Agreement Includes First-Ever Independent Oversight Monitor for Ranking System New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo recently announced an agreement with CIGNA HealthCare as part of his industry-wide investigation into doctor ranking programs. Under the agreement, CIGNA will enhance its doctor ranking program, fully disclosing to consumers and physicians all aspects of its ranking system. […]

The Doctors Company is pleased to announce an overall average premium reduction of 7.2 percent for Washington physicians. The rate reductions will apply to all new and renewal policies effective on or after January 1, 2008. Some Washington physicians will have premium reductions of up to 25 percent, depending on specialty. The Doctors Company is […]

http://www.businesswire.com Data Also Suggests Current Patient Safety Goals Are Focused on the Right Strategies to Help Improve the Healthcare System In an effort to determine what impact health system errors1 have on medical malpractice claims, The Doctors Company, the nation’s leading physician-owned medical malpractice insurer, conducted a closed claims analysis and found that system errors […]

The Insurance professionals only source for News December 12, 2007–U.S. tort costs totaled $247 billion in 2006, which is approximately $825 per person and $57 less per person than in 2005, according to the 2007 Update on U.S. Tort Cost Trends from the Tillinghast insurance consulting practice of Towers Perrin. Tort costs declined by 5.5% […]

By Jonnie Taté Finn http://www.argusleader.com Sanford Clinic’s reach grew Wednesday when it announced the purchase of one of Sioux Falls’ few remaining physician-owned clinics. University Physicians Clinic, which treats a broad range of ailments, was considered by many to be the last of its kind, although physician-owned specialty clinics still exist in Sioux Falls. Those […]

Critics of the transfer of the hospital to a Catholic group say women’s health care will suffer in Jefferson County. By Electa Draper The Denver Post Comprehensive women’s health care will no longer be available in Jefferson County next year if full ownership of Exempla Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat Ridge is transferred as planned […]

System being designed to help hospitals figure out whether you’ll pay them By JASON ROBERSON / The Dallas Morning News Mortgage lenders aren’t the only ones showing more interest in your credit score these days – the health industry is creating its own score to judge your ability to pay. The new medFICO score, being […]

D.C. Hospital Loses Its National Accreditation By Susan Levine Washington Post Staff Writer http://www.washingtonpost.com Greater Southeast Community Hospital had its national accreditation yanked yesterday because of the overwhelming problems that pushed the District facility close to collapse for much of this year. The accreditation decision is another blow to the hospital’s standing in the community […]

By Jeffrey Young http://thehill.com The Bush administration has issued an eleventh-hour challenge to the physician lobby’s efforts to prevent a pending 10 percent cut in their Medicare fees, in the form of call for a mandate that doctors use new information technology standards. The administration wants to tie any legislation blocking the cut, scheduled to […]