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Calif. malpractice cap cuts lawsuits Insurance Journal, CA (United Press International) - Dec. 31, 2007 Malpractice lawsuits in California appear to have dropped significantly since the state capped pain and suffering awards, The Los Angeles Times reports... Top insurance stories in 2007 in Midwest Insurance Journal, CA - Dec. 31, 2007 ...In 2007 the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that a 2005 law specified a $500,000 cap on non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, and that victims can receive in malpractice cases against doctors, and a $1 million cap in awards against hospitals was now unconstitutional... Pol's bid to expose botch docs New York Post, NY - Dec. 31, 2007 ...Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) said he would introduce legislation requiring the state Department of Health to publish a list of doctors in New York who have the worst malpractice histories... Measure born of couple's grief to become law The Rocky Mountain News, CO - Dec. 31, 2007 ...Like more than 25 other bills from the 2007 General Assembly, it becomes law Tuesday. The Michael Skolnik Medical Transparency Act will make public, via a Web site, information about doctors' license status and malpractice settlements... Opinion - Paul Carpenter: Bar Association award recognizes value of greed The Morning Call, Allentown, PA - Dec. 30, 2007 ...WHEREAS, apart from Mr. Cappy's concessions on discipline and malpractice, Pennsylvania was still rated dead last among all states in tort reform (steps to prevent lawyers from filing bogus lawsuits, etc.)... Editorial: The year ahead Worcester Telegram & Gazette News, MA - Dec. 30, 2007 ...A badly misguided Supreme Judicial Court ruling this month involving a lawsuit blaming a physician for a fatal auto accident involving one of his patients opens a whole new area of medical liability litigation -- raising the specter of rising malpractice premiums, more costly "defensive medicine" and an exodus of physicians from the state... For some, it no longer pays to be a surgeon St. Petersburg Times, FL - Dec. 30, 2007 ...his take-home pay had fallen from $380,000 in the early 1980s to about $80,000. His malpractice insurance cost $70,000 a year... Government liability cap is overruled Statesman Journal, Salem, OR - Dec. 29, 2007 ...During the court's consideration of the case, which stemmed from a medical-malpractice lawsuit against Oregon Health & Science University, local governments expressed concern about opening individual employees to claims and removing liability limits on governments... High court lifts limit on OHSU liability The Oregonian, Portland, OR - Dec. 29, 2007 The Oregon Supreme Court ruled Friday that the family of a brain-damaged child can pursue millions of dollars from Oregon Health & Science University, opening the door for people hurt by any public employee to seek full compensation for their injuries. The court ruled that a liability cap of $200,000 designed to protect government agencies from expensive lawsuits violates the constitutional rights of... Medical malpractice news
Cap on lawsuit damages upheld The Columbus Dispatch, OH - Dec. 28, 2007 ...It does not apply to medical-malpractice lawsuits, although the General Assembly also has capped damages in those cases... Ohio rules on awards The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OH - Dec. 28, 2007 ...The caps do not apply to people who have lost a limb or bodily organ. They also do not apply to wrongful death, medical malpractice or breach-of-contract cases... Limits on damages for pain are upheld by Ohio Supreme Court Toledo Blade, OH - Dec. 28, 2007 ...Although not part of this case, the ruling may bolster the argument that different caps put in place under a medical malpractice tort-reform law are also constitutional... Rendell scores some modest victories in expanded health care push phillyBurbs.com (Associated Press) - Dec. 28, 2007 ...Earlier this month, Rendell sought to make approval of the insurance expansion a condition for renewing a state subsidy that helps doctors pay for supplemental medical-malpractice insurance from a state-run fund known as MCare... Lawmakers deride plan for fees on doctors The New York Sun, NY - Dec. 28, 2007 ...Yesterday, Mr. Spitzer indicated that the extra fee was under consideration. In July, Mr. Spitzer created a task force, chaired by Mr. Dinallo, to address the state's malpractice insurance crisis... Medical malpractice news
Physician shortage looms in Maryland The Gazette, Gaithersburg, MD - Dec. 27, 2007 ...The report recommends capping medical malpractice awards, forgiving medical school loans for new rural physicians, rotating physicians into rural areas... Doctors fear malpractice 'disaster' The New York Sun, NY - Dec. 27, 2007 New York doctors are flying into a frenzy at the news reported in yesterday's New York Sun that Governor Spitzer's insurance commissioner, Eric Dinallo, is threatening to impose a $50,000 fee on every doctor in the state as a solution to the state's malpractice insurance crisis... Editorial: Be clean to practice Muskogee Phoenix, OK - Dec. 27, 2007 ...The American Medical Association claims those malpractice instances are rare. The association adds that if physicians must stop practice and their participation in rehab is not confidential, they will not seek help for their addiction... Editorial: Illinois' legal scene a little less 'hellish,' needs watching Pantagraph, Bloomington, IL - Dec. 27, 2007 ...However, Cook County's reputation as a judicial hellhole is growing, fed by an increase in class-action lawsuits and rulings such as the one by Circuit Judge Diane Joan Larsen striking down the state's limits on "pain and suffering" awards in medical malpractice cases... Medical malpractice news
N.Y. doctors could see $50,000 fee The New York Sun, NY - Dec. 26, 2007 A $50,000 extra fee imposed on each doctor in New York State or "substantially" higher insurance rates for physicians with histories of losing malpractice cases could be part of the solution to the state's medical malpractice insurance crisis... Malpractice lawsuit could have big financial implications for state New Richmond News, New Richmond, WI - Dec. 26, 2007 ...The Medical Society has taken the rare step of filing a counter claim in the case. It says the hospital was negligent in training and supervising its employees. Therefore, St. Luke’s should pay some of the damages so the malpractice fund doesn’t take the entire hit... Trial lawyers push back against 'litigation crisis' The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio - Dec. 26, 2007 ...In fact, the number of cases alleging both defective products and malpractice by doctors and other professionals has declined in Ohio during the past eight years, the association said, citing Ohio Supreme Court figures... Physicians, hospitals spared higher med-mal payments until April Phillyburbs.com (Associated Press) - Dec. 25, 2007 Physicians and other health care providers will not have to pay into a state-run medical malpractice insurance fund for the first quarter of 2008 while Gov. Ed Rendell and legislators joust over what to do with the fund's surplus... Buying time for doctors, uninsured Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA - Dec. 25, 2007 ...He ordered the state Insurance Department yesterday to postpone collection of "med mal" insurance payments from doctors, midwives and other health professionals until March 31, instead of Jan. 1... Drive to expand health care hits snags in states The Register-Guard, Eugene, OR (NY Times) - Dec. 25, 2007 ...In Pennsylvania, Gov. Edward Rendell, also a Democrat, failed to persuade his politically divided legislature to cover the state’s 900,000 uninsured through an employer assessment. Like the California leaders, Rendell has now proposed increasing cigarette taxes, as well as raiding the surplus in a state fund designed to help doctors pay for malpractice insurance... State patient fund files claim against hopital Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee, WI - Dec. 25, 2007 In a lawsuit that could have far-reaching implications, the state fund that provides umbrella coverage in medical malpractice cases has filed a counterclaim, saying that a hospital was negligent in training and supervision of its personnel, and hospital officials should be liable for some of the damages being sought... Medical malpractice news
Governor Rendell directs insurance commissioner to delay Mcare abatement collection Sun Herald, Gulfport, MS (PR Newswire) - Dec. 24, 2007 ...The Governor hopes the delay in billing will give the General Assembly and the administration an opportunity to work out a plan to cover the uninsured through his Cover All Pennsylvanians health insurance program and to provide a 10-year extension on the Mcare abatement prior to the bills coming due... Opinion - Rep. Camille 'Bud' George The Times-Tribune, Scranton, PA - Dec. 23, 2007 ...Malpractice claims have plummeted. Liability expenses have amounted to less than 1 percent of all health care costs since 1985. Yet we’re still treated to the conservative blather about the need for tort reform... The verdict: Civil juries in Nashua live up to defense-friendly reputation Nashua Telegraph, NH - Dec. 23, 2007 ...The national Bureau of Justice study found jurors favoring plaintiffs 26 percent of the time in malpractice cases, on average, and the median award was $422,00 (the study didn't calculate average awards)... ERs scramble to find on-call specialists The Boston Globe, MA - Dec. 23, 2007 ...The shortage of specialists is the result of a fear of malpractice lawsuits, a reluctance to go without pay when seeing uninsured patients and a growing intolerance for the disruption in their personal lives and private practices, the analysts say... Controversy over medical suits caps continues Daily Herald, Arlington Heights, IL - Dec. 23, 2007 ...Since the law went into effect, 5,000 more doctors became licensed in Illinois, and 10 medical insurance insurers dropped their rates by 5 to more than 30 percent, according to state data. The number of new malpractice lawsuits also declined... Rendell won't cut out state Mcare program The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, PA - Dec. 22, 2007 ...Gov. Ed Rendell has given himself more time to persuade legislators to use a cigarette tax to help pay doctors' medical malpractice insurance costs and also fund his proposal to provide health insurance for all Pennsylvanians... Medical malpractice news
Numbers disputed in Mcare argument The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, PA - Dec. 21, 2007 ...Amid the debate, lobbyists for doctors, and some politicians, have renewed claims that doctors are fleeing Pennsylvania because of high medical malpractice insurance costs and lawsuits... Opinion - Douglas Reichley and Craig Dally: Rendell, not lawmakers, plays health care politics The Morning Call, Allentown, PA - Dec. 21, 2007 ...The MCare fund was set up to pay malpractice awards that exceed the limits of privately purchased malpractice insurance policies. The fund pays out thousands in damage claims, some of them stretching back to malpractice lawsuits filed years ago... New report calls for no-fault malpractice compensation The Journal Record, OK - Dec. 21, 2007 The litigation-based U.S. medical malpractice structure should be replaced with a no-fault system that automatically compensates patients for unexpected injuries or deaths, recommends a new report from the National Center for Policy Analysis. ... Physician shortage looms in state The Gazette, Gaithersburg, MD - Dec. 21, 2007 ...The report recommends capping medical malpractice awards, forgiving medical school loans for new rural physicians, rotating physicians into rural areas... Medical malpractice news
State receives mixed messages on courts The State Journal, Charleston, WV - Dec. 20, 2007 ...For the sixth year in a row, the American Tort Reform Foundation labeled West Virginia a judicial hellhole in its annual comparison of different states legal climate, which was released Dec. 18. However, before that study came out, a pair of political scientists from West Virginia University's Institute for Public Affairs released their own study that said West Virginia's legal climate may not be as bad as some groups claim it is... Editorial: A costly SJC decision The Daily News Tribune, Waltham, MA - Dec. 20, 2007 ...Indeed, health care costs skyrocket on the backs of malpractice premiums. Several experts said Ireland's decision would be unlikely to trigger a flood of suits, but insurance companies do not set their rates based on punditry... Doctors who fail to advise held liable The Washington Times, DC - Dec. 20, 2007 ...Last week's decision sent a chill through physicians' offices across the country. It will increase malpractice insurance costs for doctors, which will likely decrease access to care for patients, medical law specialists predict... Opinion - Senator Kemp Hannon: Toward a proactive system to ensure patient safety Garden City Life, Mineola, NY - Dec. 20, 2007 ...If a doctor continues to have medical malpractice settlements, especially if a substantial portion of them are "above average," it is incumbent upon somebody to review the situation... Poverty in western Pa.:Health care coverage growing concern WTAE-TV, Pittsburgh, PA - Dec. 19, 2007 ...Gov. Ed Rendell's cover-all Pennsylvanians plan would cover the uninsured by increasing tobacco taxes and taking money from a fund that helps doctors pay malpractice insurance... Medical malpractice news
Editorial: Officials with prime health care can't appreciate living without it The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, PA - Dec. 19, 2007 ...It may be that the MCare fund, which subsidizes malpractice insurance for physicians, has been so successful, along with legal improvements, that it can be reconfigured. But with an estimated $1.8 billion unfunded liability, we think it would be advisable to obtain an independent actuarial judgment on that score... ATRF releases 2007 'Judicial Hellhole' report Southeast Texas Record, Beaumont, TX - Dec. 19, 2007 The latest ranking of America's most unfair jurisdictions in which to be sued has been revealed in the American Tort Reform Foundation's 2007 Judicial Hellholes® report, with Texas coastal counties, including Jefferson County, at the No. 2 spot on the list... West Virginia's fourth in 'Judicial Hellhole' ratings The Register-Herald, Beckley, WV - Dec. 19, 2007 For a land that prides itself as “Almost Heaven” in song and tourism ads, West Virginia finds itself deep inside the “Judicial Hellhole” rankings of the American Tort Reform Association once againFor a land that prides itself as “Almost Heaven” in song and tourism ads, West Virginia finds itself deep inside the “Judicial Hellhole” rankings of the American Tort Reform Association once again... Illinois' Madison County dropped from judicial hellhole list Insurance Journal, CA (Associated Press) - Dec. 