Healthcare Roundup: TN Lawmakers Looking to Shield Doctors from Discipline for COVID-19 Misinformation & More

TN Lawmakers Move to Block State Medical Boards from Disciplining Doctors for Spreading COVID-19 Misinformation:

Ahead of a special session on coronavirus legislation last week, Tennessee lawmakers prefiled a pair of bills (HB 9020 c and HB 9028 c) that would prevent the state Board of Medical Examiners and Board of Osteopathic Examination from disciplining doctors for their recommendations regarding COVID-19 treatment or vaccines.

Specifically, HB 9020 bars the state medical licensing bodies from taking “adverse action against a physician licensed under this chapter relating solely to the physician's prescription, recommendation, use, or opinion relative to a treatment for COVID-19.” HB 9028 does likewise, “so long as the physician exercised independent medical judgment and believes that the medical treatment is in the best interest of the patient and the patient provides written, informed consent.”

The legislation comes after recent news reports that the Board of Medical Examiners and Board of Nursing had instructed attorneys at the Tennessee Department of Health to investigate medical professionals who made false claims about COVID-19 treatment or vaccines to patients or on social media. (TENNESSEAN [NASHVILLE], STATE NET)

ME Launching Programs to Grow Healthcare Workforce:

Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) announced a series of programs last week to help the state address its need for more health care workers. The programs include $4 million in scholarships and student loan relief for those pursuing nursing and other health-related careers, $8.5 million to help healthcare workers obtain additional skills and earn advanced credentials and $1.5 million for a public service campaign promoting healthcare work. The governor said the state would implement the programs by the end of the year. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

IL Issues Vaccine Mandate for Day Care Workers:

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) issued an executive order requiring workers at daycare centers licensed by the state to be vaccinated for COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing. The order will apply to roughly 55,000 workers at nearly 2,900 facilities. (CHICAGO TRIBUNE)

Medicare Cutting Payments to Nearly Half of Nation’s Hospitals for Too Many Readmissions:

Medicare is ending its first decade of imposing annual penalties on hospitals for excessive readmissions by reducing payments to nearly 2,500 facilities, or 47 percent of the total nationwide. On average the penalties amount to a 0.64 percent payment reduction per Medicare patient. In 2018, such reductions cost hospitals an average of $217,000. (KAISER HEALTH NEWS)

FDA Requiring More Transparency about *** Implant Risks:

The Food and Drug Administration has finalized regulations mandating so-called “black box” warnings on the packaging of *** implants and requiring plastic surgeons to run prospective patients through a checklist of risks and side effects associated with implants, including chronic fatigue syndrome, autoimmune diseases and cancer of the immune system. (KAISER HEALTH NEWS)

NC Hospitals Making More, Spending Less on Care for Poor:

A report released by North Carolina’s state treasurer last week indicates that the state’s hospitals are more profitable than the average hospital nationwide but are spending less on care for low-income patients. The report, compiled by the North Carolina State Health Plan and researchers at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, is part of an ongoing effort by state leaders to draw attention to the high cost of healthcare in the state. (NEWS & OBSERVER [RALEIGH])

-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK