Thompson Announces Rural Task Force
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson has announced the formation of an HHS Rural Task Force that will examine how the department can better serve rural communities. In his announcement July 25, Thompson said the internal task force would search for existing regulatory and statutory barriers to serving individuals and families in rural areas. 

The task force will explore ways to improve state health and social service delivery systems and identify places where additional funding may be needed. The task force was to begin work immediately and is expected to complete its review within three months. Marcia Brand, director of the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Office of Rural Health Policy, will head the task force.

CMS Answers EMTALA Questions
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released several questions and answers regarding implementation of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) as applied to hospitals. 

The most important item in the advice concerns whether a hospital must comply with EMTALA whenever an individual presents for emergency medical care anywhere within 250 yards of the hospital’s main building, even if the individual is in an area that is not hospital-owned and operated.

The answer, according to CMS, is “no.”  Also, CMS reported, a hospital campus is defined as the physical area immediately adjacent to the hospital’s main buildings and other areas and structures located within 250 yards of them. 

CMS said the parameters of a hospital’s campus are not determined by drawing a circle 250 yards around a hospital’s main building and concluding that every building, area, and structure located within those boundaries is part of the hospital campus. For the questions and answers, go to www.hcfa/medlearn/emqsas.htm.

Red Cross Defends Price Hikes
Responding to a letter from the American Hospital Association and the American Organization of Nurses Executives urging the American Red Cross (ARC) to scale back recent increases in blood prices, the ARC said that safety considerations are a key reason behind the increases. 

In a letter posted on ARC’s Web site, www.redcross.org, Red Cross president Bernadine Healey, M.D., said the increases “have been structured to bring about an aggregate increase in our core blood products of roughly 24%.” 

The letter called this price hike “especially difficult” for both the ARC and for hospitals, but emphasized that a significant portion of the increase goes to leukoreduction, which removes potentially harmful white blood cells.

Representatives of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Red Cross discussed the price increases with the Arkansas Hospital Association board of directors at its August 10 meeting.  

David Chumley, executive director of the Arkansas Chapter, said the increases were necessary to offset the cost of complying with regulatory mandates now imposed on the ARC, continued research efforts to protect the nation’s blood supply, manpower shortages that require paying higher wages to attract staff, and the upgrading and streamlining of processes, donation sites, and computer systems.

Legal Handbook Available
The Arkansas Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) has produced a new version of their previously published Medical Record Legal Handbook. The handbook was updated to include new medical record laws and/or terminology, with new chapters on risk management, peer review organizations, home health agencies, and a section on abbreviations and symbols. The manual is available in hard copy ($50 for AHIMA members and $60 for non-members) or CD-Rom ($40/$50) by calling Darla Sparacino at (501) 968-0690.

Rural Health Loans Available
Hospitals in need of financing to pay for construction or renovation projects, equipment purchases, management services, information systems or training systems may want to consider the Rural Health Revolving Loan Fund (RHRLF). 

The fund is managed by the Arkansas Enterprise Group, located in Arkadelphia, and provides financing to help enhance healthcare services in medically underserved areas of the state. Borrowers must be healthcare providers located in rural areas and may include community health centers, rural clinics, hospitals, physicians, pharmacists and dentists. Contact the Arkansas Enterprise Group at 870-246-9739.

Laws That Have Shaped the Health Care Industry 

1863 -- False Claims Act

1935 -- National Labor Relations Act

1935 -- Social Security Act

1938 -- Fair Labor Standards Act

1938 -- Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act

1940 -- Anti-kickback Act

1946 -- Administrative Procedures Act

1947 -- Labor Management Relations Act

1970 -- Occupational Safety and Health Act

1965 -- Social Security Amendments (Medicaid Act, Health Insurance for the Aged [Medicare] Act)

1972 -- Federal Advisory Committee Act

1972 -- Federal Anti-kickback Statute

1974 -- Employee Retirement and Income Security Act

1974 -- Privacy Act

1977 -- Anti-kickback Amendments

1977 -- Medicare and Medicaid Anti-fraud and Abuse Amendments

1980 -- Regulatory Flexibility Act

1982 -- Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act

1986 -- Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act

1986 -- False Claims Act Amendments

1986 -- Health Care Quality Improvement Act

1987 -- Nursing Home Reform Act

1987 -- Medicare and Medicaid Patient and Program Protection Act

1988 -- Clinical Laboratories Improvement Amendments

1989 -- Ethics in Patient Referrals Act ("Stark I")

1990 -- Americans with Disabilities Act

1990 -- Chief Financial Officers Act

1990 -- Civil Monetary Penalties Act

1993 -- Amendments to the Ethics in Patient Referrals Act (Stark II)

1994 -- Government Management Reform Act

1995 -- Paperwork Reduction Act

1996 -- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

1996 -- Congressional Review Act

1996 -- Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act

1997 -- Balanced Budget Act

1997 -- Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act

1999 -- Balanced Budget Refinement Act

1999 -- Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Modernization Act

2000 -- Benefits Improvement and Protection Act

2000 -- Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act

 From Executive Briefings Online