19, 2007 ...The newest list is topped by South Florida, followed by Texas' Rio Grande Valley and Gulf Coast, Illinois' Cook County including Chicago, West Virginia and Nevada's Clark County that includes Las Vegas... ATRA's excerpts: Callis credited for Madison County's improvements Madison County Record, IL - Dec. 18, 2007 Declining number of lawsuits, fewer class actions, dismissals of out-of-state asbestos cases and positive changes in the handling of medical liability cases are reasons the American Tort Reform Association gives for moving Madison County, and St. Clair County, off its "Judicial Hellhole" list... Confidential programs let addicted doctors work while in rehab The Press Enterprise, Riverside, CA (Associated Press) - Dec. 18, 2007 ...West admitted no fault in settling Anderson's malpractice lawsuit for $250,000, Pollara said. The tummy-tuck patient lost her malpractice case... Medical malpractice news
Captive audience: MDs fighting back on malpractice The New York Sun, NY - Dec. 18, 2007 Fed up with the state's medical malpractice insurance crisis, some New York City doctors are airing televised messages in their waiting rooms that warn patients of a looming physician shortage... Health chiefs reviews three years at the top The Record, Hackensack, NJ - Dec. 18, 2007 ..."Most doctors [in New Jersey] are unhappy" because of high malpractice premiums and office overhead, he said. Insurance hassles have created what doctors consider an adversarial relationship with patients... Opinion: Adding unrelated amendments shouldn't be allowed LubbockOnline.com, TX - Dec. 18, 2007 ...Even more frustrating is that many of the amendments - involving such subjects as the Iraq war, medical malpractice, the alternative minimum tax and immigration - were unrelated to the farm legislation under consideration... Medical malpractice news
Pa. gov. may delay malpractice fund payments Insurance Journal, CA (Associated Press) - Dec. 17, 2007 Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said he is probably going to allow doctors to put off payments to the state's medical-malpractice insurance fund as lawmakers work on legislation to extend a state subsidy that lowers those bills... NY malpractice fund in 'crisis' Newsday, New York, NY - Dec. 17, 2007 ...To solve the problem, the state is considering significant increases in premiums. A Medical Malpractice Task Force is also looking at the high-risk pool, with its report is slated to go to Gov. Eliot Spitzer by the end of the year... Court: Family must decide when to end patient's life Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA - Dec. 16, 2007 ...She also claimed the hospital unlawfully terminated her daughter's life without her consent. The hospital countered that Hawkins was too late, citing a two-year statute of limitation on medical malpractice claims.... Editorial: Intriguing model: In-store clinics could be a health care boon Worcester Telegram & Gazette News, MA - Dec. 16, 2007 ...Some Public Health Council members, according to a Boston Globe report last week, had concerns that the clinic staff might prescribe unnecessary drugs from which the pharmacy would profit. That’s a possibility, of course, but clinic staff members who engaged in such malpractice would put their licenses to practice at risk and open themselves and the pharmacy chain to lawsuits... Medical tourism: Patients go abroad to slice health costs Salt Lake Tribune, UT - Dec. 16, 2007 ... "The first issue is liability," he said. "They [companies] want to make sure they're protected by U.S. jurisdiction in the case of a malpractice claim." ... Emergency room stats are a prescription for trouble Nashua Telegraph, NH - Dec. 16, 2007 ...Besides payment issues, the researchers found that specialists fear greater exposure to medical-malpractice suits from emergency-care patients, as well as professional concern that ER cases may be more complex and challenging than the patients they routinely see in their own practices... State payouts to doctors ease malpractice pain The Star-Ledger, NJ - Dec. 15, 2007 Nearly 1,200 checks are in the mail to help obstetricians, neurosurgeons and radiologists afford their medical malpractice insurance and keep them practicing in New Jersey, Banking and Insurance Commissioner Steven Goldman announced yesterday... Medical malpractice news
