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Archives
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State budget agreement unlikely to meet deadline Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA - Jun 30, 2009 ...and dip into the state's $750 million Rainy Day Fund for emergencies and the $700 million surplus in a fund that pays for doctors' medical malpractice insurance... Pennsylvania House expands health insurance to low-income adults Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA - Jun 30, 2009 ...The remaining funds for the program would be generated by a 2 percent tax on nonprofit health insurance companies; $362 million from a state fund that helps doctors pay malpractice premiums; and... Judge's order freezes $110m malpractice funds by state The Citizen of Laconia, NH - Jun 30, 2009 ...Judge Kathleen McGuire's action on Monday will keep the state from taking $110 million in surplus in the New Hampshire Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Association fund and using it to help balance the newest state budget... Programs with tax impact set to expire Poughkeepsie Journal, NY - Jun 30, 2009 ...One of the time-sensitive bills they did not act on would extend the Power for Jobs economic-development program, which provides low-cost power to businesses. Another would extend a freeze on medical malpractice rates. Both laws expire today... Opinion - Richard A. Epstein: How other countries judge malpractice Wall Street Journal, New York, NY - Jun 30, 2009 ...Litigation in the U.S. has at least four distinctive procedural features that drive up malpractice costs. The first is jury trials... Opinion - Los Angeles Times: Rehabilitating health care Boulder Daily Camera, CO - Jun 30, 2009 ...But the development of "best practices" could help doctors by providing a shield against malpractice claims, reducing the incidence of wasteful tests and other "defensive" procedures... Pennsylvania House sends health insurance bill to Senate The Philadelphia Inquirer, PA (Associated Press) - Jun 29, 2009 ...The expansion would be funded by taxing nonprofit health insurers, tapping a fund that helps doctors pay malpractice premiums, reducing the reporting time for abandoned property and getting federal funding help... Medical malpractice news
Specter to study VA cancer errors at a.m. hearing The Philadelphia Inquirer, PA - Jun 29, 2009 ...The problems represent "more than medical malpractice," said Rep. John Adler (D, N.J.), who will also be at this morning's hearing. "It is also supervisory malpractice and regulatory malpractice." CBO finds coalition savings proposals difficult to verify American Medical News, Chicago, IL - Jun 29, 2009 The Congressional Budget Office concluded in a June 16 letter that most of the more than $1 trillion in health system savings proposed by the American Medical Association and five other major groups either lack enough detail to be evaluated or would not involve the federal government, and therefore would not reduce government health care spending... Reform bills give some lawmakers sticker shock American Medical News, Chicago, IL - Jun 29, 2009 ...But Dodd said he is not inclined to support including medical liability reform in the HELP legislation. "I'm not convinced that this is a legitimate issue and it will have that much impact," he said. Opinion - Michael Kinsley: Rationing health care is our choice The News Journal, Wilmington, DE - Jun 29, 2009 ...Similarly, when fear of malpractice lawsuits leads doctors to practice “defensive medicine” — a legitimate complaint about current arrangements — it doesn’t mean that they order worthless tests. It means they order tests with only a very long-shot chance of finding something wrong... Opinion - Michael Grunwald: The key to fixing the health-care and energy crisis: Use less Time - Jun 29, 2009 ...Ultimately, the survival of our planet and the solvency of our country will depend on cultural changes that persuade enough of us to use less energy and less health care... Opinion - Peter Marilley: Health savings accounts best reform remedy Watertown Daily Times, NY - Jun 29, 2009 ...Decisions made by physicians and participating insurance companies are shaped to hedge against liability versus serving the need and care of the patient. Malpractice statutes contort patient care, extending well beyond physician advertencies and controlled processes... Medical malpractice debate arises through healthcare discussion Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Ontario, CA - Jun 28, 2009 Recent discussions of nationalizing healthcare has brought a slew of issues to the table with medical malpractice being one of the most talked about. While the American Medical Association and some doctors contends the issue contributes to increasing costs in healthcare, others said that is a falsehood... What are the hang-ups in Pennsylania's state budget? The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, PA - Jun 28, 2009 ...That's why they have put a premium on keeping hands off two major one-time funding pots -- a $750 million Rainy Day Fund and a $713 million surplus in a fund that helps doctors pay their medical malpractice premiums... Opinion - William Haupt