Regional coverage

West - Midwest - Northeast - South - State roundups - 2008

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The West

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

California licensing backlog keeping doctors from starting jobs - Nov. 9
Higher hospital spending linked to better outcomes - Nov. 2
Rescission legislation vetoed - Oct. 26
Court OKs lawsuit against Hawaii Medicaid managed care - Sept. 7
Patients happy with San Francisco plan for uninsured - Sept. 7
Lawsuits challenge Calif. governor's budget vetoes - Aug. 24
Some states still prohibit hospitals from hiring doctors; physicians want to keep it that way - Aug. 3
United to buy Health Net business in Northeast - Aug. 3
Federal appeals court halts some California Medicaid pay cuts - July 27
Appellate court upholds California medical liability cap - July 13
5 people die under new Washington physician-assisted suicide law - July 6
Calif. may require public notice of medical license - June 1
Nevada lawmakers moving to change state's liability cap - May 4
Oregon developing comprehensive health system reform - April 27
California court halts some Medicaid cuts - April 13
Ariz. high court validates standards for expert witnesses in liability cases - April 6
San Francisco employer mandate may end up in U.S. Supreme Court - March 30
Calif. court denies extra MCAT time for students with learning disabilities - March 2
Lawsuit challenges San Francisco safety net programs - Feb. 23
Invention keeps patients positioned for surgery - Feb. 23
California's high court bans balance billing - Jan. 26
Court orders Medicaid coverage for low-income HIV patients - Jan. 12
Nevada medical board seeks to update discipline, licensing systems - Jan. 5

Last year's index - Back to top

Vendors charge up to $50,000 to make an EMR talk to a practice management system. Read more

The Midwest

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

Doctors owed no duty to nonpatient, Illinois high court rules - Oct. 19
Physician pay cuts on horizon at Michigan Blues? - Oct. 12
AMA takes health reform message on the road - Sept. 7
Two state courts, same ruling: Informed consent must include all options - Aug. 24
When patients lose jobs, physicians feel impact - Aug. 24
Wis. high court maintains limits on awards to third parties - Aug. 10
Indiana medical association files complaint against WellPoint over payment problems - Aug. 3
Ohio med school and medical board team up to teach professionalism - July 27
Ohio court blocks sweeping records disclosure - July 20
Physician-patient privilege waived in fraud probe - July 6
Minn. health plan consortium develops online claims portal - June 29
What editorial writers are saying about the killing of Dr. George Tiller - Editorial June 22
Doctor discipline inches up but still off 14% from peak - May 4
HHS nominee Sebelius awaits Senate vote - April 13
Initiative to cut catheter infections expands - April 6
N.D. Blues gives its top exec the boot - March 30
Emergency physicians object to plan to cut hospital beds - March 16
Surgical markers aim to reduce margin of error - March 2
Patient grows up to work beside his childhood doctor - Jan. 26

Last year's index - Back to top

Massachusetts had the nation's lowest percentage of uninsured people in 2008. Read more

