by Kathryn Harrison

Emory monitored a number of important issues this year:

Graduate Medical Education  The General Assembly passed legislation that will restructure the Joint Board of Family Practice, changing its name to the Joint Board of Physician Workforce and broadening membership to include half primary care and half nonprimary care physicians. The existing board, established to support family practice residency programs, has become Georgia's de facto board monitoring physician supply and GME issues.

This legislation was of primary importance to Emory. Our medical school, Emory Hospitals, and Grady Hospital receive more than $4 million in state and federal funds through the existing joint board. Emory monitored the budget closely to maintain that funding.

Another ongoing issue of interest to Emory would set aside Georgia's portion of any tobacco settlement - conceivably in the billions of dollars - for indigent care, medical education, rural health care, and anti-smoking efforts.

Managed Care  Since passage of the "Drive-through Delivery" bills two years ago, many states and the federal government have mandated that health plans cover a minimum stay following childbirth. And legislators have introduced bills to require coverage for everything from mastectomies to diabetes.

This year's General Assembly was no different. It considered legislation to require mental health coverage as well as coverage of ovarian cancer screenings and mastectomies. Several legislators tried to balance the debate between managed care and providers by simply placing liability on managed health plans if they fail to exercise "ordinary diligence" in administering a health benefit plan.

Proponents of this type of legislation pointed out that it would end disease-by-disease regulation by requiring health plans to make reasonable coverage decisions generally or else face liability. Business interests argued that such legislation would only increase litigation and the cost of insurance and decrease the number of individuals covered. In such debates, Emory as an institution must balance its role as a provider of health care with the fact that it buys health insurance for thousands of employees.

From the Director

Closing the AIDS Loop

Stronger Together
In Changing Times

David Blake: Catalyst
for Strategic Planning

Making Primary Care
a Primary Focus

Meeting the Needs
of the Elderly

High Stakes under
the Gold Dome

Clinic Restructuring Further
Unites Emory Healthcare

In Praise of Staying Focused

Medicaid  Georgia's strong economy has allowed Governor Miller to restore certain Medicaid reimbursements for hospital inpatient services. This is good news for hospitals, which have taken substantial reductions in reimbursements over the past few years. However, further increases for physician reimbursement will be necessary to ensure access for Medicaid patients.

Additionally, the governor proposed expanding health coverage for approximately 228,000 Georgia children, in part by providing Medicaid coverage for pregnant women and children aged 0 to 5 up to 200% of the federal poverty level. In the end, the legislature passed a new nonentitlement program, "PeachCare for Kids," which will be run by Medicaid and provide health coverage for uninsured children. This is good news for Crawford Long and Grady hospitals, which treat hundreds of such uninsured patients every year.

Other Health Care Issues  As in past years, Emory has been vitally interested in reform of Georgia's Certificate of Need law. This year, the issue was dormant. Emory also advocated on behalf of legislation, supported by Wesley Woods, to regulate and provide Medicaid reimbursement for assisted living as a new level of long-term care. However, that proposal died in a Senate committee.

Additionally, psychologists, nurses, physician assistants, and optometrists sought to expand their scope of practice, but none was successful. Emory is obviously careful as it crafts positions with respect to these issues, since we teach and support so many of these categories of health professions.

Get Involved  As you can see, many important issues are at stake. If any of these spark your interest, call the Office of Governmental and Community Affairs at 727-5166. By getting involved, you help yourselves, and you also help Emory.