Health Care Facility Inspections to be Cut if Fees Not Raised - Las Vegas Sun

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If a panel of elected officials in Nevada rejects a proposal to increase health care facility licensing fees today as it did in October some state healthcare facilities inspectors will lose their jobs and the health care facility inspections will be greatly reduced, state officials said. The proposed fee increases are exponential in some cases, which has caused sticker shock for the facilities. Their lobbyist argues that the state, not the businesses, should bear the financial weight of protecting the public. "This amounts to what somebody calls a 'sick tax,'" said Charles Perry, president/CEO of the Nevada Health Care Association, the lobbying group for long-term care facilities.
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Board settlement can't be used in Minnesota liability trial

Physicians say the decision upholds licensing boards' authority to oversee medical practice.


By Amy Lynn Sorrel, AMNews staff. Nov. 3, 2008 in American Medical News
 
A Minnesota appeals court clarified for the first time in the state that nondisciplinary settlements made between doctors and health-related licensing boards cannot be used as evidence in medical liability cases.


Like many states, Minnesota excludes the use of settlements in civil actions. But the plaintiff in the case argued that an agreement for corrective action -- in which a doctor typically consents to certain practice improvements to resolve a board complaint without disciplinary action -- was not a typical settlement because it was imposed by the board.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals established that corrective actions -- which involve a voluntary, negotiated compromise between state licensing boards and physicians and other health care professionals -- constitute a settlement. Recognizing broader public policy concerns, judges said that keeping such evidence from reaching a jury "promotes settlement by relieving parties of the fear that statements made in furtherance of settlement could later be used against them."


Discouraging settlements would undermine licensing boards' oversight authority, the court said. Without the option of a corrective action or other settlement, these agencies would be forced to use their resources to address every complaint through a formal hearing, or dismiss all but the most egregious claims.

“Medical Licensing: An Obstacle to Affordable, Quality Care.”

Consumers would benefit were states to eliminate professional licensing in medicine and leave education, credentialing, and scope-of-practice decisions entirely to the private sector and the courts.