http://health.cch.com/ Congress on December 19 passed legislation that will stop a 10 percent decrease in payments to physicians that was to go into effect Jan. 1, 2008, and also extends the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) until March 31, 2009. The Bush administration praised the legislation for extending the SCHIP program without raising taxes. […]

By Fili Sagapolutele in Pago Pago The American Samoa government is drafting legislation that would have LBJ Medical Center pay any malpractice suits against the hospital and the government. The legislation would also appoint a hospital committee to review the work performance of each physician and if they were involved in a malpractice lawsuit, take […]

By LISA GREENE, Times Staff Writer http://www.sptimes.com TAMPA – Dr. Jack Brock still wears blue surgical scrubs each day, even though he no longer needs them. That’s because Brock, once the respected director of cardiac surgery at Tampa General Hospital, no longer spends his days stitching arteries and removing lung tumors. Instead, he has joined […]

Fenglaly Lee is Fresno’s first female Hmong OB/GYN. By Vanessa Colón / The Fresno Bee http://www.fresnobee.com Dr. Fenglaly Lee grew up as a refugee in Fresno living on welfare and harvesting Asian vegetables on the weekends. Now, she is delivering babies as the first female Hmong OB/GYN doctor in the central San Joaquin Valley and […]

State’s new business is much the same as the old http://www.telegram.com The election of Massachusetts’ first Democratic governor in 16 years prompted predictions of massive change on Beacon Hill in 2007. After a year of political sparring between the administration and legislative leaders, there remains a heaping plate of unfinished business to tackle. Still pending […]

TED SICKINGER The Oregonian Staff Oregon Health & Science University faces a multimillion dollar annual budget hit after a court ruling Friday that effectively eliminated a state cap on malpractice and other awards for damages. That’s an expense that the institution can ill afford as it attempts to bolster hospital profits and reduce big losses […]

By Frank Donnelly THE ADVANCE (STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.) http://www.statesman.com Ten years from now, many babies could be delivered by doctors who are total strangers to the mothers. Medical malpractice insurance for obstetricians and gynecologists could become so expensive that only hospitals — and the doctors under their insurance umbrellas — could afford coverage for birthings. […]

http://toledoblade.com By JIM PROVANCE BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF In a decision hailed by the business community and decried by trial lawyers, the Ohio Supreme Court yesterday upheld a controversial 2004 state law limiting damages for pain, suffering, and other non-economic damages in product liability and other lawsuits. The much anticipated 5-2 ruling was in response […]

By MARTHA RAFFAELE (AP) Gov. Ed Rendell could not persuade state lawmakers this year to embrace the cornerstone of his sweeping health care reform plan: expanding state-subsidized health coverage to roughly 800,000 uninsured adults. But his administration won some smaller victories in its effort to lower the cost and improve the quality and availability of […]