Malpractice insurer, Md. reach deal Baltimore Sun, MD - Dec. 14, 2007 ...Under pressure from the state's insurance commissioner, Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland said it will reduce next year's rates by 8 percent, return $84 million to the state and pay member doctors $13.8 million in dividends against 2008 premiums... State, physicians receive millions back from malpractice premiums Baltimore Examiner, MD - Dec. 14, 2007 ...The higher premiums can be returned because “the frequency of malpractice claims [is] in decline,” Tyler said at a news conference. That is because of "improved practices" by physicians and other reforms passed by the General Assembly in a 2005 special session... Med Mutual returning $100M to state, doctors Baltimore Business Journal, MD - Dec. 14, 2007 ...Outcry by doctors in 2003 and 2004 over skyrocketing medical malpractice insurance rates that they said could have forced them out of the state led the Maryland General Assembly to create a subsidy fund for doctors... Malpractice rebate for Md. set at $84 million Washington Post, DC - Dec. 14, 2007 ...At the same time, the three-year-old subsidy program is being curtailed because a spike in malpractice awards has flattened out, O'Malley said.... Malpractice rates in state heading lower The Indianapolis Star, IN - Dec. 14, 2007 ...The cuts are the first since the state-run Patient's Compensation Fund, or PCF, was created in 1976 to provide compensation for people severely injured by health-care providers. The fund also helps reduce the financial liability faced by doctors and hospitals... Medical malpractice news
Senate says tough luck, rural Ob-Gyns National Association of Manufacturers, Washington, DC - Dec. 13, 2007 The Senate on Wednesday voted 41 yeas to 53 nays to reject an amendment to the Farm Bill that would have capped pain and suffering awards in medical malpractice suits against rural ob-gyns at $750,000... Corker cosponsors amendment to improve women's access to OB/GYNs UC Daily News, Upper Cumberland, TN - Dec. 13, 2007 ...The "Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies Rural Access to Care" amendment, offered to the Farm Bill by Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), would place caps on non-economic damages for OB/GYNs facing lawsuits in rural counties across the country... Agency seeks funds to keep consumers aware The Denver Post, CO - Dec. 13, 2007 The state agency overseeing dozens of professions -- from doctors to plumbers -- wants $200,000 from the violators it disciplines yearly to warn consumers about scams and hucksters... Editorial: Misguided ruling Worcester Telegram & Gazette News, MA - Dec. 13, 2007 In a split ruling stemming from a fatal accident, the state Supreme Judicial Court has opened the door to a huge increase in medical liability lawsuits, a result that is apt to raise the cost of medical treatment while undermining the quality of care... Bill banning fund transfers approved Baraboo News Republic, WI - Dec. 13, 2007 ...this year's budget transfers $200 million from the state's medical malpractice fund to the general fund. The Wisconsin Medical Society is now suing the state because of that transfer and a state auditor has said it might have been illegal. Medical malpractice news
Pa. Senate OKs dollars for doctors, but not for health insurance Intelligencer, Doylestown, PA - Dec. 12, 2007 The state Senate voted Tuesday to extend a malpractice insurance subsidy for doctors and hospitals through next year but rejected an effort by Democrats to divert a surplus from a malpractice reserve fund to pay for adult health insurance... Malpractice insurance subsidies on hold for now The Morning Call, Allentown, PA - Dec. 12, 2007 The Pennsylvania House on Tuesday put off voting on a bill reauthorizing medical malpractice insurance subsidies in hopes of reaching a compromise with Republicans on Gov. Ed Rendell's plan to extend health insurance coverage to nearly 800,000 adults... Hospitals seek solutions to ER crisis KTAR, Phoenix, AZ - Dec. 12, 2007 ...One thing that doctors say could make a big difference in Arizona would be a cap on damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice suits. The lack of a cap is blamed for many doctors heading to other states. Senate moves to amendments in farm bill floor debate Feedstuffs, Minnetonka, MN - Dec. 11, 2007 ...Harkin said the key issues that could slow up the bill are funding or prolonged debates on non-germane amendments --- such as one offered on medical malpractice insurance in rural areas... Gregg tries to tack heating assistance onto farm bill The Boston Globe, MA - Dec. 11, 2007 ...His suggested changes include a tax reduction for people whose houses are foreclosed, medical liability reform intended to encourage obstetricians to practice in rural areas... Medical malpractice news
Doctor could be liable Worcester Telegram & Gazette News, MA (Associated Press) - Dec. 11, 2007 A doctor who failed to warn his patient about the potential side effects of medication can be held liable for the man’s car crash that killed a 10-year-old boy, the state’s highest court ruled yesterday in the first such decision to make doctors responsible for harm to nonpatients... Doctor can be sued over accident caused by patient, SJC rules The Boston Globe, MA - Dec. 11, 2007 ...Two dissenting justices said they worried the ruling would drive up medical malpractice rates, among other concerns... Opinion - Rosemarie Greco: Rendell plan to cover uninsured is sustainable The Morning Call, Allentown, PA - Dec. 11, 2007 ...By using the surplus in the malpractice abatement fund, along with an increase in the cigarette tax by 10 cents and a tax on cigars and smokeless tobacco, we can easily meet both of the governor's goals... Opinion - Edwin W. Shearburn, MD: Still more to do to fix broken medical system The Morning Call, Allentown, PA - Dec. 11, 2007 ...Gov. Rendell is being disingenuous with Pennsylvania's patients. I believe he should stop pandering to the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association and to start supporting the ''tough surgery'' necessary to fix our broken medical liability system... Doctor shortage News 14 Carolina, Raleigh, NC - Dec. 11, 2007 ...Rising malpractice premiums, falling reimbursement and fears of being sued have forced obstetricians in some states into early retirement. It’s creating a shortage in this specialty... Medical malpractice news