III: Frivolous suits result in high medical costs The Tennessean, Nashville, TN - Jun 28, 2009 ...It is estimated that more than $20 billion per year is wasted on superfluous medical tests and procedures for the sole purpose of sheltering our doctors and hospitals against hostile malpractice claims. A number of months ago, doctors in New Jersey, Florida and West Virginia walked off the job. Similar strikes in Pennsylvania, Nevada and Texas were threatened... Opinion - R.J. Anderson: Government should subsidize malpractice insurance or cap awards The Ledger, Lakeland, FL - Jun 28, 2009 ...If the government wants to help the public and doctors for the benefit of all, why not subsidize malpractice insurance and have strict caps on litigation to start with?... Opinion - Jack Markowitz: Forty-eight days later, my head finally quit spinning Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA - Jun 28, 2009 ...Why don't they just promise to keep government out, cut off the lawyers' malpractice racket that inflates medical costs, and promote high-deductible insurance for cancers and catastrophes. Just like car insurance... Judge says state can't claim fund Nashua Telegraph, Hudson, NH (Associated Press) - Jun 27, 2009 A judge has rejected New Hampshire’s claim that a medical malpractice fund is an agency of the state... State House Dome: Court fight may unbalance NH budget Union Leader, Manchester, NH - Jun 27, 2009 ...Balancing the budgets for the year that ends Tuesday, and for the coming fiscal year, hangs on the idea of taking $110 million in surplus from the medical malpractice insurance fund run by the Joint Underwriting Association... Medical malpractice news
Battle over state spending spawns lawsuit The Citizen, Laconia, NH - Jun 26, 2009 A group of current or past policy holders in the New Hampshire Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Association have filed a lawsuit claiming the state's attempts to siphon $110 million from the policyholders' funds to plug a budget shortfall is unconstitutional... Opinion - Gilbert Ross, MD: Free-riding lawyers on the Obamacare Bus The American Spectator, Arlington, VA - Jun 26, 2009 ...One way or another, the new healthcare utopia should offer relief from tort lawyer extortion for doctors who adhere to approved practice guidelines and still find themselves under the litigation gun... Medical malpractice news
Battle looms over government health plan State Journal, Charleston, WV - Jun 25, 2009 ...And there is one reform the AMA is seeking that Obama hasn't embraced: malpractice reform, particularly caps on certain kinds of lawsuits. Jenkins pointed to West Virginia's own reforms of a few years ago as an example of the type of reforms the AMA would like to see take place nationwide... Schumer bill would allow veterans to sue for malpractice Times Herald-Record, Middletown, NY - Jun 25, 2009 ...Soldiers currently are prevented from suing the military for malpractice, by a precedent established by the Supreme Court in 1950. The House of Representatives bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Maurice Hinchey... Deep cuts, higher fees on the way Concord Monitor, Concord, NH - Jun 25, 2009 ...Republicans criticized the budget as unsustainable, noting that it relies on about $400 million in one-shot financing, including federal stimulus money and a total of $110 million seized from the surplus of a state-created, decades-old medical malpractice fund... Opinion - Lawrence E. Smaar: A 'broken system' USA Today - Jun 25, 2009 The legal process for identifying and resolving real cases of medical negligence in America is woefully inefficient and costly in terms of economic and emotional stress... Opinion - James Eaves: Looking for competition in all the wrong places American Thinker, El Cerrito, CA - Jun 25, 2009 ...Doctors use patients' insensitivity to cost as an additional form of malpractice insurance: doctors prescribe precautionary services (an MRI, X-ray, a longer hospital stay...) that they wouldn't otherwise prescribe if they had no chance of being sued and consumers cared about cost... Allen's Med-mal bill clears House committee Arizona Capitol Times, Phoenix, AZ - Jun 24, 2009 ...S1018 would raise the bar of proof required to convict an emergency room physician of negligence to “clear and convincing” evidence, the most stringent level of proof required for civil cases. State courts currently use a “preponderance of evidence” measure when ruling on malpractice cases... Medical malpractice news
