News in brief - April 28, 2008

Humana settles Missouri payment class action

Hundreds of Missouri physicians won a $3 million settlement in March with Humana Inc. in a class-action lawsuit that accused the insurer of conspiring with competitors to hold down reimbursements in the Kansas City area.

Humana denied any wrongdoing in the agreement with nearly 2,500 doctors.

The insurer agreed to pay physicians $2.8 million in cash and spend an estimated $200,000 to change its business practices. The settlement mirrors agreements reached in similar class-action lawsuits brought by doctors nationwide against various insurers.

At least two defendants remain in the Missouri case: BlueCross and BlueShield of Kansas City and UnitedHealthcare. The Blues denies the conspiracy allegations. United could not be reached for comment.

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Dr. Nathan Davis award winners announced

Earlier this month, the American Medical Association honored eight government officials for their efforts to improve public health. The winners of the Dr. Nathan Davis Award for Outstanding Government Service "are a testament to the important role public officials play in creating and implementing health policy that benefits Americans," Edward L. Langston, MD, chair of the AMA Board of Trustees, said in a statement.

The awards go to officials in seven categories of public service. The 2008 winners are:

• U.S. Senator: Tom Harkin (D, Iowa).
• U.S. Representative: House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D, Md.).
• State governor: Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell, a Republican.
• State legislators: Democratic Rhode Island Rep. Peter T. Ginaitt, RN; New Hampshire Sen. Kathleen Sgambati, also a Democrat.
• Federal-level career public servant: W. Marston Linehan, MD, chief of urologic research at the National Cancer Institute.
• State-level career public servant: Guthrie S. Birkhead, MD, MPH, director of the Center for Community Health and the AIDS Institute, both in the New York State Dept. of Health.
• Local-level career public servant: Ronald W. Chapman, MD, MPH, deputy director of Solano County, Calif., Dept. of Health and Social Services.

This is the 19th year the Association has bestowed the award, named after AMA founder Nathan Smith Davis, MD.

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