Index 2002: Regional coverage list - map

West - Midwest - Northeast - South - State roundups - Map - 2001 - 2003

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The West 2002

(Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming)

Insurance exec offers plan for uninsured - Dec. 23/30
Physicians win seats in state legislatures - Dec. 9
Psychologists see rural areas as entry point to prescribing - Dec. 2
Some California physicians will be paid for online advice - Nov. 25
Insurers team up, offer mid-sized business coverage - Nov. 25
Bringing in the private perspective: From a children's clinic to state government - Nov. 18
Federal court says yes, you can talk about pot - Nov. 18
California insurers adopt quality-pay initiative - Nov. 18
Doctors take 2nd swing at Nevada tort reform - Nov. 11
California Blue Cross offers quality pay incentive plan for PPO - Nov. 11
Oregon to vote on single-payer health care system - Oct. 28
Colorado doctor guarantees health care for needy youths - Oct. 21
California law requires plans to give notice of contract changes - Oct. 21
Policy expands embryonic stem cell research - Oct. 14
Rising liability rates decimate neurosurgery - Oct. 14
Blues plans throughout the country seek for-profit harmony - Oct. 14
Alaska's tort reform legislation still mired in uncertainty - In the Courts Oct. 14
Arizona court overturns decision of medical board - Oct. 7
FTC investigating Nevada ob-gyns for price collusion - Sept. 9
HMO query reignites assisted-suicide controversy - Sept. 9
Hawaii medical society sues major insurer - Sept. 2
Women "distressed" by seeing doctors rush to help mom - Sept. 2
California Medical Assn., medical board reach compromise - Sept. 2
Nevada enacts bold tort reforms - Aug. 26
California insurers offer coverage in Mexico too - Aug. 26
How will the end come? Effects of a physician-assisted suicide law - Aug. 12
Latest California IPA failure linked to low pay rates - Aug. 12
Nevada medical school finds liability coverage - Aug. 5
Statistics show no shortage of doctors in 4 Western states - Aug. 5
Be cautious with patient suicide query - July 29
Why tort reform is needed: Trauma drama in Las Vegas - Editorial July 29
California tort reform endangered: Court may void group protection - June 24
Doctor spreads good deeds by getting others involved - June 17
Psychologist Rx law in N.M. bogged down - June 17
Ruling under appeal on Oregon physician-assisted suicide - June 17
HMA sued over contract review - June 17
Denver doctors settle FTC anti-competitive charges - June 3
Doctor on deck: Unwinding on the water - June 3
California physicians face full disclosure of settlements - June 3
Colorado court allows suit against physician corporation - May 27
Ruling preserves assisted suicide in Oregon -- for now - May 6
CalPERS leading HMO rate hikes with 25% - May 6
Washington state physicians sue plans over business practices - April 15
Nevada doctors ponder fixes to tort woes - April 1
California physician finances no longer at risk for public exposure - April 1
Insurer wants doctors' own medical files - March 25
FTC OKs exception to physician collective bargaining rules - March 18
CalPERS feeling premium pinch - March 18
Death by the numbers: Physician-assisted suicide - Editorial March 18
New Medicaid waiver style: Add to rolls but cut benefits - March 11
A California doctor rocks with the stars - March 4
Oregon had few assisted suicides in 2001 - March 4
Calif. prison system settles class action suit over care - March 4
Aetna, Seattle hospital kiss and make up - Feb. 25
EMTALA woes spark quest for national fix - Feb. 11
Web discipline postings worry California physicians - Feb. 11
In Silicon Valley, a new kind of house call - Feb. 11
Hawaii proposes law regulating premiums - Feb. 11
Managed care scores victories in California - Feb. 4
States limit hours nurses required to work - Jan. 28
Large Washington state medical center to drop Aetna - Jan. 21
California agency hits HMOs, and Kaiser and Blues hit back - Jan. 14
Doctor divides his days between bones and bison - Jan. 7

Last year's index - Back to top

Vermont lets doctors decide if their prescribing data can be sold. Read more

The Midwest 2002

(Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin)

