Two health care bills were unanimously approved by the state House on Nov. 15 and signed by Gov. Ed Rendell on Nov. 23. The votes were the result of the last-minute lame duck legislative session, held after rank and file Democratic members protested an earlier decision to cancel the voting session.
The bills of interest to medicine were:
- House Bill 1482, which would require all health care facility employees to wear a photo identification badge while working, except in cases where it is not clinically feasible to wear the ID when providing care to a patient
- House Bill 2521, which would require health care providers to provide patients, insurers, or other third-party payers with information about the cost of off-site pathology services.
The Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) supports HB 1482 because it would minimize confusion over whether a provider is a physician or another type of health care provider. In 2006, the PAMED House of Delegates voted to support pursuing legislation that clarifies who may use the title of "doctor."
HB 1482 would require the professional license or certification of the health care provider to be written on the badge in a larger font than the provider's name and degree. It was introduced by Rep. Jennifer Mann (D-Lehigh).
HB 2521 would increase payment disclosure requirements for physicians who order laboratory tests and directly pay the lab for the tests. PAMED was able to have the bill amended on the House floor so that it follows American Medical Association (AMA) and PAMED policy regarding pathology service disclosure. In Pennsylvania, physicians can either direct bill or client bill for pathology services.
With direct billing, the provider or entity that provided or supervised the lab service directly receives payment. With client billing, the physician who ordered the lab service pays for the service and then collects payment from the patient or insurer. This allows the physician to, for instance, charge full price for the laboratory service even if they received a discount.
AMA and PAMED policy calls for physicians who client bill to disclose the name of laboratory, the amount charged by the laboratory for each test, and the amount of the physician’s acquisitions or processing charge in bills to patients or insurers.
Similar disclosures are required in a number of states, including neighboring Delaware, Ohio, Maryland, and New Jersey.