GOP reluctant to criticize Edwards over tort reform

says an article in the Washington Times: "Every time we talked about it, he'd bring out one of his clients who was some victim in a terrible tragedy."

Hospitals lose 161 doctors this year

Belleville News-Democrat | 08/08/2004 | Hospitals lose 161 doctors this year

bad ordinance?

E.G. Hughes opposes Cole's Home Remedy in the Peace Coalition Newsletter

Ernst wants real medical malpractice reform

"Senate candidate Tom Ernst stresses that it is even more critical the State of Illinois address the growing health care crisis caused by skyrocketing medical malpractice rates." in Daily Review-Atlas : Local.

Special session not needed

In an editorial on Friday, Pantagraph.com writes Don't call special session for medical malpractice: "Gov. Rod Blagojevich should not call the Legislature into special session to address the issue of medical malpractice reforms." More can be accomplished by waiting until Fall.

Benton doctor recalls lawsuit nightmare

Dr. Saeed A. Khan, M.D. recalls lawsuit nightmare in Marion Daily Republican

Med-Mal, Comp Left on Table as Ill. Lawmakers Finally Adjourn

The Insurance Journal reports: Med-Mal, Comp Left on Table as Ill. Lawmakers Finally Adjourn

American Medical News supports Cole's Home Remedy

American Medical News reports favorably on Cole's Home Remedy: Two Illinois towns take tort reform into their own hands

Area malpractice crisis eases up

Signs are emerging to suggest the worst may be over on the medical malpractice insurance front.

The dollar amount of losses on claims incurred by insurance companies fell in Madison and St. Clair counties in 2003 compared with the year before, state figures show, reports the Belleville News-Democrat.

The Kerry and Edwards Plan to Lower Health Care Costs

U.S. Newswire -A press release from Kerry/Edwards claims their plan will: "-- Eliminate the special privileges that allow insurance companies to fix prices and collude in ways that increase medical malpractice premiums,

-- Require that individuals making medical malpractice claims first go before a qualified medical specialist to make sure a reasonable grievance exists,

-- Require states to ensure the availability of non-binding mediation in all malpractice claims before cases proceed trial,

-- Support sanctions against plaintiffs and lawyers who bring frivolous medical malpractice claims, including a 'three strikes and you're out' provision preventing lawyers who file three frivolous cases from bringing another suit for 10 years,

-- Oppose punitive damages - unless intentional misconduct, gross negligence, or reckless indifference to life can be established."

Quincy City Council asked to put cap on malpractice lawsuits

Reported in the Quincy Herald-Whig.

Lawmakers disagree on reform

Reports Matt Adrian on July 7

Don't use home rule to fight malpractice insurance cost

In Bloomington, Illinois, the Pantagraph writes: Don't use home rule to fight malpractice insurance cost

Assigning Blame: Courts? Insurers? Doctors?

washingtonpost.com: Assigning Blame: Courts? Insurers? Doctors?

Illinois doctors press for a malpractice limit

Chicago Tribune: Illinois doctors press for a malpractice limit

Doctors 'gambled and we lost'

dateline Springfield.

Malpractice rates wreaking havoc

In the Quad Cities.

LAWMAKERS STILL FAR APART ON MEDICAL MALPRACTICE REFORM

reported in The Southern Illinoisan

Mayors praised, criticized for malpractice ordinance

The Becky Malkovich reports for the Southern:

Some are calling the cities' approval of the ordinances regulating recovery on medical malpractice lawsuits brave and forward-thinking. Others say the ordinances are unconstitutional and merely a way for their authors to gain publicity. "

Says Mayor Butler: "The ordinance is on our books and will stay there until someone overrides it. For that to happen, it will have to be taken to court and that will only bring more attention," Butler said. "If that bothers some high-powered attorney, that's too bad. . . . ."

Dr. Thomas Pliura of LeRoy has approached more than 30 municipalities statewide, asking them to consider passage of ordinances similar to those passed by Marion and Carbondale. He said he isn't sure the ordinances won't stand up in court.

Pliura said both cities should be congratulated on their efforts. "Especially Mayor Brad Cole. He is, to my knowledge, the first mayor to come up with this idea. He gets all the credit," Pliura said.

