The Insurance Department has determined that the annual assessment to be levied for calendar year 2012 shall be 23% applied to the prevailing primary premium for each participating health care provider. The total assessment cost for 2012 will be $203,824,513. This amount is $26,741,075 more than what was collected form the 2011 assessment to cover claims, … Continue Reading
In Klutschkowski v. PeaceHealth, the Oregon Court of Appeals held that Oregon’s statutory cap on non-economic damages does not violate the state’s constitution remedy and jury trial clauses in an action brought to recover injuries sustained during child birth. Oregon law provides, with certain exceptions, “in any civil action seeking damages arising out of bodily…the amount … Continue Reading
In Wojnicki v. Warren Geriatric Village, Inc. a malpractice action against Dr. Manisha Gupta and Anchor Senior Medical Services, LLC., a Michigan state court ruled that the nursing facility must indemnify Dr. Gupta for failing to provide the tail portion of a claims made malpractice policy. The issue in this case was which party is … Continue Reading
One component of the ongoing health care reform debate is the cry for tort reform. While tort reform would certainly be welcome in the health care industry, the need for tort reform is more an issue of justice than controlling health care costs. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Congressional Research Service provided a report (Medical … Continue Reading
The Pennsylvania Insurance Department published a notice in the Saturday October 24, 2009 PA Bulletin announcing the 2010 MCare assessment to be 21% of the “prevailing primary premium,” which is the Joint Underwriting Association’s (JUA) occurrence rate. … Continue Reading
The Wall Street Journal published an insightful article on Special Needs Planning in its Family Finances Section on October 9, 2008."An Estate Plan Built for Special Needs" highlights the emotional and financial challenges facing parents with special needs children and commonly employed planning methods. Special Needs Planning and Special Needs Trusts are not limited to … Continue Reading
Damage cap credited for drop in Texas malpractice premiums BY CHRIS RIZO AUSTIN, Texas (Legal Newsline)-Thanks to a tort reform law in Texas, physicians in the Lone Star State will have reduced liability premiums, officials said this week. The board of the Texas Medical Liability Trust recently approved an average rate reduction of 4.7 … Continue Reading
PHYSICIANS LEARN THAT CHARITY ENDS AT THE OFFICE Although charity may begin at home, two different physician groups, one on the east coast and one on the west, have learned that charity stops at the office. Tax Deductions For Contributing Good Will In Derby v. Commissioner, TC No. 10930-02, the United States Tax Court rejected … Continue Reading
I spoke with Eric Berkman as he reported the lead story on retail clinics in the current issue of Massachusetts Medical Law Report, as did a number of other authorities on the subject. Massachusetts recently promulgated "limited service" clinic regulations in order to regulate retail clinics appropriately, after CVS applied for a host of waivers … Continue Reading
There have been two recent developments regarding the enforcement of expert witness standards, one enforcing standards by a society and one declining to enforce the standards in a private defamation action. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons suspended one member and censored another for violating the Standards of Professionalism (SOPs) on orthopaedic expert witness testimony. The … Continue Reading
Henry Butler, M.D. asks what the PA MCARE report means in laymen’s language. Although the surchaerges are decreasing, the unfunded liability is $2.33 and rising! Physician migration from PA appears to have remain unchanged during the program. PA desires to end the program and encourage privitization of the excess or second layer of covergage. Worthy … Continue Reading
The Pennsylvania Commission on the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Fund (MCARE Fund) was created in December of 2005 for the purpose of investigating methods to reduce the unfunded liability of the MCARE Fund and the phasing out of the MCARE Program. The MCARE Program was created by Act 13 of 2002 to replace … Continue Reading
On October 27, 2006, Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell signed Senate Bill 972, extending the MCARE malpractice subsidy through 2007. Physicians who are eligible for 100% abatement of their assessments are surgeons, neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, obstetricians, emergency physicians, rural doctors who routinely deliver babies, certified nurse-midwives, and nursing homes. All other physicians and podiatrists are eligible for an … Continue Reading
Further progress towards malpractice or tort reform was delayed, perhaps permanently, by the failure of the Senate to approve cloture. The Medical Care Access Protection Act of 2006 (S. 22) and the Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies Access to Care Act (S. 23), both sponsored by Republicans and both of which would impose limits on … Continue Reading
The Pennsylvania Insurance Department announced on October 31, 2005 that the 2006 MCARE assessment will be 29% of the primary prevailing premium. Earlier in the week, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell promised extending the MCARE abatement program for 2 more years.… Continue Reading
Several hundred medical malpractice cases settled or adjudicated by the Department of Health and Human Services between 1997 and 2004 were not reported to a national repository of provider data, the HHS Office of Inspector General said in report released Oct. 19.… Continue Reading
A headline in the Wall Street Journal recently read: “High Court Rules IRAs Untouchable.” This headline was prompted by a recent U.S. Supreme Court case (Rousey v Jacoway) which held that creditors may not execute on individual retirement accounts (IRAs) in a bankruptcy proceeding. This decision has been hailed as a huge victory for IRA … Continue Reading
