Chair's Column
By Linda A. Baumann, Arent Fox LLP, Washington, DC

Since October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month, I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight the efforts of the Health Law Section and our ongoing efforts to build awareness about breast cancer. I also want to bring your attention to the difference the Section makes in the lives of women all across this country who suffer from this life-threatening disease. Finally, I would like to encourage all interested Section members to participate in our Breast Cancer Task Force (BCTF), an incredibly satisfying pro bono project. I have highlighted various volunteer opportunities below.

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I Need a Lawyer to See My Doctor: Pre-Treatment Mandatory Arbitration Agreements as a Condition Precedent to Receiving Medical Care in Florida
By Adam S. Levine, M.D., J.D., The Florida Legal Advocacy Group, P.A., Clearwater, Florida

Forget simply depositing fifteen cents into Lucy’s can: Charlie Brown really needs a lawyer before he can actually see his doctor. Before receiving new or ongoing medical care in Florida, Charlie Brown must now sign a pre-treatment mandatory arbitration agreement in addition to the already required HIPAA forms, insurance forms, assignment of benefits forms, and consents for treatment. Although contractual arbitration provisions are common outside medicine, Florida is one of the first states where contractual arbitration provisions were introduced as a condition precedent to receiving medical care. In an effort to treat a perceived medical malpractice liability crisis, First Professional Insurance Company (FPIC) -- one of Florida’s largest medical malpractice liability insurers – in 2004 introduced pre-treatment mandatory arbitration agreements as a mechanism to limit medical malpractice liability.

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CMS Promulgates Self-Referral Disclosure Protocol: Provider Beware?
By Brian D. Nichols, Robinson & Cole LLP, Hartford, CT

On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (“PPACA”). While PPACA received extensive press coverage for its provisions that were intended to improve access to healthcare and to incentivize better quality of healthcare, one provision that received very little mainstream press was the new Medicare self-referral disclosure protocol (the “Protocol”). The Protocol will not have a direct impact on either access to, or quality of, healthcare, but has been anxiously awaited by healthcare providers. On September 23, 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) officially promulgated the Protocol by publishing a seven page guidance document on CMS’ website.

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For 500 Additional Calories, Do You Still Want Fries With That?
By Claire E. Castles, Law Offices of Dennis M. Lynch, Visalia, CA

Nine years after the U.S. Surgeon General’s public warning to address an “obesity epidemic” attributing the “vast majority of overweight and obesity” issues to “excess calorie consumption,” Section 1437 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is the first national measure requiring certain chain restaurants and other eating establishments to provide caloric information on menus and menu boards. PPACA’s calorie and nutrition labeling requirement for standard menu items in certain restaurants, retail food establishments and vending machine operations replaced an existing patchwork of varying state and local regulations that emerged over time requiring such information be immediately available to consumers when ordering food. Consistently, regulatory bodies have articulated its legislative aim in requiring caloric information as an effort to combat obesity and, indirectly, chronic diseases.

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“Big Brother” and the Growing Controversy Surrounding Newborn Blood Spots
By Linda Turner, Paralegal Intern, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, U.S. Army Medical Command, Fort Sam Houston, Texas

In the novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell created a world in which Big Brother, Newspeak, and telescreens were used to control the masses and strip ordinary citizens of their privacy and civil liberties. In 1949, that was science fiction, and most people probably thought such a world was outside the realm of possibility. It is now 2010. Welcome to the future. Instead of telescreens on the corner, we have traffic cameras at every major intersection, and most people are not even aware of just how much the line separating science fiction and reality has blurred. Things that were once almost unimaginable are now changing our world and, in some cases, causing unease.

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Did you know membership in an interest group is FREE with your Health Law Section membership?

Did you know your membership in the ABA Health Law Section qualifies you for free membership in up to three interest groups of your choice? Interest groups, which are comprised of twelve practices areas within health law, make significant contributions to the Section's programming, publications and legislative initiatives. The interest groups also provide an excellent opportunity for you to interact with and have access to some of the most outstanding lawyers in the legal community. You can enroll on our webpage by clicking here. If you have any questions or need more information, please contact Simeon Carson at Simeon.Carson@americanbar.org.

Physician Issues Interest Group

The Physician Issues Interest Group focuses on the art and the law of healthcare transactions and business operations.

The IG is led by Chair Sidney Summers Welch, Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, Atlanta, GA and Vice-Chairs Deirdre Golden, University of Michigan, Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI; Charles M. Key, Wyatt Tarrant & Combs LLP, Memphis, TN; Paul A. Race, Southern University Law Center, Baton Rouge, LA and Julian Rivera, Brown McCarroll LLP, Austin, TX.

If you would like to join the Interest Group, continue by clicking the following link: Health Law Section IG Sign-up Form.

ABA eSource Editorial Board

The ABA Health eSource Editorial Board is led by Chair Lisa Genecov, Locke Lord Bissell and Liddell LLP, Dallas, TX and editorial board members Michael E. Clark, Duane Morris LLP, Houston, TX; Adrienne Dresevic, The Health Law Partners, PC, Southfield, MI; Marla Durben Hirsch, Potomac, MD;
Conrad Meyer , Chaffe McCall, LLP, New Orleans, LA and Jennifer Tsao, Hernandez Schaedel & Associates LLP, Pasadena, CA.