The NCMS has set forth an ambitious legislative agenda this year.  While the goal of meaningful liability reform has been at the forefront of our thoughts for more than a decade, it has come down to this year and this group of legislators to see that goal accomplished.  We continue to fight to ensure that Medicaid patients have access to their medical homes and to the specialty services that they deserve.  We are working hard to ensure that your voice is heard on these and dozens of additional issues.

We cannot do this without you. We know the valuable service that you are providing to your patients back home.  There is an equally valuable service that you can provide to them by making a visit to Raleigh this year. Legislators need your voice, your presence and your support to accomplish the ambitious goals outlined above.  While we enjoy bipartisan support on many of the issues most important to you, that support will only continue through the regular communication of compelling evidence.  You are the best constituent to deliver that message.

You’ve heard it before, but it cannot be said enough.  We need you to join us for at least one day in Raleigh this year.  The House Select Committee on Tort Reform will be meeting every Thursday beginning next week.  This committee is charged with making a recommendation to the greater House about how we should address the liability burdens that you have carried for decades.  Our White Coat Wednesday Program continues every Wednesday through the end of session.  All you have to do is show up at 8am on Wednesday morning and we will feed you, prep you with talking points, and guide you through the events of the day.

For now, pick a day in the next 5 weeks and mark your calendar so that you can be a part of making meaningful changes for your profession and ultimately for your patients.  You can contact Chip Baggett, Director of Legislative Relations at [email protected] for more information or assistance scheduling your visit.

Here is brief update on bill activity this week:

• SB 33, Medical Liability Reforms, has passed the Senate and is referred to the House Judiciary Subcommittee A. 
• SB 58, Modify FMAP Cuts/Authorize Use of Credit Balance. This bill will stop the proposed $28 million cut to Medicaid provider rates set to take effect this year. This bill has passed through the Senate and was passed through the House Appropriations Committee Wednesday morning without objection. 
• SB 31, Clarify the Penalty for the Unauthorized Practice of Medicine. This bill proposes to make it a felony to practice medicine without a license in North Carolina. The bill passed the Senate without objection on Monday evening and will now be considered in the House. 
• SB 246, Expand Pharmacists’ Immunizing Authority, filed by Senator Fletcher L. Hartsell, Jr. (R-Cabarrus, Iredell). 
• HB 2, Protect Health Care Freedom. Vetoed by Governor Perdue this week. The House attempted an override of that veto on Wednesday, which failed. 
• SB 13, Balanced Budget Act. Also vetoed by Governor Perdue. The Senate successfully passed a veto override of this bill on Wednesday; the override will now be considered by the House. 
• SB 109, Spending Cuts for the Current Fiscal Year. This bill has been postponed until March 15, 2011.
• SB 32, Hospital Medicaid Assessment. This bill will place an assessment on the state’s hospitals in order to use that money to draw down additional federal dollars for the Medicaid program. This bill has cleared the Senate and passed favorably through the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday morning. 
• SB 190, Allow Electronic or Facsimile Signatures on Death Certificates filed by Senator Eric Mansfield (D-Cumberland).
• SB 191, Allow Nurse Practitioners to Sign Death Certificates, filed by Senator Eric Mansfield (D-Cumberland).