Health Care Law Blog
The Michigan Medicaid expansion saga has seemingly come to an end, as the Republican-led state Senate narrowly approved Medicaid expansion on Tuesday, August 27 in a 20-18 vote. Eight Republicans joined 12 Democrats to pass a bill that will bring billions of dollars in federal dollars to Michigan to implement a major element of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Under this bill, approximately 400,000 additional Michigan residents will be eligible for Medicaid coverage.
The vote came after lengthy debate in the Senate on the measure, and passed after "eleventh hour" legislative maneuvering. The Michigan House, which previously passed a Medicaid expansion bill, will likely approve the Senate version of the bill next week. If passed, it will be sent to Governor Snyder's desk for his signature.
In early July, we updated our readers regarding the status of the Medicaid expansion debate in Michigan. At that time, a House-passed bill - supported by Governor Snyder - languished in a Senate committee because it was blocked by Senate Republicans who opposed the measure.
The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) has published a quick guide to assist hospitals and health care entities in reporting actions that adversely affect clinical privileges held by physicians, dentists and other health professionals.
The guide (We have identified that the following link is no longer active, and it has been removed) lists several “reporting scenarios” and indicates the type of report that may be required (initial adverse action report, revision-to-action report, correction report, or no report). The guide also summarizes the reasons for voiding a previous report (report was erroneously submitted, action was not reportable, or action was reversed or overturned).
The guide is a helpful starting point for a hospital or health care entity that is involved in a privileging action. However, the scope and timing of reporting requirements under the NPDB regulations can be quite complex. Considering the very serious implications from reporting—or not reporting—an adverse privileging action, it would be prudent to only use the guide as a quick reference and not as a decision-making tool.
If you have any questions about the guide, please contact Richard Kraus at 517.371.8104 or by using the email form below.