Doctors Praise Cole's Malpractice Ordinance

local doctors praise Marion's malpractice ordinance, so Carbondale's must sound pretty good them, as well, since it's essentially the same one crafted by Brad Cole, approved by Carbondale City Council last night. Brad isn't a doctor, but he could play one on TV if the politics thing didn't work out.

More docs in Illinois

Chicagobusiness.com: "Numbers don't bear out idea of 'fleeing physicians' . . . Tales of doctors fleeing Illinois to escape soaring malpractice insurance costs have captured media attention and fueled the push for limits on jury awards, but the numbers tell a different story."

Remotely involved doctors also get sued

Belleville News-Democrat reports: Remotely involved doctors also get sued

Heaps praise

Marion Daily Republican reports: Steve Schoeffel, Executive Director of Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch, has commended the leadership of Carbondale, Marion and Herrin for pursuing answers to the crisis.

Med-Mal Crisis Hurting Doctor Recruitment in Ohio

"Statistics cited in testimony before the commission showed that certain specialties, including obstetrician-gynecologists, have been hit particularly hard by the crisis," reports Insurance Journal

Lawsuits against doctors rising

In Belleville, Illinois, Belleville News-Democrat | 06/30/2004 | Lawsuits against doctors rising: "'In fact, the statistics point more towards 5 percent of the lawyers suing 50 percent of the doctors.... There is tremendous empirical evidence that a major correction to the metro-east legal system is warranted.'"

40% of Metro East doctors have been sued

In St. Louis, 40% of Metro East doctors have been sued."

How many have been sued in Jackson County?

Lawmakers mull self-insurance plan

In Wyoming, Lawmakers mull self-insurance plan, so "doctors ... could get another option when it comes to buying malpractice insurance if lawmakers establish a form of self-insurance pool that is growing more popular across the country."

Child limit on medical-malpractice suits ended

Child limit on medical-malpractice suits ended: "The Indiana Court of Appeals has struck down a section of the state's medical-malpractice law that limited when a lawsuit could be filed on behalf of a child injured in a medical procedure."

Missouri offers relief on medical malpractice insurance

Maybe the mayor's malpractice panel can learn from Missouri: which, "at long last, ... has moved to help physicians obtain affordable malpractice insurance."

Marion Daily Republican Online

Marion Daily Republican Online: "Council passes medical malpractice ordinance"

Marion attempts malpractice insurance cure

"Marion's newest ordinance differs slightly from the ordinance proposed by Cole, and includes 'Good Samaritan' protection. But the chief difference between the ordinances . . . is that Marion's ordinance was approved by the council," reports Becky Malkovich in The Southern Illinoisan.

Sound familiar?

the past two years, claims paid by the Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of ... sought and won a 28 percent increase in malpractice premiums, so Ehrlich Wants Special Session On Malpractice Insurance Rates (washingtonpost.com)

An impending exodus of doctors from Maryland because of skyrocketing malpractice insurance rates has created a crisis that needs an immediate solution, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. declared at a news conference yesterday.

Flanked by a half-dozen doctors in white coats and scrubs from the Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Ehrlich (R) called for a special summer meeting of the legislature to address a looming 40 percent rate increase by the insurance company that covers most Maryland doctors.

Healthcare Lawsuits Make Us Sick

Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse to raise awareness of healthcare emergenc

Lawmakers draft 30-plus bills for session

In Montana, Lawmakers draft 30-plus bills for session

Same as in Illinois

R.I. Session Nears End with Med-Mal Push

Liars figure, but figures don't lie

Mark Samuels, Illinois State Capitol Bureau Chief for Lee Enterprises, writes in Illinois Conservative Politics: "...The problem is not just the fault of litigious trial lawyers. Blame must also go to medical care that is overpriced, malingering patients who see an opportunity for a quick buck, physicians who make mistakes - and greedy insurance companies."

Samuels backs up his opinion with facts and figures from Weiss Ratings. (Weiss is like Underwriters Laboratory in evaluating products. The research firm evaluates the financial strength of more than 15,000 companies every quarter. It tracks more than 12,000 mutual funds and more than 9,000 stocks. The U.S. General Accounting Office says Weiss' insurance ratings are more accurate than any of the other rating agencies.)

Political Malpractice?

Marion Mayor Butler lets Springfield legislators have it, reports Becky Malkovich in The Southern Illinoisan.