Vested Interest - News and Notes - July 2006 Issue

Report Links Asbestos to Larynx Cancer

Research has linked another cancer to asbestos, according to a new report that found exposure can cause cancer of the voice box, or larynx, and possibly of the colon, stomach and upper throat. The U.S. Senate had asked the Institute of Medicine to look at the link between asbestos and cancers of several organs that are currently listed in stalled legislation to create a $140 billion asbestos injury compensation fund. (ATLA Law News Digest – June 9, 2006)

Medical Privacy Law Nets No Fines

In the three years since Americans gained protection for their private medical information, the Bush administration has received thousands of complaints alleging violations but has not imposed a single civil fine and has prosecuted just two criminal cases. Of the 19,420 grievances lodged so far, the most common allegations have been that personal medical details were wrongly revealed, information poorly protected, more details were disclosed than necessary, proper authorization was not obtained or patients were frustrated getting their own records. The government has “closed” more than 73 percent of those cases, more than 14,000, either ruling that there was no violation, or allowing health plans, hospitals, doctors’ offices or other entities simply to promise to fix whatever they had done wrong, escaping any penalty. (ATLA Law News Digest – June 9, 2006)

EPA Rule Loosened After Oil Chief’s Letter to Rove

A rule designed by the EPA to keep groundwater clean near oil drilling sites and other construction zones was loosened after White House officials rejected it amid complaints by energy companies that it was too restrictive and after a well-connected Texas oil executive appealed to White House senior advisor Karl Rove. The new rule came after years of intense industry pressure, including court battles and behind-the-scenes agency lobbying. Environmentalists have vowed the fight was not over. (ATLA Law News Digest – June 15, 2006)

Justice Department Looks into Stun Gun Deaths

The U.S. Justice Department is reviewing the deaths of up to 180 people who died after law enforcement officers used stun guns or other electro-shock devices to subdue them. The review will initially focus on 30 deaths, including one from two decades ago. Most of the deaths occurred in the past four years, corresponding with the mass deployment of stun guns to police departments throughout the country. (ATLA Law News Digest – June 15, 2006)

Inspections Decline in Tissue Industry

A piece of fruit coming into the U.S. is more likely to get government attention than a ligament or heart valve taken from a cadaver and destined for transplant. While demand for donor tissue is booming, government inspections have fallen. In 2001, the FDA inspected 1 in 3 registered tissue companies; now it is 1 in 8. Over the same period, the tissue enforcement staff has shrunk from 252 to 227. Meanwhile, the list of companies or individuals handling tissue has quintupled in that time frame from 406 to 2,030. (ATLA Law News Digest – June 15, 2006)

Georgia Malpractice Reforms Miss Mark

Despite promises that rising medical malpractice insurance rates would be suppressed under new state laws, many of Georgia’s insurers have hiked their premiums since the sweeping reforms took effect last year, according to an Associated Press analysis of state insurance records. Six of the state’s top insurers of doctors and dentists have increased their liability rates, in some cases by more than a third, since new restrictions on malpractice cases became law in February 2005. (AP – June 15, 2006)

Profits, Executive Pay Up at Malpractice Insurer

Medical Mutual Insurance Co. of North Carolina, the state’s largest medical malpractice insurer, saw profits climb 224 percent in 2005, a year in which top executives were granted hefty bonuses. Medical Mutual’s profits from premiums rose from about $2.1 million in 2004 to more than $6.7 million in 2005, delivering a margin of 8 percent, according to filings with the North Carolina Department of Insurance. Net income from investments rose by about 8 percent, for a total net income of $13 million, a 91 percent increase over 2004’s $6.8 million. (MSNBC.com – June 18, 2006)

Crisis in Nation’s ER Care

Emergency medical care in the U.S. is on the verge of collapse, with the nation’s declining number of emergency rooms overcrowded and often unable to provide the expertise needed to treat seriously ill people in a safe and efficient manner. That’s the grim conclusion of three reports released by the Institute of Medicine, the product of an extensive two-year look at emergency care. The report says long waits for treatment are epidemic, and ambulances sometimes idle for hours to unload patients. (ATLA Law News Digest – June 22, 2006)

Insurer Federal Antitrust Exemption: Consumer, Insurer Friend or Foe?

Congress opened a fresh debate on the insurance industry’s exemption from federal antitrust laws, with some larger insurers indicating a willingness to relinquish the exemption in exchange for regulatory reform that would free them from state regulation. At the same time, the industry’s biggest rating organization that operates under the exemption argued that its services save typical-sized and smaller insurers and therefore consumers millions of dollars a years. Countering the argument, a national consumer group estimated that eliminations of the exemption would save insurance consumers about 10 percent of the current premiums, or about $45 billion a year. (ATLA Law News Digest –June 22, 2006)

Campaign on Hospital Errors Saves Lives

A campaign to reduce lethal errors and unnecessary deaths in the nation’s hospitals has saved an estimated 122,300 lives in the last 18 months. About 3,100 hospitals participated in the Harvard professor’s project, sharing mortality data and carrying out study-tested procedures that prevent infections and mistakes. Experts say the cooperative effort was unusual for a competitive industry that does not like to focus publicly on patient deaths. (ATLA Law News Digest – June 22, 2006)

States Losing Ability to Protect Public Due to Federal Preemptions

Despite the party’s repeated use in recent years of states’ rights rhetoric, the GOP-dominated Congress and Bush White House have been assiduously working to eliminate the ability of state governments to protect the public. A new compilation of congressional activity reveals that Congress has voted 57 times to preempt state law and regulations in the last five years, including preventing states from instituting health, safety, and environmental standards. According to a report released June 6 by a House Government Reform Committee member, those votes have resulted in 27 laws overriding state laws and regulations, including 39 preemption provisions. (ATLA Law News Digest – June 22, 2006)

Harder to Quit “Light” Cigarettes

According to new research, people who smoke so-called low-tar and –nicotine, or “light” cigarettes expecting to reduce health risks are actually less likely to be able to kick the habit. An analysis by Harvard Medical School and the University of Pittsburgh found that smokers who used light cigarettes have about half the chance of quitting as those using regular brands. The results showed that 37 percent of self-reported smokers said they used light cigarettes to reduce health risks. (Scripps Howard News Service – June 30, 2006)