http://www.northcountrygazette.org ALBANY—The New York State Senate has passed legislation (S.7038), sponsored by Sen. John Flanagan (R-C-I, East Northport) that would lower the required level of primary medical malpractice coverage that a physician or dentist must have in order to qualify for the New York Excess Medical Malpractice Liability Insurance Coverage Program. The measure has been […]

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Finance, and Herb Kohl (D-WI), Chairman of the Special Committee on Aging, reacted to an editorial in the latest issue of JAMA, made public today. In the article, the editors maintain that financial ties between physician and pharmaceutical companies should be disclosed both […]

http://www.eurekalert.org Announcement made at meeting of Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative More than a dozen specialty health care organizations today joined the four major primary care physicians’ professional groups to endorse the seven-point Joint Principles of the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH). The PCMH offers the benefits of a personal physician with a whole-person orientation who […]

South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board http://www.sun-sentinel.com ISSUE: Fewer doctors available to deliver babies. Doctor shortages are getting worse in South Florida due to a double-whammy, the exorbitant cost of malpractice insurance and low medical reimbursements. Obstetricians and gynecologists are disappearing, leaving expectant mothers in a lurch at a time when their health and the safe […]

Investor’s Business Daily delivered by Newstex http://money.cnn.com You’ve no doubt had the experience of paying for car repairs that were done wrong. Not only did you pay for the faulty repair, you also paid to fix the error. Health insurers have faced the same problem, paying for medical mistakes and the consequences of those mistakes. […]

By Rob Hotakainen http://www.azstarnet.com WASHINGTON — Congress is under pressure to remedy a national doctor shortage that could worsen on July 1, when physicians who treat Medicare patients get a 10 percent pay cut. One-third of the nation’s active doctors — or roughly 250,000 — are over 55 and likely to retire in the next […]

BY DAVID RUNK • ASSOCIATED PRESS http://www.freep.com Universities and hospitals across Michigan are working to head off an impending doctor shortage fueled by the nation’s aging baby boomer population. The state’s first new medical school in four decades is set to open in 2010, and existing schools are expanding their campuses and admitting bigger classes. […]

http://www.kaisernetwork.org At a meeting with physicians on Friday, Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) outlined a package of Medicare legislation that would delay for 18 months a 10% Medicare physician payment cut that is scheduled to take effect July 1, CQ Today reports. The measure would prevent the cuts until 2010 and could also […]

By Patty Pensa http://www.sun-sentinel.com/ Pregnant women in South Florida face fewer choices for medical care as more doctors stop delivering babies and avoid taking on high-risk patients. The result: More patients flock to fewer doctors, who in turn send expectant mothers to even fewer specialists. It means more juggling of appointments, longer waits to see […]