Move to collect medical data pits privacy against safety - Dec. 23/30
Ohio quality project shows success with cardiac health - Dec. 16
Psychologists see rural areas as entry point to prescribing - Dec. 2
Illinois physicians cry foul over CIGNA settlement delay - Dec. 2
Collective bargaining bill still alive in Ohio - Nov. 25
Wisconsin AFL-CIO crafts statewide health plan in effort to curb rising premium costs - Nov. 11
Firm treating strangers by Web shut out by Illinois directive - Nov. 4
Naturopaths push for greater acceptance - Oct. 28
Illinois Blues disputes PHO role in rate talks - Oct. 21
Doctors without prompt-pay protection try new tactics - Oct. 7
QuagMeyer: A cautionary tale of a failing medical practice - Oct. 7
Dr. Ganske takes Iowa work ethic to D.C. - Sept. 23/30
This doctor is always in the house - Sept. 16
Illinois Blues to pay pharmacists to push generics - Sept. 9
Grateful, loyal patients raise $40K to keep doctor insured - Sept. 2
Ohio hospital dumps doctors who invest in for-profit rival - Aug. 12
Doctors win millions for HMO underpayments - July 1
Missouri Senate race focuses on health care issues - June 17
Michigan physicians get green light on Medicaid suit - June 10
Drug diluting in Kansas City: A pharmacist's crime shakes a community - May 20
Indiana opens up privacy concerns - May 6
Indiana group practice leads offensive against Anthem - March 25
Doctors win when novel use of False Claims Act rejected - March 11
The Winona project: Developing an electronic link - March 11
Michigan Blues plan seeks rate relief - March 11
State blocks Anthem's takeover of Kansas Blues plan - March 4
Federal funds will enhance prescription drug program for Illinois seniors - Feb. 18
Tragedy spurs physician to railroad safety crusade - Feb. 18
Pediatricians back Medicaid patients' right to sue for basic health care - Feb. 11
Learn by doing earlier in the training process - Feb. 11
Minn. Blues signs disease management deal - Jan. 7

Last year's index - Back to top

Most patients receive care from practices with 5 or fewer physicians. Read more

The Northeast 2002

(Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont)

End-of-year action crucial: Pennsylvania faces liability meltdown - Dec. 9
New York court clarifies patient confidentiality protections - Nov. 18
Miss. doctors hope tort reform brings rate relief -- eventually - Oct. 28
Pa. medical association says Blues reserves are too high - Sept. 23/30
New Jersey bill would shield hospital error audits - Sept. 16
Groups sue to block New York Blues' for-profit conversion - Sept. 16
Grassroots effort pushes tort reform in Pennsylvania - Sept. 9
Pilot project on clinical skills testing heads to Atlanta - Sept. 2
Time-sharing cuts overhead costs for surgeons - Sept. 2
Doctor recounts mine rescue - Aug. 19
Preserver of past makes plans for future - Aug. 12
Empire HMO plan advises some patients to find new doctors - Aug. 12
Insurers didn't tell patients in New York how to appeal - Aug. 5
Cigarette taxes? We love New York - Editorial Aug. 5
Connecting for Health project aims for consensus on data standards - July 29
Doctor spurs plan to improve town's health - July 22
Balancing budgets and health care: Possible experience for the presidency - July 22
Dispute over credentials not a case of fraud - July 22
Dr. Bertman's amazing adventure: How one doctor built an EMR - July 8/15
Vermont watches drug marketing costs - July 1
Mass. license renewal fees upped in state board shuffle - June 24
Philadelphia Flyers hockey player sues team, doctor over care of injury - May 20
Court says D.C. has right to vote on medical marijuana - April 22/29
Pennsylvania passes tort reform bill - April 1
Giant health system in Pittsburgh plays the smart card - April 1
Health plan on trial: Decisions bring responsibility - Editorial April 1
Medical groups win third-party standing rights - March 25
Medical staff's standing to sue at issue - March 18
N.Y. case raises question of health plan accountability - March 11
Medical liability battle takes to the airwaves - March 4
NLRB ruling gives physician unions impetus - Feb. 25
Trial lawyers give theory on rising liability rates - Feb. 18
Framingham Heart Study: The beat goes on - Feb. 18
Empire conversion bucks the foundation trend - Feb. 11
Massachusetts looks into hospital power - Feb. 4
N.J. doctors get collective bargaining rights - Jan. 28
Pennsylvania doctors seek legislative relief to tort trauma - Jan. 28
States limit hours nurses required to work - Jan. 28
More Blues moving to for-profit - Jan. 14
Hints of Blues merger surface in Pennsylvania - Jan. 7

