Laws, liabilities, & legislation

LAWS,LIABILITIES, &s LEGISLATION ~e

OSHA ~

dmRed a

to

~ m p a n y , and others reacting as an ~'w

place a ~

not justthose covered by or generally , such as water on a IT floor: The new r e # a lion is needed, OSHA says, "to help re-

The amendment says a state may not deprive a ~ n of life, liberty, o r , p ~ erty without due process. A federal court ruled ~ t the workers, but the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in

T h e proposed rule would require

court/s definition of what c o n s ~ t e s a

ject to OSHA fines ff they do not comply not fairly attn~butable to the state.~ with standards on "recog"" B d , the means

ly would be costly and burdensome, p~arly for small firms, according to a Clinton A d ~ t r a t i o n review paneL

wilt not be involved in second-guessing these legislative judgments,

those decisions,the ~ have noted that the d" yer" is the ~ as in the Fair Stanmis Act, an r as ny al acts, inthe m ~ Of an erap l o ~ to any of the of such ~ ~ conduded ~ the tely stated a claim u n ~ the ~ the ~ , agers and denied the

that access to

in the late 1980s and early "90s. These costs had jumped so high that more than 35 states enacted legislation that

court their intended effect because comp costs were reduced across the board. A recent

WASHINGTONmThe Supreme C ~ ruled in March that workers"

pending a review of claims. The high court upheld a 1993 amendment to ~ s y i v a n i a law under which workers' comp medical payments may be withheld during a review to determine if they involve "reasonable" and "necessary" medical treatment. A group of workers whose comp claims had been reviewed argued that the system violated their constitutional fights by depriving them of benefits without notice or the opportunity to be heard. TCM 10

M~yo~e1999

gerous pregnancy violated the Family and Medical Leave Act ~MLA). The managers moved to dismiss the claims against them, arguing that individual supervisors cannot be held liable under the FMLA. In response, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California said individual managers indeed may be ................... FMLA. The court found that most federal district courts that have addressed this issue have con-

ance costs for m a n u f a ~ e r s dropped I2% between 1997 and 1998. Additionally, injuries generally have gone down, according to federal statistics. However, unions say the pendulum

for changes in comp are especially high in California, where the governor and most congressional representatives are

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LAWS, LIABILITIES, & LEGISLATION

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are hoping to increase benefits by at least $1.7 billion a year, noting that they haven't risen in 3 years,

Medical Malpractice Awards ~ n t J n u e to Climb According to recent statistics collected

crimination and medical malpractice cases. In the most recent report, the company reviewed 46 race, gender, and age discrimination cases and found the median award had almost quadrupled to $250,000 in 1997 from $64,750 in 1996. The median punitive d ~ a g e award for a sexual harassment claim was $100,000 compared with $117,500 for other types of discrimination, The median medical malpractice award rose 10% to $551,750 from

pitals, home health agencies, and third party medical billing companies, but it also targets specific practices of the HME industry, particularly marketing and the handling of CMN. Suppliers must keep the treating physician's original signed and dated order or CMN on file. The

disabled people to retain their health coverage when they return to work. The administration's package also provides tax credits of as much as $1000 for working people with disabilities to help defray special transportation or technology, costs. The tax credit, which

necessary paperwork requirements. Health Lawyers News, March 1999

SAN FRANCISCO--Major pharmaceutical companies agreed in February to pay $176 ~ o n to settle allegations that they overcharged Californians for drugs purchased at small pharmacies while they gave discounts to big purchasers, such as managed care firms. This class

president also desires to double spending to $35 million m the next fiscal year for the development of technology for disabled workers, such as automatic captioning for people who are deaf or speech recognition for people unable to use a keyboard. Under current law, many disabled people who return to work run the risk of losing e~gibility for Medicaid or Medicare, even if the jobs they take don't provide health insurance. Conse-

has prevailed during the 1990s. In previous settlements, c ~ drug makers agreed to p a y ately $700 ~ n to and $64 raillion to rsin states. The newest settlement calls for

implement the change, a new grant would provide $150 million to states that permit the buy-in. Additionally, the legislation would extend for 10 years care coverage for disabled beneficiaries who return to

Drug Firms Settle California ~ u i t

tyzed 518 of these cases.

meman awara gwen as a resmt ot a rebide accident fell 11% to $17,700 from $19,870 a year earlie~

New ~NIIJ~JJll~ ~ ~1' ~

l

~

~

General {OIG) on how to root out and

Federal Register) were completed on March 1. The new ~ d e l i n e s c a m e o n

Merck and Co. is

flae largest

~ DhNdlh~ GTON--qn

~ @ Presi-

that ~ include new tax credits, setvices, and expanded health b e n e ~ s for

past 2 years for ~ c a l TCM 12

laboratories, hos~u#j~, 1999

pand Medicare and Medicaid to allow

ciation (AHLA) has created ~ Alternative ~ u t e Resolution Service in re-

high costs of litigation. The s e m c e is unique ~ u s e it would:

health care services

9 Use health care lawyers, physicians, nurses, and executives who have actual experience in the area of dispute

experience, and a fee schedule. The AHLA ~ charge a one-time fee for each panel sent. Both parties may share payment for the service. For details, contact AHLA at (202) 833-1100.

- Adhere to a single, reasonably priced fee-for-service rather than a percent, age of settlement

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9 Be flexible because on procedural questions; fee payment, and dispute resolver selection before the process begins

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in March that school districts are required under the federal I n d i v i d ~ s with ~ -

To initiate service, the parties involved fill out a request for a dispute resolution panel. The AHLA sends the parties a panel list of seven disputeresolvers, along with extensive background descriptions of each individual's

dren while they are inschool. The case involved a student whose spinal column had been severed in a motorcycle accident when he was 4 years old. The boy still needs assistance during the day

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with such things as urinary/bladder c a t h e t ~ t i o n and suctioning of his tracheotomy tube. During his early school years, the assistance was provided by a family member, but in 1993 his mother asked the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, school district to pay for this help for her son. The district refused, saying itwas not legally obtigated to provide the individualized nursing services required. The Supreme Court held that such care is not medical treatust be publicly Cedar Rapids Community School District vs. Garret E, a minor

s for the future... Quality Living, I n c . (QLI) provides a gallery of services to individuals with b r a i n iniuries, severe p h y s i c a l d i s a b i l i t i e s and n e u r o m u s c u l a r

is a work of art

disease, At QLI, restoring dreams of purpose, privacy, dignity and independence is all part of the rehabilitation process. QLI has developed a Tri-Dimensional approach to rehabilitation that: (1) ensures excellent basic health care, (2) provides effective applied and functional programming, and (3) builds a sense of hope and optimism - and QLI accomplishes all of this in a dramatically cost-efficient manner. A partial listing of services that are available to a d u l t s a n d c h i l d r e n includes: Inpatienl Active Treatment Rehabilitation, Long Term Care, Assisted Living, Community Based' Living, Home Health Services, Vocational Assessment, Job Re-Training, Day Services, and Respite Care. Available therapies include: Physical, Occupational, Speech, Cognitive, Academic, Neuropsychology and Recreation. For more information call (402) 573-3700 Degas (delail)

Quality Living Inc., 6404 N. 70th Plaza, Omaha, NE 68104 May/June1999

~.)L.I.~I~ T C M 13