Thompson addresses medical liability and aid to Afghanistan By Sarita Chourey For The News-Chronicle Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson is working with professors at the University of North Carolina to develop a strategy that would minimize the legal system's intervention in addressing the medical-liability-insurance crisis. Thompson outlined his priorities at the Republican Mainstreet Partnership breakfast last week. International funding for AIDS/HIV, building clinics for women and children in Afghanistan with nurses trained in midwifery, and equipping himself and his staff with monitors to ensure they take 10,000 steps a day were also among the highlights of his agenda. "You become addicted to these (devices), and I suggest you all pick one up. Chunky is good, healthy is better," he quipped. With regard to the women's and children's clinics he is spearheading in Afghanistan, Thompson said he does not object to the hospitals providing contraceptives, and that USAID, a humanitarian organization, will be closely involved with the administration of birth-control options. He also highlighted interactive books that provide health and child-rearing instruction to women as a way to promote healthy child development in Afghanistan. "This is another way we can show Americans' generosity and show the Muslim world that we care a lot about their children," he said. "We can change the direction of that country." Thompson, who in May will be the keynote speaker of the Republican Party of Wisconsin 2003 state convention in Stevens Point, stressed that much of what HHS is involved in goes unnoticed. "People don't even know what we're doing, but we're in the field helping people out. When Ground Zero started, dogs would sniff and get burned. We had to take care of the dogs. We had to administer to the dogs and no one ever knew about that," he said. "We can track food poisoning down to a particular farm within 24 hours," he said, adding that HHS has access to thousands of domestic and international television stations, including the Arab world's al-Jazeera. "I want people to understand that they're protected." Thompson also addressed medical-liability reform, stressing that rates have escalated in recent years, and hospitals are struggling to pay insurance premiums. "We need to take a look at ways we can change that. We've got (caps) in Wisconsin for $350,000, and California has it for $250,000, and they've got great coverage there. Their medical insurance malpractice premiums are one-third less than what the rest of the country that doesn't have caps," he explained. In outlining his work with the University of North Carolina, he said, "Doctors or clinics say, 'We're sorry; we made a mistake,' right up front. 'John, we made a mistake. We screwed up; we know you're going to have to rehabilitate yourself. We're going to pay when you're at home; we're going to pay you some dollars up front. You don't have to get a lawyer. You can if you want to. You can sue us, but we're sorry we made a mistake. Here is what we think it's worth up front, without any attorneys.'" In mid-March, the House passed H.R. 5, The Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2003, which mandated a $250,000 cap on pain and suffering damages only. The chances of the bill passing the Senate are slim. But Thompson said the key is "for hospitals to say, 'We screwed up. How do we prevent that in the future?'" He added that requiring medicines to have barcodes would reduce human errors. "Everything else is bar-coded except pharmaceutical drugs," he said. DRINKING WATER AN ISSUE Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, R-Menomonee Falls, is urging to the House Committee on Resources and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works to hold hearings to determine how costly compliance with improved drinking-water standards will be for Wisconsin communities. When the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revised the maximum allowable radium levels in drinking water, the city of Waukesha conducted its own drinking-water study. The study estimated compliance costs at $50 millionand also contended that a radium content higher than the amount allowed by the EPA was acceptable. In a letter, Sensenbrenner said, "Our communities in Wisconsin have enough budget problems without having to deal with yet another unfunded federal mandate simply because EPA bureaucrats believe they know more about Wisconsin's land and water than we do." A spokesperson for the House Resources Committee said the issue would be referred to the House committees on commerce and transportation. Chourey is WisPolitics.com's Washington correspondent. She works for The Hill, a weekly newspaper that covers Congress. Her column appears here Mondays.