Last year's index - Back to top

Medicaid paid physicians 72% of Medicare rates for the same services in 2008. Read more

The South 2002

(Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia)

Class-action status at risk in doctors' lawsuit against HMOs - Dec. 16
Prescription drug abuse deadlier than use of illegal drugs - Dec. 16
Lasting impression: A living history of medicine - Dec. 16
Physicians win seats in state legislatures - Dec. 9
West Virginia physician caught in legal net hooks lawyer, lands settlement - Dec. 2
Maryland supports appeals of health plan decisions - Dec. 2
Portraits of a profession: Works of art by John Saito, MD - Dec. 2
Going south: How one hospital company crashed and burned - Dec. 2
Texas medical board wants physician competency testing - Nov. 25
Prosecutor seeks physicians' help in halting drug diversion - Nov. 18
Beware of "cybersquatters" stealing domain names - Nov. 18
Independent appeals get new lease on life in Texas - Nov. 4
Ignored lottery prizes fund indigent care - Nov. 4
Miss. doctors hope tort reform brings rate relief -- eventually - Oct. 28
States might get help with immigrant care - Oct. 21
Ruling blocks Texas HMO lawsuit, allows others to proceed - Oct. 21
Rising liability rates decimate neurosurgery - Oct. 14
South Carolina doctors vow to continue HIPAA fight - Sept. 23/30
Newest liability victims: West Virginia emergency patients - Sept. 16
Presidency part of service for Alabama doctor - Sept. 16
Short walk, big move: How a hospital crossed the street - Sept. 16
Accepting no deliveries: Obstetricians are hard to find in the Mississippi Delta - Sept. 9
National Blues group rejects North Carolina conversion strategy - Sept. 9
South Carolina Blues plan moves toward direct deposit of claim payments - Sept. 9
Pilot project on clinical skills testing heads to Atlanta - Sept. 2
Florida opens loophole in office surgery rule - Aug. 12
Texas wants insurers to say what they pay - Aug. 12
Doctors sue St. Paul over liability insurance tail coverage charges - Aug. 5
Patient-focused drug campaigns may exploit data, invade privacy - July 29
Capital mission: Opening heart and soul to the homeless - July 22
Doctor interest in bioterrorism is wearing off - June 24
W.Va. liability crisis motivates doctors to become candidates - June 17
Physician advocates intervene to get insurers to pay up - June 17
Florida med school aims for accreditation - June 3
N.C. insurers to address cost for small employers - June 3
Georgia Blues must open fee schedule - May 27
Lawmakers frowning on for-profit conversions - May 6
Texas doctors say liability costs are driving them away - April 22/29
Court says D.C. has right to vote on medical marijuana - April 22/29
Patient safety partnership formed in Texas - April 15
Prompt payment still an issue in Florida - April 15
UnitedHealthcare frustrating docs in Texas and Ky. - April 1
Mississippi Medicaid runs out of money - March 18
Florida physician guilty of manslaughter in OxyContin case - March 11
Florida puts the heat on HMOs after late-pay complaints - March 11
A dubious distinction: City has the country's highest concentration of managed care - March 4
PacifiCare faces lawsuit over bankrupt IPAs - March 4
Statewide electronic networks get new life - March 4
Removing a bad precedent: Louisiana high court makes right ruling on liability - Editorial March 4
La. high court ruling spares physicians from tort liability - Feb. 25
Public health puts twist on AIDS regimens - Feb. 25
Is there a mayor in the house? - Feb. 4
Mississippi doctors take liability fight to state house - Feb. 4
Project Access: Opening the door to health care - Jan. 21
Deaths from painkillers are on the rise in Florida - Jan. 21
Large Washington state medical center to drop Aetna - Jan. 21
More Blues moving to for-profit - Jan. 14
Tennessee doctors get bonus, still wait for full pay - Jan. 14

Last year's index - Back to top

Health care costs account for 16% of the nation's economy. Read more

State Roundups 2002

(Our coverage of trends in state legislatures and regulatory bodies is also a good source of information about developments in different parts of the country.)

