Florida high court rejects caps in malpractice cases and other regional healthcare news

The Florida Supreme Court last week struck down caps on pain-and-suffering damages in medical malpractice lawsuits.

In a 4-3 ruling, the Florida court found that limits passed in 2003 on non-economic damages violated equal protection rights under the state constitution.

The law set different limits on awards based on a variety of factors. The court majority said there is no evidence of a continuing liability insurance crisis justifying arbitrary discrimination between malpractice victims. The court's dissenters wrote that the majority was ignoring the legislature's fact-finding work and was overreaching its authority.

Nearly 30 states have laws limiting non-economic damages in malpractice cases, but courts in nearly a dozen states, including Illinois, Georgia, and Missouri, have overturned them.

—Harris Meyer

Following significant public backlash, Wisconsin policymakers have revised a controversial waiver requiring Medicaid members to pay premiums and undergo drug screening to participate.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services submitted its waiver application last Wednesday to the CMS after incorporating feedback from more than 1,000 comments on the original proposal.

Originally, the state outlined a sliding scale where people between 20% and 100% of federal poverty level would pay between $1 and $10 a month. It scrapped those plans and is now proposing no one below 51% of the poverty line will be required to pay any premium. Those above that level will pay $8 a month.

The state also softened its plan to charge Medicaid members who visit the emergency room an $8 copay for the first visit and a $25 copay for subsequent visits over a one-year period.

Once the CMS posts the waiver on its website, it will undergo a 30-day comment period.

—Virgil Dickson

Colorado-based healthcare providers UCHealth and Yampa Valley Medical Center last week announced plans to merge, forming an eight-hospital network and growing UCHealth's reach.

In the agreement, Aurora-based UCHealth pledged more than $105 million to revamp Steamboat Springs-based Yampa Valley's systems and infrastructure. The providers expect to complete their integration, pending regulatory approval, in the summer.

UCHealth's investment in Yampa Valley includes additional behavioral health and substance abuse resources, an expanded emergency department, infrastructure improvements and electronic health record integration. It also includes a donation to Yampa Valley's foundation.​

—Alex Kacik