Bill to punish docs for late death reports

A legislative proposal to punish physicians who fail to report a patient’s death in a timely manner has been blasted by advocates for hospice and end-of-life care.

Sponsored by Rep. Brian Dempsey, D-Haverhill, H. 2040 would slap physicians and their agencies with a $1,000 fine and put them at risk of a license suspension if they do not report the death to a funeral director within 16 hours.

Rigney Cunningham, executive director of the Hospital and Palliative Care Federation of Massachusetts, said doctors who specialize in hospice care would be dissuaded from making death pronouncements because of a fear that they may miss the 16-hour deadline to report to a funeral director.

“It is central to the hospice philosophy to care for the family of the dying patient and that responsibility does not end with the patient’s death,” she said.

Cunningham said her organization represents 63 agencies that provide care to more than 21,000 terminally-ill patients in Massachusetts.

“Adding additional responsibilities to already demanding jobs would be completely burdensome to hospice staff and a poor use of nursing resources,” she said.

House passes school nutrition measure

A long-dormant bill that aims to ban fatty snacks from Massachusetts schools has finally been approved by the House, according to The Boston Herald.

Under the bill, there would be no more sugary soda, cookies or candy bars, and fewer chips and sports drinks available to students. Schools would be encouraged to sell non-fried fruit and vegetables, whole grain products, nonfat or low-fat dairy products, noncarbonated water and juice with no additives.

According to a 2008 state Department of Public Health report, one-third of high school and middle school students in Massachusetts between ages of 10 and 17 were overweight or obese, outpacing national averages.

But versions of the bill have stalled for years, encountering resistance from the grocery lobby and those who have argued nutritional values should be instilled at home, not by government.

The bill now heads to the state Senate where, according to Rep. Peter J. Koutoujian, D-Waltham, who has been trying to push the bill through for eight years, “the chance … is pretty strong it will pass.”