Editorial: Access to health care needs to be improved in Pa. Daily and Sunday Review, Towanda, PA - Dec. 10, 2007 ...The governor has notified the Legislature that he will not sign off on renewal of the malpractice insurance program unless the lawmakers act on another measure that would ensure health-care access for more than 700,000 low-income working adults... Opinion - David Pidgeon: Election already a factor in the daily legislative grind Lancaster New Era, PA - Dec. 20, 2007 ...Rendell, who is not connected to the investigation, last week came out swinging, threatening to withhold funds that help health care workers afford expensive malpractice insurance unless the Legislature passes his health care initiatives... Bill would ban state fund transfers Portage Daily Register, WI - Dec. 10, 2007 ...The resolution, introduced by Rep. J.A. "Doc" Hines, R-Oxford, in March, would stop lawmakers from shifting state funds around to plug budget holes. Hines proposed the legislation after Gov. Jim Doyle signed the state budget, which includes a transfer of $200 million from the state's medical malpractice fund to the general fund... Millionaires-in-chief CNNMoney.com (Money Magazine) - Dec. 10, 2007 ...Would a President Edwards, for example, who earned many of his millions suing doctors, sign off on damage caps in medical malpractice cases as part of a plan to bring down health-care costs?... Editorial: Capitol Matters: Will proposed ban go up in smoke? Daily and Sunday Review, Towanda, PA - Dec. 9, 2007 ...The spotlight in recent days is on a new proposal by Mr. Rendell to underwrite health insurance coverage for 800,000 uninsured Pennsylvanians by tapping the surplus in a state fund that helps physicians pay malpractice insurance premiums... Editorial: Use MCare surplus to insure 70,000 The Citizens Voice, Wilkes-Barre, PA - Dec. 9, 2007 ...Access to health care is an issue that is not limited to physicians’ costs of doing business, however. Now, as the program for physicians is up for renewal, Gov. Ed Rendell is on the mark in using it as leverage to expand access to health care in another way... Working poor without health insurance 'in a vicious cycle' The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, MS - Dec. 9, 2007 ..."We've been hurt by the malpractice crisis. We don't deliver babies any more. We don't set bones. We're afraid of being sued. So we send patients to specialists."... Rx for troubled emergency rooms San Luis Obispo Tribune, CA - Dec. 9, 2007 ...Besides payment issues, the researchers found that specialists fear greater exposure to medical-malpractice suits from emergency-care patients... From delivery room to courtroom for Staten Island docs Staten Island Advance, NY - Dec. 9, 2007 ...The way Dr. David Herzog sees it, medical malpractice insurance for obstetricians and gynecologists will become so expensive that only hospitals -- and doctors covered under their umbrellas -- could afford coverage for birthings... Governor tries new approach to fund uninsured adults Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA - Dec. 8, 2007 ...He said the state can afford to tap the Retention Account's surplus, which resulted due to fewer malpractice suits being filed against doctors in the past four years and lower malpractice insurance premiums... Editorial: Low-income workers need health coverage The Republican & Herald, Pottsville, PA - Dec. 8, 2007 ...Under Rendell's proposal, money to pay for the coverage of the uninsured adults would come from part of a $500 million surplus currently in the MCare fund, the secondary insurance program for doctors into which the state subsidies are paid... Medical malpractice news
