Indiana Blog Review

Smokin' Healthcare

Reactions to Gov. Daniels' proposed healthcare scheme:

Chris Douglas --

It is entirely appropriate to be thinking of ways to extend better health care to the poor.  And it is entirely appropriate to collect tax from smokers to offset the higher cost of health care that the smoking addiction imposes on the rest of society.

Dave Haxton --

Bottom line: neither the state nor any governmental body really wants smokers to quit. They want to bleed us a bit more, making us feel guilty for funding their new projects as they go. And if we ever do really kick the habit completely, well, the taxpayers in general will be left holding the bag for all these grand illusions.

Doug Masson argues it'll be less expensive and inefficient than emergency rooms.

Mark Rutherford says this is more proof that Daniels doesn't understand free markets.

Kenn Gividen (who needs permalinks) --

We get free health insurance thanks to Gov. Mitch Daniels' latest plunge into Keynesian economics . . .

In the end analysis, the Republicans just handed Hoosiers another bureaucratic program that – like Social Security – will burden future taxpayers, lock in a poverty class and have no exit strategy.

Advance Indiana has a good analysis but concludes --

The Governor's plan is a nice start, but I think he would be well advised to reach out to people other than lobbyists for doctors, hospitals, health insurers and pharmaceutical companies to develop a more successful program.

Hindering AIDS

Advance Indiana looks at the sad history of waste, fraud, and abuse in non-profit agencies administering AIDS grants, "Perhaps we need to look for new ways of disbursing these funds. These nonprofit agencies have clearly not earned our confidence and trust."

Midwifery

E. Thomas Kemp takes a closer look at the status (or lack thereof) of midwives in Indiana Law.

How Not to Eat Corn

Torpor Indy found a site that, "ranks the states in tooth retention. Indiana is the 11th worst state in percentage of adults who have lost their teeth. It's not surprising that West Virginia and Kentucky lead the list."

Heh.

Two certificate of need ordinances struck down

Writes Doug at Masson's Blog:

In a previous post I discussed Perry County’s recent adoption of a “Certificate of Need” ordinance which prohibited construction of new medical facilities unless the builder obtained a “certificate of need” from the County.

Back in November, Judge Hamilton struck down a similar ordinance adopted by Morgan County. According to a story in the Perry County News, the Perry County commissioners were aware of the Morgan County case and proceeded to adopt the ordinance anyway, claiming that they had drafted the language of the ordinance more narrowly. As I explained in that previous post, there is no way the ordinance can be read as being permissible in light of Judge Hamilton’s ruling.

Yesterday, Judge Barker issued her opinion striking down similar ordinances in Clark and Floyd Counties. The reasoning of both Judges Hamilton and Barker is the same. Under Indiana’s Home Rule Act (IC 36-3-1), counties simply do not have this authority.

Was it HIPPA violation?

Advance Indiana writes:

The Indianapolis Star splashed a story on its online edition reporting that State Sen. Robert Jackman (R-Milroy) had fallen ill in his State House office and had to be rushed to Methodist Hospital for treatment. The story includes a photo of Sen. Jackman being carried out of the State House on a gurney by paramedics with an oxygen mask covering his mouth and nose.

Aside from the Star’s complete lack of taste and insensitivity to Jackman’s privacy in posting the photograph of Jackman in a state of distress just hours after the event, the story included information about Jackman that would seem to raise questions about whether his privacy rights under HIPPA were violated.

Can they do that?

An Indiana county enacts a local rule requiring a certificate of need before new medical facilities can be constructed.  Doug at Masson's Blog asks if counties are empowered under the law to enact such a rule.

What is confusing to me is the fact that the Perry County Board of Commissioners is adopting the ordinance now when a similar ordinance adopted by Morgan County was struck down by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Morgan County has not appealed the court's decision and so the court's ruling is good law in the Southern District of Indiana.

Bird flu high priority for Bayh

Fighting a potential pandemic is a high priority for Sen. Evan Bayh, writes Deliberate Chaos.

"Leading experts say it is only a matter of time before this deadly disease becomes more efficient in moving from person to person. We should not await that dreadful day, but work proactively to protect the national security interests and the health interests of the American people," said Sen. Bayh.

Update: China reports developing an avian flu vaccine that works on people and birds, advises Deliberate Chaos.

Moratorium on specialty hospitals passes

Joshua Claybourn of Indiana Barrister reports about recent passage of a bill extending the moratorium on specialty hospitals, many of which are in Indiana.

An important bill extending a moratorium on specialty hospitals has just passed Congress, the impact of which is wider than most realize. The battle between not-for-profit, general-care hospitals and for-profit hospitals that specialize in just a few high-profit procedures lies at the heart of the debate.

Oral Report

The controversy about the Columbus North student newspaper article about the dangers of oral sex will be spun by Bill O'Reilly on tonight's No Spin Zone, advises Leo Morris.  The show airs on the Fox News Network at 8 p.m. Indiana time.