HB 1300 – Medical malpractice insurance. Requires all insurers providing medical malpractice insurance to establish premium rates based on the average judgment awarded in medical malpractice cases by county during the previous calendar year, and requires that the premium rate for providers who practice in multiple counties be adjusted based on the percentage of the provider’s practice conducted in each county.

HB 1328 – Prescriptive information. Prohibits the use, sale, transfer, or licensing of any prescription information containing patient- or prescriber- identifiable data by certain entities for commercial purposes, including advertising, marketing, promotion, or other activities that could be used to influence sales or market pharmaceuticals.

HB 1454 (See also SB 915) – Peer review committees. Allows licensed ambulance services, emergency medical response agencies, and not-for-profit organizations which contract for ambulance services to establish peer review committees.

Oppose.

HB 1546 – Infection control procedures. Changes the laws regarding infection control:

(1) Requires all cases, including non-hospital acquired cases, of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, and vancomycin- resistant enterococcus to be reported to the Department of Health and Senior Services;

(2) Specifies when ventilator-associated pneumonia should be included by the department in quarterly infection incidence rate reports; and

(3) Requires every hospital licensed in the state to develop an MRSA control program beginning January 1, 2009.

HB 1558 – Missouri Universal Health Insurance Act. Establishes the Missouri Universal Health Insurance Act to provide comprehensive and necessary health care services for Missouri residents.

HB 1720 (See also SB 948) – Pharmacies. Requires pharmacies to dispense all valid, lawful prescriptions for contraceptives without delay.

HB 1816 – Health Care Whistleblower Protection Act. Establishes the Health Care Whistleblower Protection Act which prohibits employers from taking retaliatory action against employees who disclose or threaten to disclose alleged prohibited activities or provide information or testify before any public body regarding violations which the employee reasonably believes constitutes improper quality of patient care. Requires hospitals and surgical centers to:

(1) Appoint a compliance officer;

(2) Notify employees of their right to disclose specified information;

(3) Provide forms to document alleged violations of federal and state law concerning patient care and safety and facility safety;

(4) Allow employees reporting violations to do so anonymously;

(5) Forward complaints to the Department of Health and Senior Services and the Attorney General within two business days;

(6) Initiate an internal investigation of the complaint; and

(7) Make all information that has been disclosed, collected, and maintained available to the department at all times and reviewed by the department at least annually.

Establishes a procedure within the Office of the Attorney General for independent review of claims of retaliatory actions against employees.

HB 1833 – Missouri Universal Health Assurance Program. Establishes the Missouri Universal Health Assurance Program which is a publicly financed, statewide insurance program to provide comprehensive necessary health care services for Missouri residents.

HB 1940 – Patient safety standards. Requires each hospital to develop and implement a safe patient handling program.

SB 724 – Prescriptive authority to nurses. Authorizes advanced practice registered nurses who hold a certificate of controlled substance prescriptive authority from the board of nursing to prescribe controlled substances in schedules III, IV, and V while operating under a collaborative practice agreement.

SB 792 – Immunity from tort liability for certain healthcare professionals. (See Tort Law)

SB 859 – High deductible health plans by health maintenance organizations. (See Insurance Law)

SB 916 – Patient safety organizations. Requires hospitals to report whenever they have a “serious reportable event in health care,” as identified by the National Quality Forum including wrong-site surgery, retention of a foreign object in a patient after surgery, and death or serious disability associated with medication error. Establishes a procedure for hospitals reporting such events to the Department of Health and Senior Services and to a patient safety organization. Establishes requirements for a patient safety organization. Requires the department to investigate the reportable incident and determine whether the hospital’s response and proposed prevention plan is sufficient to reduce the risk of future occurrences of that type.

SB 973 – Medicare advantage plans. (See Insurance Law)

SB 1063 – Missouri Methamphetamine Project. (See Criminal Law)