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The Business of
Health Care Report There's an old tradition in which letter grades are awarded to the Texas Legislature after it wraps up the session. Using that report card, my own "legislative accountability report" opens with an "A" on one of the highest profile issues: the successful efforts to streamline some requirements that have kept an estimated 600,000 poor children from enrolling in Medicaid. The bill will make it easier for children to keep coverage as long as parents take them for regular medical and dental checkups. Texas Attorney General John Cornyn deserves credit for finding an extra $44 million in tobacco settlement funds that will be added to the state's bottom line - part of which will be used to offer low-cost insurance for low-income children. Another "A" goes to a bill that would keep medical records private by prohibiting marketing companies from rifling through Texans' medicine cabinets. The Texas Medical Privacy Act bans health entities from sharing patient data with marketers or advertisers without consent. Other provisions of the bill would give consumers the right to inspect and make changes to their medical records; give patients the right to sue to stop the release of information; and give patients the right to know how their medical information is used. Finally, an "A+" goes to State Senator Mike Moncrief of Fort Worth, who authored a bill setting up a Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board program to raise money for grants to professional nursing programs. Under the bill, nursing schools could pay the tuition and fees of students who go on to practice in Texas, pursue an advanced nursing degree or teach nursing. Texas now needs about 29,000 registered nurses, one of the worst shortages in the country. The bill is Texas' best bet for having nurses available to care for patients in the future. If you have comments on health care or suggestions for topics to be addressed on this program, e-mail me at DouglasHawthorne@TexasHealth.org. Stay tuned to our weekly Business of Health Care reports here on TexasHealth.org and on News Radio 1080 KRLD. Doug Hawthorne - DougHawthorne@TexasHealth.org ©
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