Medical Liability Monitor’s 2009 Rate Survey shows physicians’ malpractice insurance market remains soft Chicago—Rates for physicians’ 2009-2010 liability insurance premiums decreased or remained stable for the large majority of doctors, according to Medical Liability Monitor’s annual nationwide Rate Survey released this week. This year’s study found 58 percent of rates did not change between 2008 […]

side note: One thing good for the insurance industry amongst the obviously difficult discussion of healthcare reform is that tort reform is finally getting debated on a national forum. Can the industry capitalize on America’s sudden interest in a dry subject? Tort reform is a subject that has been in the news in recent days. […]

side note: As the healthcare debate rages on, and tort reform is more frequently mentioned as a bargaining tool with the Republican Party, the idea of medical malpractice courts is gaining steam. Is this the answer to the tort reform debate? In the continuing community debate over health-care reform, many writers have emphasized the need […]

side note: A press release from the New York Trial Lawyers Association, take this message with a grain of salt. That said, how much of what they are saying is true? And is federal tort reform worth the hassle if end-user healthcare prices won’t really drop with any significance? The endless barrage of allegations by […]

side note: A new Congressional Budget Office report indicates that reforming the medical malpractice resolution system will have little savings. Reporting from Washington – Medical malpractice reform is unlikely to cut healthcare spending significantly, the Congressional Budget Office reported Friday. Enacting a cap on pain-and-suffering and punitive damages, changing liability laws and tightening the statute […]

side note: Here is a development that could have an impact over whether or not federal tort reforms end up in the final healthcare reform bill. Lawmakers could save as much as $54 billion over the next decade by imposing an array of new limits on medical malpractice lawsuits, congressional budget analysts said today — […]

side note: The Brookings Institute hosted a panel that indicated the cost of medical malpractice lawsuits is not the driver of rising healthcare costs in the United States. WASHINGTON — Curbing medical malpractice litigation isn’t the “silver bullet” that’s needed to slay the werewolf of rising health care costs, a panel of academics said Tuesday. […]

side note: Here’s the question at the heart of the healthcare debate: “What will lower the cost of healthcare for consumers?” Yes, medical malpractice insurance premiums are out of control, a burden on doctors and can threaten patient access to care. But if the heart of the debate is end consumer cost control, how much […]

side note: A large component to President Obama’s healthcare initiative centers on implementing electronic medical records software as a way of cutting costs. The author of this LA Times article makes the argument that while EMRs may reduce errors, they will never eliminate all errors. Do you agree with this Time’s story? Can a system […]