| As a service to our members, we have prepared the
following information to keep you updated with current legislation.
Michigan Senate Health Policy Committee Holds Hearing on Uniform
Credentialing
The Michigan Senate Health Policy Committee held a hearing on two bills
introduced by Sen. Cameron Brown (SB
1071 and SB
1072) that would create a uniform credentialing process in Michigan.
MOA took the lead in gaining the hearing on this legislation. Senate
Health Policy Committee Chairperson. Sen. Tom George indicated that
a summer work group would be called in an attempt to work out differences
on the bills. The draft legislation would have the state take a leadership
role in standardizing the credentialing application process for physicians
to make it consistent with the technology of the 21st century.
Smoking Ban
The fight to add Michigan to the list of 32 states that have
enacted a ban on smoking in most public places continues. The Michigan
House fell six votes short in its latest attempt to add Michigan to
the list of 34 states that do not allow smoking in public places. Click
here to see how your Representative voted on HB4163. Please be sure
to thank your local Representative if they voted "Aye". If
they voted "Nay" or "No Vote", please be sure to
contact them and strongly urge them to support smoke-free legislation
when the House takes up this issue again in November.
Chiropractic Scope of Practice Legislation
The bills that have been introduced to expand the scope of
practice for Chiropractors (SB
908 and HB
5759) remain in their original committees. Lately action on this
issue has shifted to the House where the sponsor of the bills is also
the Chair of the House Health Policy Committee. This issue will be very
contentious for the remainder of the year. MOA continues to expend a
lot of effort in fighting for an acceptable compromise to the bills
that were originally introduced.
The recently formed CGA Work Group on Chiropractic Scope of Practice
met on June 24, 2008. MOA was one of very few groups to submit preliminary
comments on a revised draft substitute in response to a request from
the Chair of House Health Policy Committee for input. The request from
the Chair of Health Policy gave interested parties only 36 hours to
respond. At the same time that the Chair was requesting rapid turn around
on comments, the Chair was attempting to bypass the Committee and take
the bill directly to the House floor. At this time the bills remain
in the House Health Policy Committee.
Economy and Budget
Michigan’s unemployment rate skyrocketed to 8.5% in May
and held there in June as our State continues to see net job losses
each month. Not surprisingly this development has complicated the effort
of the executive and legislative branches to reach a compromise on the
upcoming fiscal year budget. The Governor and the Legislature reached
accord on budget target figures for the 2008-2009 fiscal year and passed
most budget bills.
While exact details have yet to emerge the good news for the medical
community is that there were not cuts in payments to provider groups
under the Community Health budget. Especially good news for MOA members
was that for the first time in 10 years there was a slight increase
in payments made to physicians.
BCBSM Legislation
As previously reported the BCBSM legislation (HB
5282 and HB
5283) was subject to an informal work group in an attempt to find
a compromise. The work group process has broken down and the package
of bills will formally be sent to a House-Senate conference committee
to resolve differences. MOA will continue to push for a final passage
of a fair package of bills.
Medicare Physician Payments
In a show of bipartisan support, the Congress over rode the
President’s veto of the “Medicare Improvement for Patients
and Providers Act (H.R. 6331) which was co-sponsored by Michigan’s
own John Dingell. This legislation that is now law will halt the 10.6%
cut in Medicare payments to physicians. MOA and its members were very
active in pushing for this bill to be enacted. Both of Michigan’s
U.S. Senators were strong proponents and helped secure the final passage.
This legislation will provide an 18-month window to secure a more equitable
long-term solution to the nation’s health care delivery system.
The bill also includes a much needed 1.1% payment update to help keep
up with the increasing cost of providing health care services to the
disabled and senior citizens in the United States. The real winners
in this unfortunate battle were the disabled, senior citizens and military
families that so deserve access to needed quality health care.
2007
- 2008 House Bills
2007
- 2008 Senate Bills
Legislative
Committees and how they work. |