Benninghoff blasts governor for his health care 'threat' The Sentinel, Lewistown, PA - Dec. 7, 2007 ...Rendell on Tuesday said he would withhold his signature on a bill that would provide relief to doctors and other health care providers from the premiums they are charged for medical malpractice coverage through the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Fund in 2008... Has tort reform worked too well in Texas? Insurance Journal, CA - Dec. 7, 2007 ...Medical liability insurance rates have fallen and the number of medical liability insurers has increased, along with the numbers of physicians willing to locate their practices in Texas. But at least one insurance defense lawyer wonders whether the success of tort reform in the state is a case of -- be careful what you ask for, you just might get it... Opinion - Brian Lockhard: Health care costs rise with medical liability lawsuits The Bowdoin Orient, ME - Dec. 7, 2007 ...Regardless of how inadequate any potential solution I present may be, please understand that the constant threat of medical liability lawsuits costs our country's health care system an enormous amount of money that could be far better allocated... Docs turn to Congress to stop Medicare cuts Long Island Business News, NY - Dec. 7, 2007 ...Combine that with rising operating costs and a 14 percent increase in malpractice insurance, and physicians are feeling the squeeze, Greenfield said... Medical malpractice news
Black lawmakers walk out over gun control Evening Sun, Hanover, PA (Associated Press) - Dec. 6, 2007 ...the Philadelphia Democrat shepherded through his committee a bill to renew state subsidies for doctor's medical malpractice insurance and earmark some of a surplus in the malpractice insurance fund to help pay for Gov. Ed Rendell's plan to expand state-subsidized insurance coverage for adult Pennsylvanians... Editorial: Too much chance for mischief if wider health-coverage plan is rushed The Morning Call, Allentown, PA - Dec. 6, 2007 ...The Governor wants to use $225 million of that to help fund '"Cover All Pennsylvanians." He says he won't sign off on the doctors' malpractice insurance subsidies unless he gets it. But, what happens when the surplus is gone?... Editorial: If access is issue Rendell is right The Times-Tribune, Scranton, PA - Dec. 6, 2007 ...Access is an issue that is not limited to physicians’ costs of doing business, however. Now, as the program for physicians is up for renewal, Mr. Rendell is on the mark in using it as leverage to expand access to health care in another way... Poor medical care at Nevada prison cited Los Angeles Times, CA - Dec. 6, 2007 ..."The medical care provided at Ely State Prison amounts to the grossest possible medical malpractice, and the most shocking and callous disregard for human life and human suffering that I have ever encountered in my 35 years of practice,"... Teenage birth rate rises for first time since '91 Times-News, Hendersonville, NC - Dec. 6, 2007 ... a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, Irvine, said that managed-care companies no longer discouraged Caesareans and malpractice fears often led doctors to opt for Caesarean at the first hint of trouble... On-call ER crisis still on gurney Palm Beach Post, FL - Dec. 6, 2007 ...Fear of getting sued is a major reason why many Palm Beach County doctors, particularly those who have stopped carrying malpractice insurance, have quit handling emergencies... Rx for troubled emergency rooms Scripps News, DC - Dec. 5, 2007 ...Besides payment issues, the researchers found that specialists fear greater exposure to medical-malpractice suits from emergency-care patients, as well as professional concern that ER cases may be more complex and challenging than the patients they routinely see in their own practices... Doctors' group opposes Rendell plan The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, PA - Dec. 5, 2007 ...A group of Pennsylvania doctors objected Wednesday to tapping a fund originally intended to help pay their malpractice costs and using it to help cover the uninsured... Medical malpractice news
Rendell: Use provider funds for uninsured Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster, PA - Dec. 5, 2007 Gov. Ed Rendell on Tuesday ratcheted up the debate on health care in Pennsylvania by threatening to withhold funds that help some health care providers afford malpractice insurance... Malpractice stance called 'blackmail' Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA - Dec. 5, 2007 ..At issue is the state MCARE fund, which helps to provide medical liability insurance coverage. Doctors are required to have $1 million of coverage -- $500,000 from a private insurer and $500,000 from the MCARE fund. They pay annual assessments into the fund... Insurance financing alternative proposed The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, PA - Dec. 5, 2007 ...Now, Rendell proposes using excess money in the state's Mcare abatement fund, which pays part of the medical malpractice insurance costs of Pennsylvania doctors. He said the fund has a surplus of nearly $500 million that could be combined with new tobacco taxes to fund subsidized health insurance for up to 10 years... Rendell unveils revamped plan to cover state's uninsured The Morning Call, Allentown, PA - Dec. 5, 2007 ...Rendell said the state's medical malpractice climate had stabilized enough that the physicians' supplemental insurance fund, known as MCare, had built up a surplus. Payouts will amount to $191 million this year, about half of what was paid out in 2003... Rendell vows to hold up medical malpractice aid Observer-Reporter, Washington, PA (Associated Press) - Dec. 5, 2007 ...Republican lawmakers who have been against the proposed payroll tax criticized the Democratic governor for using the malpractice insurance subsidies as political leverage to win approval for expanded health care coverage... Opinion - John Baer: Another stab at health care going up in smoke? Philadelphia Daily News, PA - Dec. 5, 2007 ...In a nutshell, Rendell now wants the Legislature to grab $400 million (maybe more) in surpluses from a fund created in 2003 to help doctors pay medical malpractice premiums... Rendell: Payroll tax for health insurance likely dead Central Penn Business Journal, Harrisburg, PA - Dec. 4, 2007 ...That might be good news for businesses, but it could spell trouble for the state’s physicians. That’s because Rendell opened the idea of paring or eliminating the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error (MCARE) Fund abatement if legislators refuse to raise cigarette taxes or impose a tax on smokeless tobacco... Medical malpractice news
Rendell vows to hold up medical-malpractice aid Philly.com, PA (Associated Press) - Dec. 4, 2007 ...Rendell spokesman Chuck Ardo says lawmakers must takes steps to help more adults who can't afford private insurance before he'll approve the malpractice subsidy. Rendell is expected to elaborate at an afternoon news conference... Taxpayers may still foot doctor's malpractice The Bulletin, Philadelphia, PA - Dec. 4, 2007 ...The state House of Representatives will likely vote this week on a bill sponsored by Rep. Josh Shapiro (D-Montgomery) extending Pennsylvania's Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error (MCare) program... Wis. Appeals Court upholds $8 million malpractice award Insurance Journal, CA (Associated Press) - Dec. 4, 2007 ...The case is significant because it was the first major award after the state Supreme Court struck down caps on damages for pain and suffering in such cases in 2005... High court may bar claims for FDA-approved drugs Los Angeles Times, CA - Dec. 4, 2007 ...Menzies sees these "preemption" cases as a new battlefront in the tort-reform wars in the wake of limits imposed by Congress and state legislatures in recent years on class actions and medical malpractice claims... Insurers say health care industry facing emergency Cape Cod Times, MA - Dec. 4, 2007 ...The association rolled out a 17-point, cost-cutting proposal, everything from cutting down on unnecessary CAT scans to placing limits on medical malpractice lawsuits. Many of the ideas are not new but the health plans predict they would save "several billion dollars" if enacted... Editorial: Exodus of doctors problem for Bay State The Republican, Springfield, MA - Dec. 4, 2007 ...Crushing medical school debt, insufficient reimbursements from the government and private insurers, soaring malpractice rates and a mountain of paper work are contributing to a shortage of doctors in Western Massachusetts... Democrats get infusion of campaign money from health care Dallas Morning News, TX - Dec. 4, 2007 ...doctors here have already won the Republican-led battle to limit medical malpractice lawsuits, via passage of the Texas tort reform bill in 2003, and can afford to switch horses... Mass insurers: Cost-cutting necessary to keep health reform alive Boston Business Journal, MA - Dec. 3, 2007 ...These proposals include public reporting of preventable errors and prohibitive billing for avoidable mistakes, the creation of limited service clinics, medical malpractice reform, and the repeal of mandated benefits deemed to be no longer effective... Medical malpractice news
In Albany, malpractice debate rates on Star-Gazette, Elmira, NY - Dec. 3, 2007 ...Patients' rights should not be neglected as the state grapples with finding a solution to growing medical-malpractice costs, good-government groups warned last week... Permanent solution? News Journal, Daytona Beach, FL - Dec. 3, 2007 ...Boatner said women should ask technicians for proof of malpractice insurance, in case something goes wrong. In Florida, technicians must be sponsored by a physician... OB in the house 24/7: Via Christi launches laborist program The Wichita Eagle, KS - Dec. 2, 2007 ...Some reports estimate laborist programs pay doctors between $180,000 and $220,000 a year, and hospitals pick up malpractice insurance costs... Cutting liability costs Worcester Telegram & Gazette News, MA - Dec. 2, 2007 ...House bill 985, aggressively supported by the Massachusetts Medical Society, addresses factors that have made expenses related to medical liability suits a significant cost-driver in the state’s health care system... 'Unfavorable environment' The Business Journal of Milwaukee, WI - Nov. 30, 2007 ...While many Memphis doctors agree that the TennCare situation is slightly on the mend, the lack of medical malpractice rules almost always raises their ire. Tennessee does not have any cap on medical malpractice awards for damages, compensatory or punitive... |
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