2007 State Health Actions on Health Care Reform

FYI, attached are three Health Policy Tracking Services (HPTS) documents summarizing state actions on access to health insurance, Medicaid restructuring, medical liability reform, and Medicaid reimbursements. Below is a brief summary of the topics and why they are important.

Access to Health Insurance

Approximately 47 million or 15.3 % of Americans lacked health insurance in 2006. This number continues to rise as employers reduce or eliminate health care benefits and as costs increase beyond the purchasing power of more and more Americans. The Medicaid and SCHIP programs attempts to fill the gap of coverage but more and more states are feeling fiscal pressures to make significant changes to these programs. Many are doing so legislatively. The opportunity is there now for chapters to pursue College-supported initiatives to try to get them included in your state reform legislations.

Medicaid Restructuring

State Legislators and Governors are seeking new ways to restructure their Medicaid programs to make it more efficient and less financially draining. As they do this, they are still faced with the challenge of a growing uninsured population and the need to provide coverage. This year, there were many innovative proposals for reform introduced in state legislatures and proposed by Governors, some became laws. Because states are seeking to make changes to Medicaid, this is the right time for ACP chapters to try to pursue aspects of the patient-centered medical home to stretch the Medicaid dollar even further and use savings to expand access to care.

Malpractice Reform

Malpractice reform continues to be a priority issue at the state level. According to the American Medical Association (AMA) 17 states are in a medical crisis due to high malpractice costs. Some of the legislation introduced in 2007 had to do with Statements of Sympathy, Grants of Immunity, Regulation of Malpractice Insurance, Caps on Non-Economic Damages, and Health Courts. ACP supports a multitude of policy changes that could impact the rise in the premiums and reduce the number of claims filed that should be pursued in the state.

ACP Chapter Advocacy Initiative

With so much happening in the states, it is important that ACP chapters advocated on these and other issues that affect Internists, your patients, and the way you practice medicine. The ACP Washington, DC office has a new initiative to help small and medium-sized chapters become more involved in state advocacy by providing all the necessary information, tools, and staff support needed to advocate effectively in their state. As part of this initiative, we have developed three sample issue briefs that can be modified for your state on the patient-centered medical home, access to care, and medical liability reform to help engage policy makers on these issues. Click here to access the ACP issue briefs and for more information on the new advocacy initiative.

If you have any questions on these or other topics, please contact Shuan Tomlinson, State Health Policy Coordinator, at 800-338-2746 ext. 4547 or by email at stomlinson@acponline.org.

October 25, 2007

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