• TOA President's Update: Workers' Compensation Bills

• Call for 2009 Washington Health Policy Fellows Applications

• This Week In Texas: Mignon McGarry Memos

• Thanks To Our Sponsor: ONI Medical Systems, Inc.

• 2008 PQRI National Provider Question & Answer Session

• Gov. Perry Appoints Baucom to Texas Medical Board

• 3,800 UTMB Employees To Be Laid Off

 
TOA President's Update: Workers' Compensation Bills
  

By Timothy L. Beck, MD President, Texas Orthopaedic Association Bills are already being filed for the 81st Legislative Session. Michael Reed, with TMA has informed us these Workers' Compensation bills need to be watched. Four House Bills Target Nonsubscriber Practices

Rep. David Leibowitz, D-San Antonio, has pre-filed a quartet of bills dealing with nonsubscribers to the workers' compensation system, including measures banning retaliation against injured workers, prohibiting agreements that could abridge workers' rights and requiring data on injuries to be filed with the state.

The measures track similar, and unsuccessful, legislation the lawmaker introduced in 2007. The 2009 legislative session begins Jan. 13.

The bills filed by Leibowitz include:

HB 32, prohibiting discrimination against certain employees who sustain an injury in the course and scope of employment.
HB 33, implementing certain requirements for employers not covered by workers' compensation insurance.
HB 34, enforceability of certain contracts between an employer who does not have workers' compensation coverage and an employee of the employer.
HB 35, reporting requirements for employers not covered by workers' compensation insurance.

The text of the bills had not been posted to the legislative website on Tuesday.

The bills are similar to legislation offered by Leibowitz in the regular session two years ago.

HB 32 provides that an employer who doesn't carry workers' compensation insurance may not discharge or otherwise discriminate against an employee who files a lawsuit to recover for a workplace injury.

HB 33 combines various provisions of HBs 32 and 34. HB 34 provides that a contract between a worker and a nonsubscriber is "unconscionable and unenforceable" if it affects the employee's rights to recover for damages and is signed before the 10th day after the cause of action arises.

HB 35 is similar to legislation filed in the 2007 session that deals with injured workers' medical information.

The workers' compensation commissioner would promulgate forms and rules for the reports.

In the 2007 legislative session, Leibowitz offered a similar package of bills including:

HB 1730, enforceability of certain contracts between an employer who does not have workers' compensation coverage and an employee of the employer.

HB 1731, reporting requirements for employers not covered by workers' compensation insurance.

HB 2298, discrimination by nonsubscribing employers against injured employees.

HB 2423, prohibiting requiring employees of nonsubscribing employers to waive rights.

Above information provided by Michael Reed, MPA, MBA, Director of Healthcare Delivery Systems - Texas Medical Association
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Call for 2009 Washington Health Policy Fellows Applications
    

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) is currently accepting applications for the 2009 AAOS Washington Health Policy Fellowship Program.

The fellowship provides an outstanding opportunity for exceptional senior orthopaedic residents and fellows-in-training with an interest in health care policy to take part in and understand the health policy processes at the federal level. The program will fund up to two orthopaedic residents per year and provide them the opportunity to work in the legislative and regulatory arenas during a 12-month period beginning in late April 2009. Attendance at some AAOS meetings, such as the National Orthopaedic Leadership Conference is required. The AAOS Office of Government Relations will work with the selected applicants to design a flexible program that meets his/her needs, interests and schedule. Please alert resident members of your department about this exciting opportunity. The deadline for the submission of applications is December 31, 2008.   For more information and application materials, please visit the AAOS website by clicking here, or contact Jeanie Kennedy, Manager of Regulatory Affairs, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, at (202) 546-4430 or via email. [top] [back to e-card archive page]

This Week In Texas: Mignon McGarry Memos

	The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Provider Communications Group will host the eighth in a series of national provider conference calls that began in November of 2007 on the 2008 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI). This toll-free call will take place from 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m., EST, on Thursday, November 20, 2008.
Following a short presentation, the lines will be opened to allow participants to ask questions of CMS PQRI subject matter experts.   Educational products are available on the PQRI dedicated web page located here, on the CMS website, in the Educational Resources section. Feel free to download the resources prior to the call so that you may ask questions of the presenters, Dr. Michael Rapp and Dr. Daniel Green.   Conference call details: Date: November 20, 2008 Conference Title: 2008 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative National Provider Call Time: 1:30-3:30 p.m. EST In order to receive the call-in information, you must register for the call. It is important to note that if you are planning to sit in with a group, only one person needs to register to receive the call-in data. This registration is solely to reserve a phone line, NOT to allow participation. If you cannot attend the call, replay information is available below. Registration will close at 1:30 p.m. EST on November 19, 2008, or when available space has been filled. No exceptions will be made, so please be sure to register prior to this time. To register for the call participants need click here. Fill in all required data. Verify your time zone is displayed correctly the drop down box. Click "Register". You will be taken to the "Thank you for registering" page and will receive a confirmation email shortly thereafter. Note: Please print and save this page, in the event that your server blocks the confirmation emails. If you do not receive the confirmation email, please check your spam/junk mail filter as it may have been directed there. For those of you who will be unable to attend, a replay option will be available shortly following the end of the call. This replay will be accessible from 2:30 p.m. EST 11/20/2008 until 11:59 p.m. EST 11/27/2008. The call in data for the replay is (800) 642-1687 or (706) 645-9291 and the passcode is 69793299. Visit the Medicare Learning Network ~ it's free! [top] [back to e-card archive page]

Gov. Perry Appoints Baucom to Texas Medical Board
 

	AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry has appointed David Baucom of Sulphur Springs to the Texas Medical Board for a term to expire April 13, 2009. The board protects and enhances the public's health, safety and welfare by establishing and maintaining standards of excellence used in regulating the practice of medicine and ensuring quality health care for the citizens of Texas.
Baucom is president of Baucom Insurance Services Inc. He is a member of the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas, a founding director of First American Mortgage Company and a past director of First American Bank. He is also a past member of the Sulphur Springs City Council, past mayor of Sulphur Springs and president of the Sulphur River Basin Authority. Baucom served in the U.S. Army National Guard. He received a bachelor's degree from Baylor University. He replaces Melinda Fredricks of Conroe. [top] [back to e-card archive page]

3,800 UTMB Employees To Be Laid Off
 

Most of the lost jobs will reportedly come from the hospital By JEANNIE KEVER Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Nov. 12, 2008, 3:50PM The governing board of the University of Texas voted this afternoon to lay off 3,800 employees at Galveston's University of Texas Medical Branch in the wake of devastating damage from Hurricane Ike.

But several regents reaffirmed their commitment to keeping the medical school on the island. "We have a medical school that will continue to operate ... and a foremost research enterprise," regent Colleen McHugh said. "We're going to keep UTMB on Galveston Island." Dr. Kenneth Shine, interim chancellor of the UT system, said he was optimistic that most of the people laid off will be able to find work at other health care institutions. "The health care industry tends to be maintained even through an economic downturn," he said. Most of the lost jobs will come from the hospital, which is reopening in stages but will be much smaller than its earlier incarnation. A few faculty members will be laid off, but Shine said they will remain on the payroll through the end of the academic year. Since the storm, expenses at UTMB have run about $40 million a month above revenue, and regents noted that it is projected to run out of money within three months. UTMB has about 12,500 employees, about 8,000 of whom work on the island, spokeswoman Marsha Canright said. As of Monday, almost 3,000 remained off the job due to storm damage but were still being paid. The school reported about $710 million in damage from Ike. [top] [back to e-card archive page]

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