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The Business of Health Care Report
On today's program, we'll review our
lawmakers' accomplishments on key health care issues during the 78th session of the Texas
Legislature. The Legislature wrapped up its work on
June 2 after one of the most contentious sessions in history. Headlines were generated by
fierce debates over the budget shortfall and a congressional redistricting battle that led
to a much-publicized battle with House Democrats. While several victories can be counted
among the sweeping health care reforms passed by the Legislature - most notably the
much-anticipated reforms to rein in frivolous health care lawsuits - significant cuts in
health and human services funding cast a shadow over the session. Medicaid and the
Children's Health Insurance Program were among the affected programs. Still, the passage of medical liability
tort reform was a major victory for health care consumers, physicians and hospitals. The
reform measures include a $250,000 per defendant cap on noneconomic damages and a proposed
constitutional amendment ratifying the legislature's authority to cap damage claims. This
measure will go before Texas voters Sept. 13. Lawmakers also passed a bill requiring
health insurance companies to pay doctor and hospital claims in a timely fashion, boost
Texas' vaccination rate and raise $1 billion over the next five years to pay for trauma
care funding through fines for drivers who commit repeat violations. Finally, the Legislature restructured
the state's health insurance cooperatives to allow small businesses to purchase health
insurance collectively, to enjoy volume discounts and to avoid state mandates requiring
them to pay for coverage they don't need or can't afford. All in all, the results for health
care were a mixed bag in Austin this session. In a future show, we'll take at look at
how our elected officials in Washington are progressing on key health care issues. Source: Texas Health Resources
Government and Community Affairs Legislative Summary. For Texas Health Resources
and its family of hospitals - Harris Methodist Hospitals, Presbyterian
Healthcare System and Arlington Memorial Hospital - I'm CEO
Doug Hawthorne
with "The Business of Health Care Report" on NewsRadio 1080 KRLD.
©
2003 Texas Health Resources |
I'm Doug Hawthorne, President and CEO of Texas Health Resources, with
"The Business of Health Care Report" on 