States scrutinize big-ticket purchases by group practices - Dec. 23/30
Doctors shy away from Medicaid, uninsured - Dec. 23/30
Group rules against online treating of unknown patients - Dec. 23/30
States offered money for high-risk insurance pools - Dec. 16
Governors-elect focus on drug costs, Medicaid funds - Dec. 9
Physicians win seats in state legislatures - Dec. 9
End-of-life care receives failing grades - Dec. 9
More U.S. jobs for IMGs as J-1 visa waivers increase - Dec. 2
Public active on medical boards, but not always tougher on doctors - Nov. 11
States look at costs of insurance mandates - Nov. 11
Reorder in the court: Which judges will serve medicine best? - Nov. 4
Firm treating strangers by Web shut out by Illinois directive - Nov. 4
Public health funding: Feds giveth but the states taketh away - Oct. 28
Miss. doctors hope tort reform brings rate relief -- eventually - Oct. 28
Physician payment crunch: Medicare cuts hit Medicaid access - Oct. 21
Rising liability rates decimate neurosurgery - Oct. 14
Watching SCHIP grow up: Accomplishments and challenges in covering the uninsured - Oct. 7
Doctors without prompt-pay protection try new tactics - Oct. 7
Medicare+Choice launches new PPO option in 23 states - Sept. 16
Hawaii medical society sues major insurer - Sept. 2
Some states defer schoolchildren's shots - Sept. 2
West Nile infections spreading, but anxiety is mounting faster - Aug. 26
Patients face loss of subsidy for AIDS drugs - Aug. 19
National rules advised for online medicine - Aug. 12
U.S. Supreme Court weighs any-willing-provider laws - July 29
States rethinking need for certificate-of-need laws as fiscal health of hospitals wanes - July 29
Why tort reform is needed: Trauma drama in Las Vegas - Editorial July 29
How much did it hurt? St. Paul exits the medical liability market - July 8/15
Physicians take plea for liability reform to House panel - July 1
States seek more doctors for rural areas - July 1
Medicare physician payment: Time to act on E&M mess - Editorial July 1
W.Va. liability crisis motivates doctors to become candidates - June 17
Be wary of unlicensed health insurance plans - June 10
Michigan physicians get green light on Medicaid suit - June 10
Plans singing the merger and consolidation Blues - May 20
Analysis of states' disciplinary rates raises patient safety concerns - May 13
Texas doctors say liability costs are driving them away - April 22/29
States told to monitor drug orders - April 22/29
Patient safety partnership formed in Texas - April 15
Few patients opt to appeal HMO denials - April 8
Pennsylvania passes tort reform bill - April 1
Formularies criticized as states cut Medicaid drug costs - April 1
Mississippi Medicaid runs out of money - March 18
Medicaid HMO companies not the wisest investment - Street Smarts March 18
New Medicaid waiver style: Add to rolls but cut benefits - March 11
Rash of itching spreads through schools in seven states - March 11
Medicaid among top state health issues - March 4
SCHIP finds success in enrolling kids, pleasing parents - Feb. 25
Federal funds will enhance prescription drug program for Illinois seniors - Feb. 18
A case of misdirection: Settlement money should be used to fight tobacco - Editorial Feb. 18
Pediatricians back Medicaid patients' right to sue for basic health care - Feb. 11
Mississippi doctors take liability fight to state house - Feb. 4
States setting time limits on insurer claims "takebacks" - Jan. 28
N.J. doctors get collective bargaining rights - Jan. 28
States limit hours nurses required to work - Jan. 28
AMA: Doctors shouldn't pay for translators - Jan. 14
HMO review: Supreme Court will decide who gets final say - Editorial Jan. 14
Medicaid morass: States are cutting funds to make up for major revenue shortfalls - Jan. 7

Last year's index - Back to top

Only about 7,000 U.S. physicians are certified geriatricians. Read more

The doctors are in the house
The AMA's House of Delegates is holding its Interim Meeting Nov. 7-10 in Houston, addressing issues such as health system reform and physician payment.
AMA House - Slideshow - Updates