Y2K update
U.S. House okays bill to limit millennium liability lawsuits
A Healthcare InfoTech Staff Report
The House of Representatives yesterday approved legislation to put a cap on what business may have to pay out if hit by millennium bug liability suits. Approved largely on party lines most Republicans for, most Democrats against the bill sets at $250,000 the maximum amount a company would have to pay if found liable, or three times the financial damages, whichever is larger. Additionally, the bill makes it more difficult to file class-action lawsuits, it exempts company executives from liability, and business would have 90 days to solve a Y2K problem to avoid a lawsuit.
The party line breakdown of the voting is being interpreted as reflecting the underlying battle between business interests (whose campaign dollars go largely to the GOP) and trial lawyers (who most often support Democratic candidates). Others in the fray are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business associations seeking liability limits vs. consumer organizations and trade groups, which are against them.
Political infighting has stymied a liability limits bill in the Senate, and indications that the White House will veto any such measure were made more concrete recently; high-level administration executives went on record with letters to the Congress stating that this is the President's position. Meanwhile, Republicans point to more than 80 Y2K lawsuits already filed, and are issuing dire predictions that, without limitations, liability judgments could hang a price tag of more than $1 trillion on American business.
Y2K meeting in Washington next week
As part of a continuing series on Y2K issues for healthcare, the Rx2000 Solutions Institute (Minneapolis) will hold its next seminar May 19 in Fargo, ND, for Medicare and Medicaid providers, and then will hold a general meeting in Washington May 21-22.
Each program features presentations by experts on the Y2K issue and question-and-answer sessions. Speakers at the Washington meeting will include Nancy Anne-DeParle, HCFA administrator; Janet Abrams, executive director of the President’s Council on Year 2000 Conversion; Sens. Bob Bennett (R-UT) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT), the latter two heading the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Year 2000; and Joel Ackerman, executive director of the Rx2000 Solutions Institute.
Topics will range from legal liability to the development of Y2K contingency plans. Besides offering its seminars around the country, Rx2000 Solutions Institute monitors Year 2000 developments and earlier this year warned of early Y2K problems, a warning that was picked up and given broad publicity by the Food and Drug Administration. For information about the institute, browse its web site, www. Rx2000.org.
Australian bug’ price tag $12 billion
If you are planning to phone Australia early for year 2000 Olympic tickets, you probably ought to avoid making that call on Jan. 1. That country will be among the first on Dec. 31 that will be watching its clocks tick over to the midnight hour. The result: a whole bunch of people from around the globe are going to be calling to find out what is or isn’t working in that country. Sydney will be the first major metropolis checking to see if its phones still operate, its lights are still on, and its medical systems among many other essentials of a modern infrastructure are still serving patients.
Maurice Newman, chairman of the government-sponsored Y2K industry task force, has predicted disruptions, but believes the country is well prepared. It should be. The Bureau of Statistics is predicting Australia will end up spending about $12 billion (A$19 billion) to squash the millennium bug. Victoria state recently boosted Y2K spending by 40%, pushing the money toward healthcare and transport, and other states have begun to acknowledge the scale of the problem. All 1,250 listed companies have twice detailed their Y2K plans for the Australian Stock Exchange, with the exchange planning to coordinate a three-week Year 2000 test simulating trading on Jan. 1.
Graeme Inchley, chief executive of the Y2K industry task force, says Australia’s time zone may make it hard to phone the country on Jan. 1 simply because of the many panic-stricken overseas callers. "I would not be surprised if there was a blip in terms of [telecommunications] demand, purely because of the perception that there could be a problem," he said. "How big that is is debatable. I think if you took the general community in Australia, most of them will just want to party at New Year."
AHC issues millennium 'crisis manual'
American Health Consultants (AHC; Atlanta), publisher of Healthcare InfoTech, has just released a Y2K "crisis manual" for the non-technical hospital manager. The 150-page book addresses year 2000 computer issues that will affect healthcare facilities, practices and personnel.
Hospital Manager’s Y2K Crisis Manual addresses those who are not computer specialists in helping them deal with the daily threats of the millennium bug. It includes sections on organizational issues, information management, patient care, medical technology, vendors, risk management, reimbursement, and resources. It includes tips on developing contingency plans and preparing employees. It also contains sections on legal risks, potential biomedical equipment problems, and payment issues.
Milo Falcon, associate publisher at AHC, said that the Y2K impact on healthcare facilities and equipment failures could have devastating results in such facilities.
American Health Consultants publishes more than 80 newsletters in the fields of clinical medicine, healthcare management, biotechnology, and medical devices. Additionally, it produces books, convenes conferences in key areas of healthcare, and provides continuing medical education to nurses and physicians.
AHC’s newsletters are available online at www.ahcpub.com. AHC also offers CME and CE on-line at www.cmeweb.com and www.ceweb.com.
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