Congress to vote on military malpractice bill The Ithica Journal, NY - Jun 24, 2009 A congressional committee will vote today on a bill authored by U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey that would allow armed services members and their families to hold the military accountable for medical malpractice. Current law prevents such lawsuits from being filed against the military... Opinion - Phil Rizzo: Profit motive haunts healthy health care The Signal, Santa Clarita, CA - Jun 24, 2009 ...Doctors in McAllen prescribe dozens of unneeded tests and procedures, even though malpractice lawsuits are limited in Texas... Opinion - Ron Miller: Is there a doctor in the house? Southern Maryland Online - June 24, 2009 ...The fact is you cannot have a serious discussion about what is pricing doctors out of the market in southern Maryland without mentioning medical malpractice liability and tort reform - unless, like too many of our elected officials, you're a lawyer... Opinion - Douglas Cohn: Obama's health care surprise on malpractice Pocono Record, Stroudsburg, PA - Jun 24, 2009 ...It's too soon to know how serious Obama is about reining in malpractice awards. What he said to the AMA may just be a trial balloon that he is sending up to see what happens... America's Health Care Priorities III: Insurers and insurance systems Economix Blog - NY Times, NY - Jun 23, 2009 ...We are running their responses in loosely themed batches throughout the day. The third batch — about insurance — is below... Medical malpractice news
Busy day at state capitol leads to action on several bills The Herald, Sierra Vista, AZ - Jun 23, 2009 ...The Senate voted 21-8 on Monday to make it legally more difficult for someone injured in an emergency room to win a malpractice case against the health care provider or the hospital... Opinions mixed on Perry's veto on rural health News-Journal, Longview, TX - Jun 23, 2009 ..."We applaud the governor for recognizing that we cannot risk even the slightest dent in a new liability system that has worked exactly as promised," said Dr. William H. Fleming III, president of the 44,000-member Texas Medical Association... Mediation plan cuts HHC's med mal costs Crain's New York Business, NY - Jun 23, 2009 Defending a medical malpractice claim typically costs the Health and Hospitals Corp. $25,000 to $100,000 in legal expenses alone. But under a program launched in 2002 in the Bronx, HHC has been fast-tracking cases and often reaching early settlements... Opinion - Andrew Roth: Too many health care dollars don't go to care The News-Press, Fort Myers, FL - Jun 23, 2009 ...Insurance companies not only make billions by insuring your health, they make billions insuring doctors against malpractice lawsuits by lawyers who make billions from suing doctors and hospitals... What's on your mind? Chicago Tribune, IL - Jun 23, 2009 ...The number of online responses to Wednesday's Commentary page question, "Should there be a cap on medical malpractice awards?"... Doctors don't always tell... The Macon Daily, GA (Reuters) - Jun 23, 2009 ...Not telling patients about abnormal test results can delay treatment of cancers or heart disease, hurting the patient's chances of survival and exposing doctors to malpractice lawsuits... Study: Bad test results often don't reach patients The Daily News, Longview, WA (Associated Press) - Jun 22, 2009 ...Failing to inform patients can lead to malpractice lawsuits and increased medical costs, the researchers said... Medical malpractice news
Doctors don't agree on how to reform health-care system Tuscaloosa News, AL - Jun 22, 2009 ...Several of the other doctors interviewed criticized Obama for not limiting awards in malpractice suits as part of his plan to bring down health-care costs... Editorial: Malpractice a key element of health reform Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY - Jun 22, 2009 ...Dealing creatively with malpractice insurance, from award limits to a more streamlined, better regulated system that controls premiums, is one of those promising paths... Editorial: Learning lessons from economic cycles Eagle Tribune, North Andover, MA - Jun 22, 2009 ...The other budget-balancing trick of legislators is to spend down every reserve account they can find. Budget writers in New Hampshire will raid a medical malpractice reserve fund for $110 million even though it is unclear whether they have the legal right to do so... Editorial: Health reform: All parties gotta give in a little Asheville Citizen-Times, NC - Jun 22, 2009 ...The American Medical Association does not want anything that reduces costs to physicians, or does not include a cap on malpractice suits. ... Editorial: Our view: Tired malpractice debate ignores promising solutions USA Today - Jun 22, 2009 ...Unless doctors and lawyers move from the extremes of the malpractice debate, the public will be denied what it wants most a reduction in the medical errors that occur all too often. Opinion - Les Weisbrod: Opposing view: Don't limit legal rights USA Today - Jun 22, 2009 ...Eliminating errors and keeping patients safe will most certainly accomplish these goals. And this is something all of us can support. Opinion - Dennis G. Danko: Health care's 'untouchable' cost Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Jun 21, 2009 ..Like all previous reform proposals out of Washington, the great untouchable has been reining in the medical malpractice lawyer. Yet malpractice lawsuits are a major reason why costs are what they are... Medical horror stories remain a reality ABC News - Jun 21, 2009 ...One Federal program, the National Practitioner Databank, is supposed to head off those costly lawsuits by keeping tabs on bad doctors... Editorial: The "real issue" St. Clair Record, WI - Jun 21, 2009 ...Obama's words unleashed a torrent of defensiveness by trial lawyers, insisting it is the doctors and health care executives, not the folks like them