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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Both houses of Pennsylvania have extended the MCare abatement program for 2006. The bill now goes to Governor Rendell for signature.
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.
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 Malpractice Cases Not Reported
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 owners.
Continue Reading Most IRA Accounts Protected From Creditors, Supreme Court Rules