The Northeast

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

Health reform review: The Massachusetts experience - Nov. 2
Ability to find, afford care is deteriorating in many states - Oct. 19
Assisted-suicide statute challenged by 2 Connecticut doctors - Oct. 19
Doctor's rap on H1N1 prevention wins HHS contest - Oct. 5
Kennedy's death leaves gap in health reform leadership - Sept. 7
N.J. liability trial swamped with errors - In the Courts Sept. 7
Quality-of-care concerns add to doctors' stress - Aug. 31
Physicians stop states from raiding liability funds - Aug. 17
Smallpox -- The Death of a Disease (book excerpt) - Aug. 17
Mass. doctors urge caution as state ponders shift to global payments - Aug. 10
Pennsylvania to examine its Blues market - Aug. 10
Landmark Massachusetts health reforms showing cracks in access, coverage - Aug. 3
New York OKs paying women who donate eggs for research - July 27
Court: Physician liability limited in third-party cases - July 20
N.H. doctors sue to stop state raid on medical liability fund - July 13
Senate report criticizes plans' use of Ingenix database - July 13
Access-to-care problems are resurfacing in Mass. - June 29
Serving the servers: Health care co-op for restaurant workers - June 15
Vt. bans industry gifts, tightens reporting rules - June 1
Long appointment waits may signal doctor shortage - June 1
Massachusetts considers capitated insurance payments - June 1
FDA pick answers lawmakers on tobacco regulation, flu - May 18
Court upholds Vermont law on prescribing data privacy - May 11
Key Senate panel sets brisk pace for health system reform package - May 4
Court approves doctors' suit over ranking program - April 27
New York budget increases Medicaid fees for physicians - April 20
Mass. sets new rules for contact with drug industry - April 6
States dangle school loan repayment deals - April 6
Boston physicians cut their own salaries to help hospital - April 6
Surgeon tells how his team removed 6 organs during cancer operation - March 30
Fed court upholds New York City's calorie-posting rule - March 9
Mass. bill aims to reverse court expansion of physician liability - March 9
R.I. says Blues can't raise individual health premiums - March 9
N.J. lawmakers compromise on physician referral - Feb. 23
"Inevitable" Blues merger implodes at 11th hour - Feb. 2
Massachusetts now applying CON rules to surgery centers - Jan. 12
Blues merger faces opposition in Pennsylvania Legislature - Jan. 5

Last year's index - Back to top

91% of people in Massachusetts who have health coverage are satisfied with it. Read more

The South

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

Alabama doctors file complaints against state Blues plan - Nov. 23
Maryland high court to consider expert witness rule - Nov. 16
Ability to find, afford care is deteriorating in many states - Oct. 19
Certificate-of-merit law struck down by Washington Supreme Court - Oct. 12
Florida lawsuit takes swing at 3-strikes liability rule - In the Courts Oct. 5
Challenges to medical liability caps go before Georgia, Maryland high courts - Sept. 28
Fla. med school welcomes first class with white coats, money - Sept. 7
Two state courts, same ruling: Informed consent must include all options - Aug. 24
Louisiana cuts physicians' Medicaid payments - Aug. 17
Fla. jury rules for hospital that deported immigrant patient - Aug. 10
Fla. Medicaid reform pilot: More efficiency or less care? - Aug. 10
Enhanced Medicaid plan sees low sign-ups, but high use - Aug. 10
Okla. ob-gyn grows grapes of wine, not wrath - Aug. 10
Some states still prohibit hospitals from hiring doctors; physicians want to keep it that way - Aug. 3
5 people die under new Washington physician-assisted suicide law - July 6
Tennessee Medical Assn. sues collections firm - July 6
W.Va. Medicaid wellness plan comes up short in evaluation - June 1
Hospitals entitled to peer review protections in negligent credentialing claims - May 25
N.C. court overturns ban on doctor participation in executions - May 18
Medicine scores legal victories in scope of practice - May 11
Company stops tapping physicians for "overpayments" - May 11
Texas university explores offering an MD degree in addition to its DO program - April 27
Texas Blues plan agrees to stop grading physicians on how much they charge - April 27
Ariz. high court validates standards for expert witnesses in liability cases - April 6
States dangle school loan repayment deals - April 6
A miscarriage of medicine (book excerpt: Three Generations, No Imbeciles) - March 30
Doctor faces assisted-suicide charge in Georgia - March 23
Organized medicine-backed lawsuit knocks down hospital's attempt at economic credentialing - March 16
Texas hospital settles charges of boycotting physician-owned hospital - March 16
Maryland program covering more uninsured, despite slow start - March 2
Texas physicians voice time, pay frustrations - Feb. 23
MBA project helps get business off on the right foot - Jan. 19
Florida consumer-driven Medicaid reform in limbo - Jan. 5
Louisiana pediatricians sue over Medicaid care pilots - Jan. 5
Supreme Court asked to examine Texas peer review case - Jan. 5
Maryland insurance commissioner seeks audit of CareFirst reserves - Jan. 5

Last year's index - Back to top

Massachusetts requires employers to provide health coverage. Read more

State Roundups

(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.)