filing so many medical malpractice lawsuits, who deserve blame for soaring health care costs... Opinion - Darren McKinney: Lawsuits that make care costly The Washington Post, DC - Jun 21, 2009 ...According to the 900 doctors surveyed, on average, 18 to 28 percent of tests, procedures, referrals, and consultations and 13 percent of hospitalizations were ordered to avoid lawsuits... Opinion - Gene Van Loan: Stop education-funding foolishness Nashua Telegraph, Hudson, NH - Jun 21, 2009 ...For example, we have stolen $110 million from New Hampshire's hospitals and doctors who naively thought that the surplus they had built up in the so-called Joint Underwriting Association due to their overpayment of malpractice insurance premiums was their money... Editorial: Obama misses an opportunity The Buffalo News, NY - Jun 21, 2009 ...in refusing to consider caps on legal damages awards, he risks forfeiting an opportunity not just to secure urgently needed health care reform, but to impose something like fairness on the civil justice system... Medical malpractice news
Senate bill would raise bar for proving ER malpractice The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, AZ - Jun 19, 2009 A Senate panel voted Wednesday to make it harder for patients hurt in emergency rooms to collect damages from the doctors, hospitals and other health-care providers who cause their injuries... Opponents lining up against Pa. tax increase Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA - Jun 19, 2009 ...He also wants to delay the phaseout of a tax on business assets; increase the cigarette tax; enact a new tax on cigars, smokeless tobacco and natural gas extracted from Marcellus shale wells; dip into the state's "Rainy Day Fund'' for emergencies; and tap a surplus in a fund to help doctors pay for medical malpractice insurance... Budget plan ousts some taxes, adds furloughs The Union Leader, Manchester, NH - Jun 19, 2009 ...Those gains did not bring the committee completely out of the woods. Medical providers threatened to derail the plan by suing yesterday to stop transfer of $110 million from the Joint Underwriting Account, a medical malpractice fund with a huge surplus... Editorial: Extreme makeover Las Vegas Review-Journal, NV - Jun 19, 2009 ...He then attempted to sweeten the pot by offering something back -- in the doctors' case, some partial protection from the fear of malpractice lawsuits that now lead doctors to order expensive medical tests most parties consider unnecessary... Opinion - Froma Harrop: Obama succumbs to old-style politics Mail Tribune, Medford, OR - Jun 19, 2009 ...One, changing the medical-malpractice law is low-hanging fruit in the monumental task of controlling runaway costs. Doctors order unnecessary treatments as a defense against litigation and spend untold billions of health-care dollars on malpractice insurance... Editorial: Another view: Naysayers aside, country needs health care reform Pasadena Star-News, CA (Newsday) - Jun 18, 2009 ...He recently told doctors, for instance, that while he agrees malpractice reform should be on the table, he won't advocate caps on jury awards, since they're unfair to people who've been wrongfully harmed... Joint and several provision dropped Wisconsin Law Journal, Milwaukee, WI - Jun 18, 2009 Both houses of the Wisconsin Legislature have dropped a budget provision that would have permitted defendants to face full liability for damages even if they bear only 1 percent of the fault... Thursday at the North Carolina General Assembly WCNC-TV, Charlotte, NC (Associated Press) - Jun 18, 2009 .._ Approved H703, which would create an online database describing medical malpractice judgments or awards, or legal settlements of $75,000 or more, involving physicians or physician assistants... Medical malpractice news
Opinion - Mark J. Penn: Health care reform done right Politico, Arlington, VA - Jun 18, 2009 ...The doctors, as Obama found out in Chicago, are mad as hell about malpractice costs. They see them as a transfer from their pockets to those of another professional group, the trial lawyers, who are also some of the biggest Democratic supporters... Opinion - Ann Woolner: Cap medical malpractice, not malpractice awards Bloomberg.com - Jun 18, 2009 ...The frequency of malpractice awards has slowed, although their severity has risen modestly, says Henry Witner, assistant vice president and financial analyst at A.M. Best... Analysis - Lindsey Tanner: Doctors signal they'll work with Obama The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA (Associated Press) - Jun 17, 2009 After a big pep talk from Obama himself, they ended it Wednesday by signaling they won't close the door on one of his key proposals, a public health insurance plan to compete with private insurers... Analysis - Catherine Arnst: Why the AMA will likely support health-care reform BusinessWeek - Jun 17, 2009 ...Obama is trying to soften the blow by promising to limit malpractice lawsuits, which are most often filed against specialists. Ultimately, though, it boils down to this: Will the AMA and its members realize it is in their best economic interest to work with the Obama Administration rather than to go into attack mode?... Editorial: Medical mess The Charleston Gazette, WV - Jun 17, 2009 ...Doctors loathe malpractice lawsuits that drive physician insurance cost through the roof and force them to order expensive tests as self-defense against such suits. Obama offered them a sensible cure: evidence-based guidelines... Medical malpractice news
