by Chris Rauber San Francisco Business Times http://www.bizjournals.com Pay-for-performance bonus payments from health plans to California medical groups totaled $65 million for 2007, $10 million more than the bonuses distributed in 2006, according to the Integrated Healthcare Association, which designed California’s Pay for Performance program for physicians. The 2007 payments were distributed to medical groups […]

By Don McNay http://www.alliednews.com RICHMOND, Ky. In 2004, insurance companies pushed to cap medical malpractice awards. Kentucky was one of the few states to resist. Injured people framed public opinion, lobbied and had massive rallies. Kentucky withstood a national tidal wave. In order to cap jury awards, Kentucky would have to amend its constitution. An […]

By Eloise Aguiar http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com KAILUA — The number of doctors working in Windward O’ahu is on the decline, worrying people that a shortage of physicians that was once primarily a Neighbor Islands problem is festering here. In the past two years alone, eight doctors — including a family doctor, an internist, a spine surgeon, a […]

BY JILL DOSS-RAINES http://www.the-dispatch.com Several Lexington doctors’ offices will soon be part of the Novant Medical Group but will continue to treat their Davidson County patients locally, using Lexington Memorial Hospital for inpatient and outpatient services and testing, the doctors said this week. Novant Medical Group is a network of more than 1,000 doctors and […]

By Amy Lynn Sorrel http://www.ama-assn.org A legal dispute in Washington state has doctors worried that their ability to employ other licensed medical professionals — and ultimately compete in health care — may be compromised. The owner of a physical therapy group is suing an orthopedic practice, saying the doctors are profiting illegally from referrals they […]

The Olympian http://www.theolympian.com For a modest investment of $3 million, state lawmakers could help ease the shortage of primary care physicians across Washington. South Sound, like Eastern Washington and other sectors of the state, has a shortage of primary care doctors. New physicians can make more money by going into a specialty. The shortage of […]

Advertiser Staff http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com A panel will discuss the physician shortage in Windward O’ahu and possible solutions to the problem at a free public forum at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Castle Medical Center Auditorium, 640 ‘Ulukahiki St. The panelists include Dr. Linda Rasmussen, legislative co-chairwoman of the Hawai’i Medical Association; Kevin Roberts, president and CEO of […]

By Donna Wright http://www.bradenton.com Florida faces a “perfect storm” of adverse conditions that could severely limit access to health care within the next decade, warns Dr. Karl M. Altenburger, president of the Florida Medical Association. The impact of Medicare and Medicaid cuts, compounded by the aging of the state’s physician pool and the lack of […]

by Amy Lynn Sorrel http://www.ama-assn.org An analysis of recent research testing the impact of noneconomic damage caps on the medical liability environment confirms that such reforms are successful, physicians and insurance industry experts say. But consumer advocates and trial lawyers criticized the report as misleading. They argue insurers are to blame for high premiums and […]