Las Vegas Health Care Practices Prompt State and Federal Concerns
Filed under: Health Care Clinics, Medicare, State Initiatives
Photo by BaLLYoOo via Flickr
This week MSNBC covered special hearings held by the health committees of both the Nevada Senate and Assembly. The hearings aimed to reform certain state laws as a response to last year’s hepatitis C outbreak in Las Vegas, NV. The outbreak required over 60,000 Las Vegas surgical center patients to be notified of possible infection– the largest patient-related notification effort in U.S. history– after improper injection of anesthesia resulted in several cases of hepatitis C.
According to MSNBC, proposed reforms in state law would offer stronger whistle blower protection for nurses, more frequent inspections of health facilities, and a streamlining of the reporting and investigation of future major patient problems.
In addition, Las Vegas is among a handful of regions at the center of federal concern over Medicare spending. Yesterday, the Las Vegas Sun reported that a new study by the Dartmouth Atlas Project finds Las Vegas hospitals to be among the top ten percent most expensive in the country for Medicare spending costs. Dr. David Goodman, co-principal investigator of the report, tells the Las Vegas Sun that these costs do not necessarily reflect a high level of care, but may actually be a product of “greedy” Las Vegas doctors billing for services beyond what they provide. In the same interview, Goodman expressed fear that such practices may lead to the bankruptcy of Medicare– a program that some argue will be deficient by over 660 billion by 2023.
Such practices have not gone unnoticed in Washington. House Representative Henry Waxman (D-Ca), Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, sees the recent Stimulus as an opportunity to establish needed oversight, according to CQPolitics. In addition to monitoring state spending of Stimulus funds designated for health care, Waxman’s committee has crafted an oversight plan that looks out for “Medicare waste and fraud” in general.
Waxman Cedes Lead Role in Health Reform Legislation to Dingell, Pallone Spared
After ousting Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) from the Energy and Commerce Committee Chair, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) has entered into a power-sharing arrangement with him. The Hill.com reports that “Waxman will cede to Dingell the lead role in drafting health reform legislation…. In addition, Dingell will retain a sizable staff, remain an ex officio member of each of the panel’s subcommittees and become “chairman emeritus” of the full committee.”
According to The Hill, “Dingell reportedly was weighing a bid to chair the panel’s Health Subcommittee, a post currently held by Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.).While Dingell won’t get that formal title, he seems to have gotten much more: He will be the lead sponsor of the committee’s share of the House’s health reform bill and a lead negotiator with other House members, the Senate and the White House.” Read the full story and the joint press release here.
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