Thursday 1/31/2008 DAILY NEWS DIGEST

Birmingham News – Support for Obama growing among Alabama’s Black voters.

Birmingham News – Bill Clinton, Huckabee, and McCain all to make Alabama campaign stops on Saturday.

Birmingham News – Following action by appeals court, Alabama plans execution of death row inmate this evening; opponents of capital punishment seek stay from US Supreme Court.

Birmingham News – Governor says state must increase efforts if economic surge is to be maintained.

Birmingham News – Union membership increases in Alabama and nationally.

Birmingham News – The Birmingham News cautions that citizens should not get “too excited” over recent survey showing wide support for proosed ban of PAC-to-PAC transfers.

Huntsville Times – With legislative session days away, Madison County delegation holds public forum to hear citizens’ concerns.

Tuscaloosa News – State Board of Education member denies asking former chancellor for help in finding jobs for relatives.

Anniston Star – The Anniston Star discusses actions by legislators to expand capital punishment crimes in state, sees Alabama as “going against the trend” in capital punishment.  

Gadsden Times – The Gadsden Times says state should evaluate its capital punishment laws and processes.

Montgomery Advertiser – Alabama supporters of Clinton and Obama look at swaying Edwards supporters into their camps.

Montgomery Advertiser – The Montgomery Advertiser reminds us that in spite of strong victory by Black candidate in white majority district, “race remains a major issue in state.”

Daily Home – The Daily Home says that proposed moratorium on death penalty “makes sense.”

FROM TODAY’S ANNISTON STAR:

Bill would prohibit charging state’s uninsured more

MONTGOMERY — One state legislator wants to keep hospitals and doctors’ offices from charging Alabama’s 609,000 uninsured residents more than they charge their insured counterparts for medical services.

A state hospital association official said he’s not opposed to such legislation, but questions some particulars of the bill.

Rep. Merika Coleman, D-Birmingham, said she will again sponsor a bill that would prohibit the practice, which studies have found to be commonplace nationwide.

Coleman sponsored the bill during the 2007 session, but it never received a hearing in the House Health Committee.

If the bill becomes law this year, it would prohibit health care providers from charging the uninsured more than what Medicare would pay for a service.

Coleman said exorbitant medical bills are one of the leading reasons low- and middle-income families file for bankruptcy.

According to a 2005 Harvard University survey of 1,771 people who filed for bankruptcy in 2001 in California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas, 46.2 percent cited illness and medical bills as a cause of their bankruptcy.

“For those of us who have insurance, we have an advocate — the insurance company,” Coleman said. “The insurance company negotiates the cost of our health care, but if you don’t have insurance, you don’t have an advocate.”

Without a middle man, uninsured people pay more than two-and-a-half times what private health insurers pay, and more than three times what Medicare will pay for health care services, according to a study conducted by the Center for Hospital Finance and Management at Johns Hopkins University.

Dane Howard, vice president of government relations for the Alabama Hospital Association, said the premise of Coleman’s bill —setting a standard cost for health care — isn’t something that the association would necessarily oppose.

There is, however, some concern about whether the Medicare rate is the best option for setting that standard.

“Medicare has more than 300 geographic areas,” she said. “In Alabama, there are 10 different areas, and that means that what Medicare will pay is not the same in every area of the state.”

Another problem is that Medicare, which is government-sponsored insurance for people 65 and older, doesn’t pay for every medical procedure.

Howard said most Alabama hospitals have policies to help people pay their hospital bills.

That’s the case at Regional Medical Center in Anniston.

“We have a very generous financial assistance policy that offers varying levels of discounts up to 100 percent based upon a patient’s financial situation,” said Susan Williamson, spokeswoman for RMC.

Williamson said RMC patients are charged the same, regardless of their insurance status, even if Coleman’s bill passes.

“We would charge everyone the same and make adjustments based on individual needs,” she said.

Coleman said passing her bill would be a win-win for both hospitals and uninsured people.

“This is a way to allow working people who want to pay, to have a means to pay their medical bills without going into bankruptcy,” she said. “This is a way to make sure hospitals get paid.”