On healthcare, Americans trust physicians over politicians Gallup.com - Jun 17, 2009 Nearly three-quarters of Americans (73%) say they are confident in doctors to recommend the right thing for reforming the U.S. healthcare system. That is significantly higher than the public confidence extended to President Barack Obama... Healthcare execs favor reform initiatives Foster Folly News, Chipley, FL - Jun 17, 2009 Hospitals, group practices, nursing facilities, medical device makers and other healthcare companies agree -- by a near two-to-one margin, they favor President Barack Obama's healthcare reform initiatives... Opinion - Steven Pearlstein: Self-help for the health-care system Washington Post, DC - Jun 17, 2009 ...At the top of the docs' list of culprits are plaintiffs' lawyers, whose zeal has supposedly saddled them with sky-high malpractice premiums and forced them to practice costly defensive medicine... Editorial: Malpractice and health care reform New York Times, NY - Jun 16, 2009 ...The current medical liability system, based heavily on litigation, has a spotty record. It fails to compensate most victims of malpractice because most never file suit... Med-mal reform bill to hit committee tomorrow Arizona Capitol Times, Phoenix, AZ - Jun 16, 2009 ...Members of the Senate Healthcare and Medical Liability Reform Committee will consider a bill on June 17 that would make it more difficult for patients to sue emergency room physicians for negligence... Medical malpractice news
As Obama pushes health issue, new cost concerns arise Times Daily, Florence, AL - Jun 16, 2009 Mr. Obama drew repeated applause, and even some standing ovations, when he called for incentives to get more medical students to go into primary care instead of the more lucrative specialty practices, and when he pledged to work with doctors to reduce their often unnecessary “defensive medicine” to avoid malpractice lawsuits. But scattered boos met his follow-up remark that he opposed any cap on malpractice awards... Senate mulls over health-bill details Wall Street Journal, NY - Jun 16, 2009 ...The president received a rare round of boos when he told the audience of some 2,200 that he wouldn't advocate caps on medical-malpractice awards. But he later won applause when he said he was willing to work with doctors to scale back "excessive defensive medicine" and ensure that doctors don't feel "like they're constantly looking over their shoulders for fear of lawsuits."... Opinion - Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar: Analysis: Doctors' boos show Obama's tough road Chattanooga Times Free Press, TN (Associated Press) - Jun 16, 2009 ...But what could they expect? If Obama announced support for malpractice limits, that would set trial lawyers and unions — major supporters of Democratic candidates — on the attack. Not to mention consumer groups... Opinion - David Greising: On balance, President Barack Obama's health-care reform plan is promising Chicago Tribune, IL - Jun 16, 2009 ...Instead of a cap, Obama is looking at evidence-based guidelines for treatment. This approach would protect doctors who follow agreed guidelines from costly malpractice lawsuits, yet leave open the courthouse door for people who have legitimate medical claims... Obama takes RX to doctors Star Tribune, Minneapolis-St.Paul, MN (Washington Post) - Jun 15, 2009 President Obama wooed the American Medical Association on Monday with talk of curbing malpractice lawsuits and canceling a proposed 21 percent cut in Medicare payments ... Senate bill $1 trillion over 10 years Associated Press - Jun 15, 2009 ...Appearing in Chicago, Obama drew boos when he told the American Medical Association he opposes caps on damages that juries or judges may award in medical malpractice cases... Obama tells AMA, "I need your help" American Medical News, Chicago, IL - Jun 15, 2009 ..."We were thrilled that this is the first Democratic president who's talked with us about any kind of liability reform," said AMA President Nancy H. Nielsen, MD, PhD. "That's good news."... Medical malpractice news
Obama to consider malpractice lawsuit curbs? USA Today - Jun 15, 2009 One thing to look for in President Obama's health care speech today is how much he discusses medical malpractice lawsuits... Obama urges doctors to back his health care plans WGAL-TV, Lancaster, PA (Associated Press) - Jun 15, 2009 ...There have been indications Obama has been quietly making a case for reducing malpractice lawsuits to help control costs, long a goal of the AMA and Republicans. Obama has not endorsed capping jury awards... Daschle: Tort reform necessary in health care bill WAVE-TV, Louisville, KY (Associated Press) - Jun 15, 2009 ...The onetime Democratic leader in the Senate said he believes "tort reform is going to be on the table," and that it's important that all "stakeholders" in the looming debate be given a chance to be heard... Civil trials