By Kevin Sack The New York Times http://www.registerguard.com/ SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A year that began with great ambition for major expansions of health insurance here and in other state capitals is ending with considerable uncertainty, as a second wave of change runs headlong into a darkening economy and political divisions over how to apportion the […]

The Associated Press http://www.pennlive.com HARRISBURG, Pa. — Physicians and other health care providers will not have to pay into a state-run medical malpractice insurance fund for the first quarter of 2008 while Gov. Ed Rendell and legislators joust over what to do with the fund’s surplus. Rendell said Monday that collections on bills for the […]

By SHANNON DININNY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS http://seattlepi.nwsource.com As rural areas cry out for more doctors, a hospital that serves workers and their families in Eastern Washington farm country could fall victim to a crackdown on boutique hospitals that cater to the urban rich. Doctors at the Wenatchee Valley Medical Center have spent 67 years mending […]

By Liz Kowalczyk Globe Staff UMass Memorial Medical Center last week adopted some of the strictest conflict of interest rules in the country, in effect sharply limiting the close ties between many doctors and the makers of drugs and medical devices. The policy should significantly reduce conversations and meetings between physicians and salespeople, and therefore […]

By Christy Gutowski | Daily Herald Staff The debate regarding limits on medical malpractice awards is heating up again after a Cook County judge struck down a law capping certain damages for patients. At issue is the system in which Illinois holds medical professionals accountable. Illinois used to have a lawsuit-friendly reputation. Doctors and other […]

by Steve Berberich | Gazette.net Staff Writer http://www.healthcaremaryland.org Widespread shortages in many physician specialties can be expected by 2015 in Maryland, especially in rural counties, unless action is taken soon, said a committee of top medical experts in an unpublished report due to the state government next month. ‘‘I think this is just a small […]

BY DAVID WENNER Of The Patriot-News Gov. Ed Rendell has given himself more time to persuade legislators to use a cigarette tax to help pay doctors’ medical malpractice insurance costs and also fund his proposal to provide health insurance for all Pennsylvanians. In a letter dated Friday, Rendell extended until March 31 the deadline for […]

By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette http://www.post-gazette.com When confronted earlier this week about a tax trade-off needed to secure his hospital’s $100 million scholarship gift, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center general counsel Robert Cindrich reminded City Council members that “We are not obligated by law to give anything.” But the larger view of UPMC’s local obligation […]

By BARRY SHLACHTER Star-Telegram Staff Writer http://www.star-telegram.com Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas has ended an 11-year legal dispute with the Texas attorney general’s office by agreeing to a $4.5 million settlement that includes $500,000 payments for indigent care to three hospitals, including Children’s Medical Center Dallas and facilities in Austin and Corpus Christi. […]