Patients Caught In Aetna-AMA Out-Of-Network Fight By DIANE LEVICK Courant Staff Writer Aetna and the American Medical Association are fighting about payments to doctors again, and patients across the nation are getting caught in between. The dispute centers on how much Aetna pays out-of-network doctors in some instances and the right of those doctors to […]

By Elizabeth Cohen CNN http://www.cnn.com/ ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) — When Christine had a hysterectomy in September, her doctor told her it would take about a week to recover from the laparoscopic procedure. Medical complications are not always the result of negligence. Nearly every procedure involves some risk. Four months — and three additional surgeries later […]

By: Lewis S. Sharps, M.D., For The Bulletin http://www.thebulletin.us My dual experience as an orthopedic spine surgeon and president of Pennsylvania’s only physician-driven medical malpractice insurance company has provided me with a unique insight into this state’s medical malpractice environment. Many states are threatened by an escalating medical liability crisis. They can learn a great […]

http://www.kaisernetwork.org The American Medical Association on Tuesday announced the nationwide expansion of a campaign that seeks to focus the health care debate in the presidential election on the issue of the uninsured, The Hill reports. The multimillion-dollar “Voice for the Uninsured” campaign, which includes advertisements and outreach efforts, last year targeted early presidential caucus and […]

Article by Frederick C. Schafrick , Elizabeth Runyan Geise ,Joanne M. Gray and Kenneth J. Parsigan http://www.mondaq.com Efforts to reform state tort law have been the subject of much political controversy over the last three decades as legislatures have attempted to ameliorate the adverse impacts of tort law on the availability of insurance coverage and […]

Legislators may require executives to testify under oath to find out why rates did not fall significantly. John Kennedy | Tallahassee Bureau Chief http://www.orlandosentinel.com Top insurance executives are being summoned — and may be subpoenaed — to testify under oath next month before a newly formed Senate select committee examining why last year’s legislative overhaul […]

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com The Federation of State Medical Boards Research and Education Foundation (FSMB) is offering every physician a new handbook to help them better manage patients’ acute or chronic pain. Responsible Opioid Prescribing: A Physician’s Guide offers real-world explanations and practical strategies that address issues of undertreatment of pain, risk of prescription drug abuse and improved […]

http://www.marketwire.com SOURCE: The Healthcare Management Council, Inc. A recent study by The Healthcare Management Council, Inc. (HMC) discovered that poor hospital inpatient care has a multiplier effect on overhead costs. Using the proprietary HMC Cost Quality Matrixâ„¢ methodology, HMC routinely identifies the direct cost of quality related to patient safety and inpatient quality outcomes. New […]

http://www.insurancejournal.com St. Louis, Mo.-based Keystone Mutual Insurance Co. recently announced that it is accepting applications from Missouri physicians for professional liability insurance upon being awarded a license Dec. 31 by the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions & Professional Registration. “We’re open for business,” said James R. Bowlin, Keystone’s chairman and chief executive officer.