waning, settlements on the rise The Morning Call, Allentown, PA - Jun 15, 2009 ...Reasons for the drop: An industry has developed for attorneys and retired judges who help arbitrate disputes. Pennsylvania has encouraged mediation efforts and has beefed up rules to discourage so-called frivolous lawsuits... Opinion - Michelle M. Mello, JD, PhD, MPhil; and Troyen A. Brennan, MD, JD, MPH: The role of medical liability reform in federal health care reform New England Journal of Medicine, MA - Jun 15, 2009 ..Medical liability reform has garnered relatively little attention in the past two congressional sessions — in striking contrast to its prominence in previous federal health policy debates. The ebbing of the recent malpractice insurance "crisis" may have undercut momentum for liability reform, but a more important explanation relates to the politics of the issue... State of emergency for med mal coverage Crain's New York Business, New York, NY - Jun 14, 2009 A yearlong state moratorium on medical malpractice insurance rate hikes is set to expire on June 30, and that means long-simmering issues are about to boil over... Afraid of malpractice suits, insurer drops doctors Crain's New York Business, New York, NY - Jun 14, 2009 ..It was not responding to anything the doctors had done but was reducing the company's exposure to medical malpractice suits by dropping doctors not employed directly through its insured hospitals... Opinion - Ted Van Weeren: System leads to defensive doctors The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC - Jun 14, 2009 ...The cost of capricious and frivolous lawsuits and irresponsible awards in what some lawyers call "med mal" causes of action is paid by all users of health care resources. The practice has gotten totally out of hand, and has forced many physicians out of practice... State lawmakers advised to delay health-care reform Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA - Jun 13, 2009 ..Under the bill, sponsored by Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne, the expanded program would be funded partly by a 2 percent tax on nonprofit health-insurance companies and a surplus in the state's fund that helps doctors pay malpractice premiums... Editorial: Doctors and the cost of care New York Times, NY - Jun 13, 2009 ...None of the usual rationalizations put forth by doctors held up. The population, though poor, is not sicker than average; the quality of care people get is not superior. Malpractice suits have practically disappeared due to a tough state malpractice law, leaving no rationale for defensive medicine... Editorial: Texas tort victories Wall Street Journal, NY - Jun 13, 2009 ...The plaintiffs-lawyer lobby spent $9 million in last year's state legislative elections to help smooth the way for these bills, which were designed to roll back tort reforms passed in recent years, or to create new ways to sue... Those wary of health insurance reform may have ally in physicians Insurance Journal, CA - Jun 12, 2009 ...The group's position, she said, is that any "health reform that covers the uninsured must also include permanent Medicare payment reform, antitrust relief and medical liability protections."... Medical malpractice news
Opinion - Jamie Court: Doctor's lobby attack on reform aimed a forcing malpractice caps on Obama Huffington Post - Jun 11, 2009 ...With President Obama scheduled to speak to the group Monday, the AMA seems to be holding its support for health reform hostage until Obama embraces the interest group's sacred cow -- draconian limits on patients injured by medical malpractice... Medical malpractice news
Doctors' group opposes public insurance plan Herald Tribune, Sarasota, FL - Jun 11, 2009 ...Mr. Obama’s trip recalls a speech to the A.M.A. in Chicago on June 13, 1993, by Hillary Rodham Clinton. She proposed “a new bargain” in which the White House would limit malpractice lawsuits and free doctors from onerous rules if doctors supported her effort to overhaul the health care system... Health debate in House hits partisan divide Observer-Reporter, Washington, PA (Associated Press) - Jun 11, 2009 ...Money for the expansion would come from a 2 percent tax on nonprofit health insurance companies, a surplus in the state's fund to help doctors pay malpractice premiums and by reducing the reporting time for abandoned and unclaimed property... Opinion - Barry Friesen: Pennsylvania physicians should back plan to help uninsured The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, PA - Jun 10, 2009 ...And because of tort reform and the state's assumption of a portion of the risk of malpractice claims, the rates physicians are paying for private malpractice coverage are dropping. This benefits all physicians, including those just starting to practice, and leaves them in a position to shoulder a fair share of remaining Mcare liabilities... Northeast's ProMutual to buy Michigan medical liability insurer FinCor Insurance Journal, CA - Jun 10, 2009 ...Medical Professional Mutual Insurance Co., known as ProMutual, will acquire medical liability insurer and risk management company FinCor and its subsidiaries... Medical malpractice news
