Group Urges Worker Protections For Medical Residents.
The Hill (1/13, Pecquet) reports in its "Healthwatch" blog, "A US Supreme Court ruling Tuesday that medical residents are workers, not students, is rekindling debate over the length of their shifts." Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group, stated, "The US Supreme Court's ruling Tuesday that resident physicians are properly deemed workers -- not students -- for purposes of paying Social Security taxes further bolsters the case that residents should also have other protections afforded to workers," such as "a good night's sleep." The group "is part of a coalition of consumer and labor advocates that has been petitioning the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to assume jurisdiction over the work hours of physician residents -- and to put strict limits on what those hours can be."
The Wall Street Journal (1/12, Kendall, Vaughan) reports that the US Supreme Court, in an unanimous opinion, upheld a Treasury Department rule that said medical residents are full-time employees, not students. The decision upheld an Internal Revenue Service requirement that medical residents pay Social Security taxes. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote, "The department certainly did not act irrationally in concluding that these doctors...are the kind of workers that Congress intended to both contribute to and benefit from the Social Security system."
The New York Times (1/12, A12, Liptak) reports, "The case concerning medical residents considered a federal law that exempts students from paying Social Security taxes. Allowing residents to take the exemption would cost the federal government $700 million a year, the Justice Department said." In announcing the decision, the court said "the question it presented boiled down to whether residents were 'workers who study or students who work.'"
New Federal Program Aims To Help Healthcare Professionals Pay Off Student Loans.
In continuing coverage, CQ HealthBeat (11/23) reports, "The new health care law will provide $290 million this year for the National Health Service Corps loan repayment program, under which primary-care medical, dental, and mental health professionals can get up to $60,000 to help pay their student loans if they work for two years in a medically underserved area." The grants "are higher than in previous years, and the program will give medical professionals the option of working half-time to fulfill their service obligation. They also will get credit for some teaching hours," CQ adds.
The Hill (11/22, Pecquet) "Healthwatch" blog quoted HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who said in a statement, "As we continue to seek ways to impact both the primary care workforce shortage and the increasing debt burden on new providers, NHSC serves as a model for addressing both challenges simultaneously."
"National Health Service Corps Director Rebecca Spitzgo says the expansion means nearly 11,000 doctors will participate in the program, giving care to more than 11 million people. That's triple the amount in 2008," the AP (11/23) reports. The Baltimore Sun (11/23, Kay) and WJZ-TV (11/22, DeMetrick) also covered the story. An HHS new release (11/22) provided more details about the program, as does the NHSC webpage on the HHS website.
Shorter Work Shifts, Stricter Supervision Approved For Medical Residents.
The AP (9/30, Tanner) reports, "Rookie doctors will be getting shorter work shifts, along with stricter supervision, but a medical student group said Wednesday that the changes don't do enough to protect sleep-deprived residents and their patients." New rules were approved on Tuesday "for more than 110,000 new doctors being trained at US hospitals. The idea is to improve patient safety and reduce medical errors caused by junior doctors working extremely long hours." The primary change will affect "new doctors in their first year of medical residency. Their work shift limit is being cut from 24 hours to 16 hours." Modern Healthcare (9/30) also reports the story.
Supreme Court To Consider Medical Residents' Exemption From Tax Rule.
The AP (6/1) reported, "The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to...decide whether student doctors are students or employees when it comes to collecting Social Security taxes." The Mayo Clinic is seeking "to overturn a federal appeals court ruling and restore" a "student exemption for medical residents." Officials at the clinic "say residents fall under a Social Security tax exemption for student employees whose work is part of their education."
A 2005 Treasury Department rule says medical residents, as full-time employees, are not eligible for the exemption, but medical schools contend that residents' primary focus is on learning, Dow Jones Newswire (6/1) reported.
The rule "excludes anyone working at least 40 hours a week from qualifying as a student, even if the work is related to a course of study," Modern Healthcare (6/2, Blesch) reports. The clinic and the University of Minnesota argue that "the agency ignored the clear meaning of the word 'student' in the statute in order to narrow the exemption." The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal (6/1, Newmarker) also covered the story.
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