By Eric Eyre http://sundaygazettemail.com Don’t tell neurosurgeon Dr. John Schmidt that the recent $25 million jury award against Charleston Area Medical Center won’t harm patient care. Schmidt says he sees equipment every day that needs to be fixed at the hospital. “Go to any floor, and you’ll see something broken,” Schmidt told CAMC trustees Wednesday. […]

By MICHAEL DAVIDSON http://www.gazette.com DENVER – Members of the state Senate squared off Thursday over a proposal that would place a cap on premiums insurance companies charge doctors to protect them against malpractice settlements. The measure was introduced by Senate President Peter Groff, D-Denver, as an amendment to a bill he is sponsoring that would […]

By Colleen Slevin http://www.rockymountainnews.com The Senate on Thursday gave initial backing to a bill that would increase the amount juries can award in some medical malpractice suits, a move Republicans said could make doctors stop practicing and make health care more expensive. Democrats said the bill, backed by trial lawyers, simply returns the law to […]

By The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com We’re troubled by a bill pending in the state Senate that would raise the ceiling on medical malpractice awards — while boosting premiums on malpractice insurance and possibly leading to reduced health care services in already underserved rural areas of Colorado. Senate Bill 164 by Senate President Peter Groff, D-Denver, […]

By Don McNay http://www.alliednews.com RICHMOND, Ky. In 2004, insurance companies pushed to cap medical malpractice awards. Kentucky was one of the few states to resist. Injured people framed public opinion, lobbied and had massive rallies. Kentucky withstood a national tidal wave. In order to cap jury awards, Kentucky would have to amend its constitution. An […]

by Cindy F. Crawford – Birmingham Business Journal http://www.bizjournals.com Thanks to fewer client accidents in the fourth quarter of 2007, Birmingham’s ProAssurance Corp. reported a net income of $51.4 million, a 30 percent increase from the $35.7 million recorded same time last year. The nation’s fourth largest writer of medical professional liability insurance reported earnings […]

By Eloise Aguiar http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com KAILUA — The number of doctors working in Windward O’ahu is on the decline, worrying people that a shortage of physicians that was once primarily a Neighbor Islands problem is festering here. In the past two years alone, eight doctors — including a family doctor, an internist, a spine surgeon, a […]

Advertiser Staff http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com A panel will discuss the physician shortage in Windward O’ahu and possible solutions to the problem at a free public forum at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Castle Medical Center Auditorium, 640 ‘Ulukahiki St. The panelists include Dr. Linda Rasmussen, legislative co-chairwoman of the Hawai’i Medical Association; Kevin Roberts, president and CEO of […]

By Donna Wright http://www.bradenton.com Florida faces a “perfect storm” of adverse conditions that could severely limit access to health care within the next decade, warns Dr. Karl M. Altenburger, president of the Florida Medical Association. The impact of Medicare and Medicaid cuts, compounded by the aging of the state’s physician pool and the lack of […]