MANAGED CARE: STATES TAKE ACTION AGAINST ‘GAG’ CLAUSES
The balanced budget bill signed by President Clinton TuesdayThis is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
contained a provision that prohibits the use of "gag" clauses in
physician contracts with health plans. The issue of health
insurers restricting what doctors can say to their patients about
the availability of care has come to national attention in the
last few years as states have begun implementing managed care
reforms. The American Medical Association has supported anti-gag
clause legislation, saying that the policy erodes the physician-
patient relationship. The Department of Health and Human
Services also took up the issue last year when it banned Medicare
HMOs from using gag clauses. The Clinton administration later
issued a similar ban on Medicaid HMOs. However, the states are
where the majority of action has taken place against the
practice.
STATE BY STATE BREAKDOWN
The following is a list of the states that have passed or
enacted anti-gag clause legislation: Arizona, Arkansas,
California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida,
Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New
Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee,
Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Anti-gag
clause legislation is pending in Colorado, Ohio and South
Carolina (Runy, American Health Line, 8/7).