Opinion - Mark Furlong: Tort reform is a crucial element of reforming U.S. health care The Mercury, Pottstown, PA - Jun 10, 2009 ...Any health care plan which does not include tort reform as "the" central component is not to be taken seriously. While the outright regulation of attorney fees would be premature, a good start would be the adoption of "Loser Pays" tort reform and the replacement of juries with panels comprised of judges... Obama looking at McAllen healthcare costs The Monitor, McAllen, TX - Jun 10, 2009 ...When the New Yorker published its article last month, McAllen doctors were irate. Most said the piece failed to address how the high proportion of indigent patients and doctors' fear of malpractice lawsuits help to drive up costs... Opinion - Froma Harrop: A medical lesson from McAllen, Texas Dallas Morning News, TX - Jun 9, 2009 ...Actually, it's home to few medical malpractice suits, thanks to a Texas law that caps pain-and-suffering awards... Oklahoma revamps civil court rules Cortlandt Forum, New York, NY - Jun 9, 2009 Oklahoma has overhauled its procedures for medical malpractice lawsuits, reinstating pretrial certificates of merit and limiting most pain-and-suffering damages... Reforms cited for dramatic caseload decline Cortlandt Forum, New York, NY - Jun 9, 2009 The number of medical malpractice cases has plunged in Pennsylvania since the state changed two procedures. State statistics report 1,602 cases were filed in 2008, a 41% decline from the base years of 2000-2002... Medical malpractice news
Insurance regulation is needed, report says The Buffalo News, NY - Jun 9, 2009 ...He said prior approval has been discredited, led to a crisis in medical malpractice insurance today, and nearly led to the insolvency of Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield years ago — a claim regulators deny... Data show New York malpractice payouts steady Claims Journal, San Diego, CA - Jun 9, 2009 Consumer advocates say medical malpractice payouts in New York have dropped the past two years, and they are urging state officials to investigate physician complaints about rising insurance rates and automatically review doctors who make multiple malpractice payments... Medical malpractice news
Oklahoma enacts comprehensive tort reform American Medical News, Chicago, IL - Jun 8, 2009 ...The legislation, signed May 21, places a $400,000 cap on noneconomic damages in various types of civil liability cases, including medical liability suits... Florida is second in nation for C-sections South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, FL - Jun 8, 2009 ...There are medical malpractice fears. Obstetricians and hospitals in litigious South Florida order C-sections for any irregularity before or during labor, doctors and researchers said... ProMutual to takeover FinCor, subsidiaries Insurance Business Review, London, England - Jun 8, 2009 Medical Professional Mutual Insurance Company (ProMutual) has entered into a definitive agreement with FinCor Holdings (FinCor), a medical liability insurer and integrated risk management firm... Diagnosis: A shortage of doctors Sunday News, Lancaster, PA - Jun 7, 2009 ...The supply of doctors in Pennsylvania has been a contentious political issue. A predicted physician shortage was cited as an argument for medical malpractice reform earlier this decade, when malpractice rates soared by as much as 150 percent... Eachus seen as key in Pa. health care discussions The Citizens Voice, Wilkes-Barre, PA - Jun 7, 2009 ...Finding a compromise may lie in how much money is available in the state “health care provider retention fund,” created in 2003 with revenues from a state cigarette tax hike to subsidize physicians’ medical malpractice costs. The Rendell administration stopped the subsidy last year... Medical-malpractice suits drop sharply; experts dispute why Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, AZ - Jun 7, 2009 ...Ten years ago, 171 medical-malpractice suits were filed in Pima County. Last year the number fell to 65, a decline of 62 percent... Opinion - Travis Akin: Lawmakers punt on lawsuit reform, again Madison County Record, Edwardsville, IL - Jun 7, 2009 ...Cleary, Illinois' status as the "Lawsuit Abuse Capital of the Midwest" is costing our state dearly, which is why it was so important for lawmakers to pass common sense lawsuit reform legislation such as a measure to establish reasonable guidelines for where a lawsuit can be filed... Groups spar over malpractice costs Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghampton, NY - Jun 6, 2009 A government watchdog group Friday called on the state to take a closer look at the reason behind soaring medical liability insurance costs in New York... Opinion - Dale Davenport: Health care costs are bankrupting nation The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, PA - Jun 6, 2009 ...We talked often with principals of the health-care system, including providers, insurers, pharmaceutical manufacturers -- and lawyers. You can't discount the cost of malpractice, including the insurance and the expense of litigation... Medical malpractice news
