can Offer

By JOSEPH WEISS, MD
In his Sept. 9 speech to Congress on the health care crisis, President Obama acknowledged the need for changing how medical malpractice makes its way through our court system.

Many voices call for tort reform. In his speech to Congress, the president emphasized the expense of frivolous malpractice cases and the financial burden that defensive medicine places on the cost of care. Physicians speak eloquently about the prolonged emotional strain medical malpractice bring to their lives. Medical-legal experts campaign continuously for legislation that would cap non-economic damages, limit or even eliminate punitive damages and, finally, create a sliding scale for plaintiff attorney contingency fees.

However, response to this rhetoric only leads to repairing tradition. In contrast, true tort reform would have the following characteristics:

Expediency- a timely settlement of claims so that the injured and impaired obtain benefits without delay
Opportunity- ready access to redress
Openness- errors made known so the medical community can avoid the same mistakes.

However, the system we have today and the changes being pursed mean a malpractice suit can still take five or more years for settlement. What at present is called reform still leaves patients who are wronged uncertain about how to proceed. Furthermore, no reform to date touches the tradition that out-of-court settlement hides error and court proceedings obscure the actual wrong. No one gains an understanding of what went wrong except the litigants.

For the past four years, the Michigan State Medical Society has worked on, and in 2008 completed, the Michigan Patient Compensation Act. This work, a new look at medical error, accomplishes the goals of expediency, opportunity and openness. The Patient Compensation Act also provides a better basis for reform then the currently popular tort alternative, The Medical Court. Among other advantages, the Michigan plan uses a panel of physicians to decide a medical malpractice case rather than depending on a single judge given special education in medical matters.

One week after President Obama’s speech, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius put out a call for funding of proposals for pilot studies in tort reform. The Michigan Plan is ready for such a test.

This column is a call to MSMS to apply for such a grant. With The Patient Compensation Act, we can give the nation a Michigan product that will drive the country to a new path of well-constructed, sustained and dependable tort reform.

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In My Opinion: Tort Reform: Patronizing Inaction

By ALLAN DOBZYNIAK, MD
The undeniable logic is that management of health care reform, including cost, without legal reform is not possible. This concept is actually supported by most stakeholders in health care reform including the general public.

The cost of defensive medicine has been estimated as high as $200 billion annually. It distorts medical care, limits quality and safety initiatives, creates distrust and poisons much of the satisfaction from practicing medicine. The arguments proposed by trial lawyers in support of the currently inefficient, cumbersome, unfair, unreliable medical malpractice legal debacle have been largely debunked. Unfortunately, none of this appears to matter. Despite all of these incentives for medical system legal reform, there is limited if any likelihood of change.

There are huge dollars at stake for the trial lawyers in supporting the status quo. They are one of the largest contributors to the Democratic Party. No current congressional health care bill seriously addresses med-mal reform. The pilot projects suggested by the secretary of Health and Human Services are funded by a pitiful $25 million. Even the president has been effectively silent on the true cost both in dollars, safety, quality and trust that defensive medicine places on health care. The only conclusion credibly drawn is that politics trumps logic, and the trial lawyers will continue to hold 310 million Americans hostage with true health care reform the victim.

The author of “Tort Reform-What Michigan Can Offer” is both right and correct. Unfortunately, it is of little matter.

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Henry Ford Physician Named Chair-Elect Of National Group

Henry Ford Hospital otolaryngologist Michael D. Seidman, MD, FACS, was named chair-elect of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery Board of Governors.

The election took place this week at the organization's annual meeting in San Diego.

Dr. Seidman is an expert on otologic/neurotologic surgical problems, skull base tumors, cochlear implants, noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus. He is director of the Division of Otologic/Neurotolgic Surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery and director of the Otolaryngology Research Laboratory at Henry Ford. In addition, he is co-director of the Tinnitus Center and chair of the Center for Integrative Medicine at Henry Ford, as well as the medical director of Wellness for Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital.

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Just A Distraction

(Editor’s Note: The following is the first paragraph of a Washington Post blog entry posted by Mark A. Kelley, MD, executive vice president for Henry Ford Health System and chief executive officer of the Henry Ford Medical Group. Please follow the link below to view the entire entry).

The employer mandate is a distraction in the health-care reform debate. Most Americans favor universal coverage regardless of employment. However, no one is sure how this will be funded. Meanwhile, those with insurance are defending their positions. The seniors do not want to lose Medicare benefits while those with employer coverage want to preserve it.

http://views.washingtonpost.com/healthcarerx/panelists/mark_kelley/

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Obama Administration To Offer Medical Liability Reform Pilots

According to the AMA, As a direct result of AMA advocacy during his speech before a Joint Session of Congress, President Obama directed the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to fund demonstration projects in states to test medical liability reform alternatives. The program, which will be overseen by the Agency for HealthCare Research and Quality (AHRQ), will provide grants to states and health systems to test models that meet four goals: 1) Put patient safety first and work to reduce preventable injuries; 2) Foster better communication between doctors and patients; 3) Ensure that patients are compensated in a fair and timely manner for medical injuries, while also reducing the incidence of frivolous lawsuits; and 4) Reduce liability premiums. At this time, AHRQ does not expect that state medical associations will be eligible on their own to apply directly for grants. Rather, AHRQ envisions that if state medical associations are interested in participating the grant program, they will have to work with either a state agency, health system or in a coalition with one or more of these entities. AMA has reached out to all of the state medical associations and a number are interested in participating in the grant program. AHRQ will announce the details of the demonstration project, including who will be eligible to apply for grants and the process for applying for grants, in a public notice to be published in the Federal Register right before or on October 15. Once the announcement is published, AHRQ plans to host one or more informational conference calls for key stakeholders, such as state medical associations and medical specialty societies, that will include question and answer sessions.

