Associated Press http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/ MADISON — A majority of Wisconsin residents favor a state-run health insurance system, but even more like the idea of expanding existing programs or investing in health savings accounts, according to a poll released Wednesday. The results lend support to Democratic lawmakers’ efforts to pass a universal health care plan rejected by […]

By JILIAN MINCER http://online.wsj.com Several health-insurance companies have recently agreed to improve their existing or planned ratings of physicians. But consumers shouldn’t rely on such reports alone when picking a doctor. Also consider personal referrals and a doctor’s experience and education. Ratings by some insurers have come under fire for giving top scores to doctors […]

http://www.wftv.com Experts say we’re headed for a doctor shortage in this country. You could be waiting weeks or months for a doctor’s appointment, traveling further to get there and spending less time with your doctor when you do. One obstacle stood between Barbara Chorzempa and the birth of her baby, a grueling drive up and […]

http://www.clarionledger.com # The state Supreme Court reversed a $6.5 million jury award against a nursing home and its parent company Mariner Health Care Inc. The case involved a severely mentally retarded man whose health deteriorated. Intravenous feeding wasn’t ordered until his final hospitalization on Feb. 2, 2002. He died 14 days later from cardiac arrest […]

http://www.healthbeatblog.org/ by: Maggie Mahar Recently I argued that eliminating the private insurance industry would not suddenly make health care affordable. But this is no reason to gratuitously overpay private insurers to provide health care to Medicare patients—while simultaneously planning to slash the fees that Medicare pays physicians. Begin with the insurers. When Congress created Medicare […]

http://canadianpress.google.com TORONTO – A large proportion of doctors under 40 are billing the health-care system for less than what a “full-time equivalent” doctor would bill, an analysis of fee-for-service payments to doctors suggests. Three-quarters of female doctors under 40 fall into this category, and half of male doctors under 40, the report released Thursday by […]

http://www.insurancejournal.com Indiana Department of Insurance (IDOI) Commissioner Jim Atterholt recently announced that Patient’s Compensation Fund (PCF) surcharge rates will be reduced by 19.1 percent for physicians and 1.3 percent for hospitals effective March 1, 2008. “This is the first reduction for physicians and hospitals since the PCF’s inception in 1976,” said Atterholt, who attributed the […]

By Daniel Lee http://www.indystar.com Indiana physicians and hospitals are going to get a break next year on how much they pay into the state-run fund that makes payments to victims of medical malpractice. Rates will be reduced by 19.1 percent for physicians and by 1.3 percent for hospitals starting in March, according to the Indiana […]

http://www.examiner.com by Len Lazarick, The Examiner State coffers and Maryland physicians will be getting back close to $100 million in medical malpractice insurance premiums under a consent order announced Thursday by Gov. Martin O’Malley and his insurance commissioner, Ralph Tyler. Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society, which insures three-quarters of the doctors in the state, will […]