By Elizabeth Cooney The number of uninsured adults in Massachusetts fell by almost half last year, says a study released today, while the state’s Revenue Department reports that 86,000 people paid a state tax penalty rather than buy insurance. Supporters of health insurance reform said both numbers were a sign of success, that not only […]

By Sarah Morgan http://www.chicagotribune.com/ NEW YORK—Dr. James K. Sheffield was looking for a way to make a career transition. After working as a neurologist in Seattle for six years, he decided to go into the administrative side of medicine. So, while studying for his MBA in Houston, Sheffield signed up with a temp agency to […]

By Tom Hester Jr. Associated Press http://www.philly.com TRENTON – Advocates yesterday said the governor’s plans to require copayments from low-income New Jersey residents for prescription drugs and some emergency room visits would hurt the mentally ill and developmentally disabled.The Mental Health Association in New Jersey highlighted research showing copays in other states made it difficult […]

Globe Editorial DR. JOSEPH PEPPE is happy to get help in repaying his medical school loans. He and 46 other primary care doctors received this benefit in exchange for agreeing to work at a Massachusetts health center for two to three years. “I very much enjoy the work I do,” he said a few days […]

Kansas City Business Journal http://www.bizjournals.com To pad its lead in the maternity market, Shawnee Mission Medical Center said Monday that it has launched the area’s first obstetrics hospitalist program. Hospitalists are physicians who treat only hospital patients and work either for hospitals or practices that contract to see patients for other doctors. The four obstetrics […]

David Gulliver http://www.heraldtribune.com A pulmonologist snaked a tube through the nose and into a man’s lungs. A nurse inserted a needle into a man’s arm and started an intravenous drip of a medicine. A otolaryngologist made a small incision in the fold behind the ear of a man with persistent hearing problems, the first step in a […]

Associated Press, The News & Observer http://www.insurancejournal.com The North Carolina Medical Board will hold a public hearing next month on a proposal to post doctors’ malpractice information on its Web site. The News & Observer of Raleigh reported this week that the idea has already drawn the opposition of the state’s private physicians association. The […]

Cooperative of American Physicians, Inc. http://www.earthtimes.org LOS ANGELES, May 30 /PRNewswire/ — The Cooperative of American Physicians, Inc. (CAP) today announced that the exceptional financial strength of its core product, Mutual Protection Trust (MPT), has again earned an A+ rating from A.M. Best Company, a worldwide rating and information agency. This marks the third consecutive […]

Associated Press http://story.100.com Legislation pending in the Delaware state Senate addresses the shortage of doctors at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Elsmere. The bill would let retired doctors practice again and keep their malpractice insurance coverage intact. Under current law, retired doctors are covered for past malpractice for free but are prohibited from returning […]