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South
Carolina News
You can
look up your representatives by going to http://www.house.gov/
Representative
Henry E. Brown, Jr. (1st District) – 202-225-3176
Representative Joe Wilson (2nd District) – 202-225-2452
Representative J. Gresham Barrett (3rd District) – 202-225-5301
Representative Bob Inglis (4th District) – 202-225-6030
Representative John M. Spratt (5th District) – 202-225-5501
Representative James Clyburn (6th District) – 202-225-3315
You can
look up your senators by going to:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?State=SC
Senator
Lindsey Graham – 202-224-5972
Senator Jim DeMint – 202-224-6121
Other Links to the US Congress
www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
www.house.gov/writerep/
ARN Health
Policy Digest – April 2007
Welcome to this month’s edition of the ARN Health Policy Digest.
This member benefit provides monthly updates on health policy, legislative,
and regulatory developments that may be of interest to rehabilitation
nurses.
Congress must act quickly to protect access to
quality impatient rehabilitation
See attached press release from AMRPA: http://www.amrpa.org/
CMS
clarifies guidelines for national provider identifier (NPI) deadline implementation
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that
it is implementing a contingency plan for covered entities (other than
small health plans) who will not meet the May 23, 2007, deadline for compliance
with the National Provider Identifier (NPI) regulations under the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. For more
information go to: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/
Patient
safety lapses at hospitals increase by 3%, according to study
Patient safety lapses in U.S. hospitals increased by 3% overall from 2003
to 2005, and top-performing hospitals had a 40% lower rate of medical
errors compared with the worst-performing hospitals, according to an annual
patient safety study released on April 2, 2007 by HealthDay/Washington
Post reports. For more information go to:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/
Sen.
Clinton proposes measure that would boost brain injury care for veterans
On March 29, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) introduced legislation
that would allocate $3.75 million for improving diagnosis and care for
returning veterans with traumatic brain injuries, Long Island Newsday
reports. For more information go to: http://www.kaisernetwork.org/
House
passes legislation on care for returning troops
On March 28, the House unanimously approved legislation (HR 1538) intended
to improve care for wounded soldiers treated at military facilities, the
Los Angeles Times reports (Schreck, Los Angeles Times, 3/28). The House
Armed Services Committee last week unanimously approved the legislation.
The bill was spurred by reports of inadequate care at Walter Reed Army
Medical Center. The legislation would establish case managers to help
soldiers navigate through the outpatient system, with each case manager
limited to 17 patients. For more information go to: http://www.kaisernetwork.org/
Nursing
homes seeking more short-term, lucrative rehab patients
On March 26, the AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution examined how, with "billions
of dollars at stake, nursing homes across the nation are rushing to reinvent
themselves to compete with hospitals and affiliated rehabilitation facilities
for short-term, higher-paying patients." For more information go
to: http://www.kaisernetwork.org/
Lobbying
efforts by nursing home groups are pushing CMS
to divert patients seeking rehabilitation away from IRFs towards SNFs,
declaring that outcomes are similar in both settings and SNFs are more
economical. The result will further limit access of Medicare recipients
in need of Inpatient Rehabilitation.
Association of Rehabilitation Nurses
4700 W. Lake Avenue, Glenview, IL 60025-1485
847/375-4710 877/734-9384 Fax
info@rehabnurse.org www.rehabnurse.org
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Legislative
Update