side note: On Aug. 11, New York Gov. David Patterson signed a bill that effectively froze medical malpractice insurance rates for another year. Gov. Patterson signed a similar bill in 2008. This second rate freeze only further muddles the state’s already complicated medical liability climate. New York is considered one of the most “messed-up” states […]

side note: This article collects the opinions of four decision makers and the President of the United States on how medical malpractice insurance plays a role in the overall cost of healthcare in America. It’s important to know what the decision-makers are thinking and what their opinions’ are. This helps us plan for what could […]

side note: While not yet a major part of the healthcare debate, the author argues that the high cost of malpractice insurance encourages doctors to practice defensive medicine that costs up to $225 billion in unnecessary annual expenses. We have all experienced this at some point, your doctor tells you that you must do a […]

side note: Healthcare reform is necessary, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of doctors, hospitals and patients. We should make sure that Congress acts in the best interest of all three of these, b/c we need them all for national healthcare to work. BY MARY GREALY Chicago Sun Times Recently, a member of Congress […]

side note: California Court Upholds Medical Malpractice Liability Cap, Good Sign for State’s Malpractice Insurance Rates: California’s $250,000 cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases recently withstood its first appellate court challenge in more than 20 years. The 5th Appellate District Court ruled that the limit set with the state’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform […]

side note: WISCONSIN DOES NOT ALLOW DAMAGES FOR WITNESSING MALPRACTICE: The Wisconsin Supreme Court reversed a bystander’s medical malpractice award for emotional distress, ruling that the state’s medical malpractice law does not allow bystanders to seek damages for emotional distress. The high court’s 5-2 decision tossed out a lower court’s $200,000 award to a father […]

side note: IT’S NOW HARDER TO SUE AN ER DOCTOR IN ARIZONA: The Arizona Governor signed a bill into law this week that raises the burden of proof for medical malpractice lawsuits against emergency room physicians. The bill raises the burden of proof for plaintiffs in malpractice suits against emergency room doctors from “preponderance of […]

side note: Well….even though I’ve read through a bunch of the details of President Obama’s health care plan….this really breaks it down into simple points. No one knows if it’ll work, but everyone can pretty much agree that something needs to be done to deal with rising insurance costs and what to do with people […]

side note: This nytimes article sheds light on some basic problems in healthcare. There is an acute shortage of primary care providers in this country. That impacts access to care. One solution in Congress is to increase the level of Medicare reimbursement to primary care providers. However the specialist groups say, don’t mess with our […]