Federal health law should waive fees for domestic violence screening, experts say

A panel of medical policy experts from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has recommended that the screening of female patients for signs of domestic violence should be provided free of charge under federal medical law, according to WHYY News.

Marcy Witherspoon, a social worker with the Institute of Safe Families in Philadelphia, claims that young and newly-licensed physicians should be provided with training to recognize and address the signs of domestic violence in female patients who are admitted to hospitals.

"A lot of providers are concerned about what the response will be and what they might have to do if they get a response that's positive. It's sort of like opening up a Pandora's box," Witherspoon told the news outlet.

According to Futures Without Violence, a nonprofit organization that helped pass the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, women who suffer domestic abuse are at a higher risk of medical conditions such as stroke and heart disease.

The IOM recommendations are expected to be reviewed by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius, and will become part of new standards for insurance companies that sell insurance coverage to women subject to her approval, according to the advocacy group.

POSTED BY: ec_admin - August 2nd, 2011 at 03:51pm ( 0 )