Good government groups seek malpractice reform Newsday, Melville, NY - Jun 5, 2009 ...Good government groups say medical malpractice payouts have dropped in recent years as the malpractice insurance premiums continue to rise... ProMutual to acquire FinCor Holdings American Chronicle, Beverly Hills, CA - Jun 5, 2009 Medical Professional Mutual Insurance Company has signed a definitive agreement to acquire medical liability insurer and integrated risk management company FinCor Holdings and its subsidiaries... Patients should have more time to file malpractice suits, say advocates Legislative Gazette, Albany, NY - Jun 4, 2009 ...The groups want legislators to pass legislation that would revise the malpractice law so that the 2 1/2-year statue of limitations to bring a suit for medical negligence starts from the date of discovery and not the time the medical mistake is made... Medical malpractice news
What's in the Senate budget? Union Leader, Manchester, NH - Jun 4, 2009 ...Also sweeps out $4.5 million from LCHIP fees and $110 million from a medical malpractice insurance fund. Increases the tobacco tax by 45 cents on July 1, the fourth increase in five years... Editorial: Patients deserve to know identitities of hospitals where gross medical errors have occurred The Express-Times, Easton, PA - Jun 3, 2009 ...There's a movement afoot in the New Jersey Legislature to change that. Under a bill approved by both houses but in need of more legal tweaking in the Senate, hospitals where serious medical errors occur would be subject to public disclosure on a state Web site... Ruling may clear way for malpractice settlement Salt Lake Tribune, UT - Jun 3, 2009 ...denies the allegation and who refuses to grant permission to his insurer to settle the claim out of court. However, a bankruptcy filing by Baird and the ruling by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver could bring a resolution to the litigation. The court said the "right to settle" is an asset and the trustee in the bankruptcy case has the option of "selling" that right... Medical malpractice news
Obama urges quick action on insurance The New York Times, NY - Jun 3, 2009 ...Other Democrats said Mr. Obama suggested that as “a show of good faith,” Democrats might work with Republicans on other issues, like medical malpractice... Editorial: For better and for (much) worse Las Vegas Review-Journal, NV - Jun 3, 2009 ...Resisting the urge to undermine the will of Nevada's electorate, lawmakers turned back special interests who sought to water down voter-approved smoking restrictions and voter-approved medical liability reforms... Medical malpractice news
Last session: What they did Las Vegas Review-Journal, NV - Jun 2, 2009 ...An Assembly-approved bill to lift the $350,000 voter-approved caps on the "pain and suffering" damages patients can secure from their doctors in medical malpractice cases was killed in the Senate... Opinion - Jeb Bradley: Don't raise taxes; cut state spending Concord Monitor, MA - June 2, 2009 ...A fund paid into by doctors to keep a lid on medical malpractice rates will be raided to the tune of $110 million, virtually guaranteeing a lawsuit... Medical malpractice news
Editorial: Our view: Simple apology could bridge doctor-patient divide Salem News, Salem, MA - Jun 1, 2009 ...It shouldn't be a big deal. Except this is a litigation-happy age and doctors are fearful of lawsuits filed by unhappy patients at the urging of rapacious lawyers... Opinion - William C. Kashatus: When medicine meant care The Philadelphia Inquirer, PA - Jun 1, 2009 ...Meanwhile, insurance companies are charging physicians exorbitant malpractice rates, which in Pennsylvania has resulted in an exodus of physicians to other states. Others, mostly specialists, try to recoup their financial losses by ordering more tests and procedures than are necessary... Bill challenging Nevada liability cap defeated American Medical News, Chicago, IL - Jun 1, 2009 ...The Nevada State Medical Assn. and a coalition of health care organizations called Keep Our Doctors in Nevada won their fight to preserve the cap, which they credited with curbing malpractice claims filings and liability insurance rates since its passage in 2002. Las Vegas hepatitis C outbreak spurs new laws Mohave Daily News, NV (Associated Press) - May 31, 2009 ...Another new law affirms that a health care professional's license can be suspended if the facility they own is investigated or disciplined for misconduct. A measure easing malpractice award caps died in the Senate... Senate approves two controversial healthcare bills Saturday The Courant, Hartford, CT - May 30, 2009 ...Three ways of reducing costs include medical malpractice reform, reducing tobacco use, and reducing obesity. If all tobacco use was eliminated, the system could save 40 percent to 60 percent of the entire healthcare bill, Frantz said. If obesity was eliminated, the system would save another 15 percent to 25 percent... Doctors must self-report mal-practice, discipline in state Web site The DenverChannel.com, CO - May 29, 2009 ...But doctors have a Sunday deadline to get their information entered into the system. So far, more than 15,000 doctors have done so, listing their education, malpractice settlements, crimes, disciplinary actions, employment contracts and business relationships... |
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