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Insurers Change Course, Attack Health Care Reform

Insurers Change Course, Attack Health Care Reform, Predict Huge Premium Increases

Insurers who backed Democratic attempts to reform the health care system in America are now attacking the Senate Finance Committee bill, saying it would cause premiums to increase.

The Associated Press reports: "Late Sunday, the industry trade group America's Health Insurance Plans sent its member companies a new accounting firm study that projects the legislation would add $1,700 a year to the cost of family coverage in 2013, when most of the major provisions in the bill would be in effect."

For single people, premiums would increase $600 more than without health care reform legislation. In 2019, the insurance companies say family premiums could be $4,000 higher. The Senate Finance Committee votes tomorrow on the bill (Alonso-Zaldivar, 10/12).

The Washington Post: "Industry officials said they intend to circulate the report prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers on Capitol Hill and promote it in new advertisements. That could complicate Democratic hopes for action on the legislation this week." The insurers say premiums could increase cumulatively between 2010 and 2019 about $20,700 for a typical family under the reform instead of keeping the current system. Democrats assailed the report for not taking into account cost-saving measures like a $25 billion reinsurance fund to keep the industry from heavy losses incurred if pools of patients are more unhealthy — and need more care — than healthy (Connolly, 10/12).

The New York Times: "Scott Mulhauser, a spokesman for Democrats on the Finance Committee, said: 'This report is untrue, disingenuous and bought and paid for by the same health insurance companies that have been gouging consumers for too long. Now that health care reform grows ever closer, these health insurers are breaking out the same tired playbook of deception. It’s a health insurance company hatchet job.'" The study says the new costs would also come from new fees on insurers, an excise tax on high-cost insurance plans and cuts to the growth of Medicare, which could force doctors to charge more to private insurers (Pear, 10/12).

Politico has the complete, 26-page study and reports that one of its main tenets is that the "overall impact of these provisions will be to increase the cost of private insurance coverage for individuals, families, and businesses above what these costs would be in the absence of reform" (Budoff Brown, 10/11).

This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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Children's Holiday Party Donors 2009

The following is a list of contributors to the WCMS Foundation’s 24^th Annual Holiday Party for underprivileged children. This year’s event is Dec. 5 at the New Detroit Science Center. For more information, or to contribute, call (313) 874-1360 or visit www.wcmssm.org

John Kurtz, MD

Dr. & Mrs. Dan Michael

Mohammed Arsiwala, MD

Livonia Urgent Care

Margaret Dowling, MD

Dr. S. Maitra

George Mogill, MD

Dr. MaryJean Schenk & David Fry

Dr. Grace Engler & Ms. Anna Fedor

Dr. & Mrs. Donald M. Ditmars Jr.

Robert Brent, MD

William Knapp, MD

Nancy Goll

Elizabeth Edmond, MD

Benjamin Ramos, MD

Peter Cracchiolo

Robert Borchak, MD

Julian Alvarez, MD

Beth Ann Brooks, MD

Dr. & Mrs. Sajal Choudhury

William L. and Betty G. Knapp

Drs. Safwan Halabi & Razan Asbahi

Joe Weiss & Marilyn Shapiro

Dr. & Mrs. George C. Hill

Neela Sripathi

Homer M. Smathers, MD

Sidney Baskin, MD

John C. Somogyi, MD

Charla Blacker, MD

Todd R. Williams, MD

Iris and Fred Whitehouse

Joseph M. Beals, MD

Stephanie Flom, MD

Dr. & Mrs. Mark F. Pezda

Eudoro Coello, MD

Christopher W. Hughes, MD & Debra J. Hughes

Claus Petermann, MD

Richard D. Cieslak, MD

Daniel S. Moore

Drs. Peter & Alice Watson

Drs. Rachel and Brian Silver

Kathleen Yaremchuk, MD

Anne-Mare' Ice, MD

John M. Malone, MD

Anne Nachazel, MD

Eastside Surgical Specialists

Paul Mazzara, MD

Dr. Richard Pollard

Michael G. Taylor, MD, FACS

Drs. Kenneth & Deborah Granke

Aaron Lupovitch, MD

Keith P. Bartold, MD

Rev. William and Dr. Mary Logan

Scott Monson, MD

Arthur J. Frazier, MD

M. Natacha Umlauf, MD

Phyllis A. Vallee, MD

Michael Schaldenbrand, MD

Heidi R. Gunderson, DO

Paul J. Sullivan, MD

S.V. Mahadevan, MD

Indu & Bala Pai

Chris and Janet Bush

Eve M. VanEgmond, MD

Taufiek Alhadi, DO

Gwendolyn H. Parker, MD

Dr. Ray and Mrs. Marcia Littleton

Drs. Daniel & Margarita Morris

Dr. & Mrs. Laurence E. Stawick

Dr. & Mrs. John Calwell

S. Rao Talla, MD

Ghaus M. Malik, MD

Eastlake Pediatrics PC

Vernon F. Strand, MD and Jane P. Strand

Martin H. Daitch, MD

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