Women pay more for health care - Oct. 26
Health plans eye Medicaid as profit source - Oct. 26
Ability to find, afford care is deteriorating in many states - Oct. 19
Mandating cultural competency: Should physicians be required to take courses? - Oct. 19
Doctors owed no duty to nonpatient, Illinois high court rules - Oct. 19
Medicaid pay could be cut again when stimulus money runs out - Oct. 12
Medicaid drug fraud targeted by government watchdog group - Oct. 12
Governors slam proposed Medicaid expansion - Sept. 28
States targeting Medicaid physician pay - Sept. 14
Lack of CMS chief prompts speculation about strategy - Sept. 7
Court OKs lawsuit against Hawaii Medicaid managed care - Sept. 7
Organized medicine aims to strengthen liability provisions in reform bill - Aug. 31
Lawsuits challenge Calif. governor's budget vetoes - Aug. 24
Physicians stop states from raiding liability funds - Aug. 17
Louisiana cuts physicians' Medicaid payments - Aug. 17
Physicians seeking licensing increasingly find a standard application - Aug. 17
Fla. Medicaid reform pilot: More efficiency or less care? - Aug. 10
Enhanced Medicaid plan sees low sign-ups, but high use - Aug. 10
Some states still prohibit hospitals from hiring doctors; physicians want to keep it that way - Aug. 3
Federal move to expand Medicaid could burden states - Aug. 3
Litigation screening panels on trial: Are they working? - Aug. 3
Federal appeals court halts some California Medicaid pay cuts - July 27
Tennessee Medical Assn. sues collections firm - July 6
How federal stimulus money will impact states' Medicaid spending - Interactive June 15
W.Va. Medicaid wellness plan comes up short in evaluation - June 1
Vt. bans industry gifts, tightens reporting rules - June 1
Medicaid fees outpace Medicare but still low - May 4
EMR adoption higher in states with fewer privacy rules - May 4
New York budget increases Medicaid fees for physicians - April 20
CHIP reauthorization increasing extent of kids' coverage - April 13
California court halts some Medicaid cuts - April 13
Several states face battles over optometry scope of practice - April 13
What editorial writers are saying about increasing tobacco taxes - Editorial April 13
States dangle school loan repayment deals - April 6
Health Net weighs jettison of health plans in 4 states - April 6
Bills seek to regulate in vitro fertilization - March 23
Doctor faces assisted-suicide charge in Georgia - March 23
Fed court upholds New York City's calorie-posting rule - March 9
"Sunshine" bill sets $100 trigger for disclosing drug industry pay to doctors - Feb. 23
States called lax in reviewing inactive doctors - Feb. 23
Health plans adjust strategies to economic downturn - Feb. 23
Medicaid, health IT to see billions from stimulus package signed by Obama - Feb. 23
States consider requiring hospitals to screen for MRSA - Feb. 16
States move to limit insurance rescissions - Feb. 16
House stimulus bill boosts health IT, Medicaid - Feb. 9
Congress reauthorizes SCHIP, expands program's eligibility - Feb. 9
States changing public health access - Quick View Feb. 9
"Inevitable" Blues merger implodes at 11th hour - Feb. 2
House adopts SCHIP expansion - Jan. 26
Emergency care system gets low grades - Jan. 19
Medicaid funding cuts unresolved as new administration takes office - Jan. 12
Court orders Medicaid coverage for low-income HIV patients - Jan. 12
Florida consumer-driven Medicaid reform in limbo - Jan. 5
Low Medicare, Medicaid pay rates impact private costs - Jan. 5
Louisiana pediatricians sue over Medicaid care pilots - Jan. 5

Tort reforms have been enacted in 46 states, but some have been struck down as unconstitutional. Read more

Complete listings » Last year's index - Back to top

Vote refines AMA stance on health reform
The AMA House of Delegates rejected attempts to rescind support of a U.S. House health reform bill and any new government-sponsored health insurance plan during the 2009 Interim Meeting.
Story - AMA House - Slideshow