News/Announcements

Fighting Back Against the Changes

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This past year has seen a tremendous number of changes in the health care industry. The entire health care reform debate raged and ranted, whined and squeaked and finally got signed. There have been strings of action and inaction, push and pull, Congress extending physicians’ payments for a month at a time, (when they could as easily have applied a six-month bandage) as the administrative offices played catch-up with the paperwork. But last month, that all stopped. The administrative agency declared that they would NOT pay on the presumption that Congress would fund it retroactively… and since then, Congress has done nothing to resolve the problem. That’s right. Doctors have simply been working for 21% less, trusting our government to make it right eventually. But this time, it isn’t happening.

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First Professionals Insurance Company, Inc. Endorses Medical Justice Services

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First Professionals Insurance Company, Inc. Endorses Medical Justice Services

– First Professionals Offers Medical Justice Membership as Benefit to Florida Insureds –

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 15, 2010 (GREENSBORO, NC) — First Professionals Insurance Company, Inc. (First Professionals) today announced an endorsed and strategic relationship with Medical Justice Services, Inc; the leading organization offering patented services to protect physicians’ most valuable assets – their practice and reputation – against frivolous lawsuits, Internet defamation and other medico-legal threats. Under the agreement, First Professionals will offer Medical Justice Membership to its Florida-based insureds under a preferred pricing agreement. Medical Justice’s Programs complement the traditional medical malpractice insurance offered by professional liability carriers. The agreement will provide First Professionals’ more than 7,000 policyholders in Florida, with proven, turnkey services that deliver real-world results such as decreasing malpractice suit rates, holding proponents of meritless lawsuits accountable and preventing Internet defamation.

Medical Justice focuses exclusively on the healthcare industry and has addressed the needs of doctors for over eight years. Medical Justice reports its plan members experience a statistically significant reduction in medical malpractice suits.

“Medical Justice provides a variety of services that shield physicians from a number of hazards they encounter in practicing medicine. Their strategies and programs deter frivolous lawsuits,” stated Robert White, Jr., President of First Professionals. “This partnership supports and enhances First Professionals’ longstanding pledge to provide excellent benefits for all of our policyholders. Offering Medical Justice to our Florida-based insureds will be instrumental in mitigating many aggravating situations that affect healthcare providers today.”

Dr. Jeffrey Segal, CEO of Medical Justice, notes, “First Professionals is one of the most progressive malpractice insurance companies in the U.S. We are thrilled to be endorsed by such a high-profile partner and to be part of their service offering. We aggressively address the interests of our members within the changing landscape of medical practice. By offering Medical Justice Membership to their Florida insureds, First Professionals is proactively protecting their clients even more from frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits, Internet defamation and other medico-legal threats.”

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Medical Justice in NY Times

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Medical Justice founder and CEO Jeff Segal, MD, JD, FACS was quoted in today’s NY Times article “Venting Online, Consumers Can Find Themselves in Court” “Recognizing that lawsuits can bring more unwanted attention, one organization has taken a different tack. The group Medical Justice, which helps protect doctors from meritless malpractice suits, advises its members … Read more

President’s Plan: Backdoor Health Care Bill Thru Budget Reconciliation

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What makes the maneuver itself objectionable is the method that would be used. A backdoor tactic, called a budget reconciliation bill, would allow the changes to be enacted without opening the subject to a filibuster on the floor… Passing action via budget reconciliation commits this nation’s government to addressing the matter… while allowing for amendment in times to come…. Nine hundred billion dollars divided by thirty million people is $30,000 per person. That’s a lot of health care insurance premiums!

WellPoint Blames 39% Rate Hike On Healthy People

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Though it may seem like the intro to a joke, it’s no laughing matter. WellPoint, which supplies medical insurance, including their Anthem Blue Cross plan, has imposed a rate increase of up to 39% for their customers in California. To say that thirty-nine percent is hefty is an obvious understatement. How do they defend this?

WellPoint Inc. attempts to justify the increases to Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, by stating that the weak economy has healthy people dropping coverage or buying cheaper plans. They claim that the decline in premium revenue equates to a lack of funds to pay claims from the remaining customers. WellPoint says this trend resulted in a loss for them in 2009. This is why, they say, they want to raise rates to cover the losses expected in 2010 from the same cause.

If the economy picks up and people return to coverages temporarily canceled, you can bet that they won’t return that 39% increase. They also try to defend that “most” of their customers will see an average of “only” 24% when the increases are imposed on March 1, 2010. Only 24%?!?

WellPoint claims to have offered an alternative solution if people can’t afford the rate increase: lower increases, in exchange for higher out-of-pocket expenses. Uhm no. If the patient has to pay more out of pocket, the patient is still absorbing the increases. That, too, is just semantics. It’s no real alternative for their customers. It’s still forcing the patient to pay a huge increase so that they can continue to rake in the bucks.

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John Murtha (D,PA) Tort Reform Supporter Dead at 77

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A combat veteran of the Vietnam “Conflict”, this old warrior passed on of complications from a gallbladder surgery on Feb. 8, 2010, at the age of 77. His voice was sincere, passionate and compassionate. A true Conservative, he believed the government should not restrict people’s activities, so long as those actions don’t restrict the rights of others.

Female Asian doctor looking off to the side

State of the Nation – President Asks Us How To Improve

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Wednesday evening, President Obama gave his State of the Union address. He was poised, well-spoken, and charming (as usual) as he expressed his expectations that Congress focus on leading, rather than politics as usual. He chastised the U.S. Supreme Court for their decision to allow corporations, especially foreign ones, the 1st Amendment rights usually provided only to citizens and individuals. When it came to the issue of healthcare, though we agree wholeheartedly with what he said about gathering ideas from anyone, we must take exception to his statement overall.

Regarding Healthcare reform, the President said “I want everyone to take another look at the plan we’ve proposed. There’s a reason why many doctors, nurses and health care experts who know our system best consider this approach a vast improvement over the status quo. But if anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors, and stop Medicare abuses, let me know. Let me know. Let me know. I’m eager to see it.”

Mr. President, while many might agree with you that what is proposed could be better than the status quo, MOST doctors, nurses and healthcare experts would say that crucial aspects are decidedly lacking. We must concur with Senator-Elect Scott Brown that we can do better. The unfortunate fact, the reality, is that we have been trying desperately to convince you and the Congress that Tort Reforms are essential and foundational to any real change. We have been trying to tell you that the 60-year old Anti-Trust exemption that medical insurance carriers have been enjoying must be repealed. We have been trying to tell you that granting physicians immunity from medical malpractice suits so long as their actions are within standard procedure guidelines established by the medical community would improve the quality of care while lowering costs. But in each of these crucial aspects, you and Congress have both turned a deaf ear.

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Medical Self-Diagnosis; Fool for a Patient and a Dangerous Amount of Knowledge

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There’s an old adage: The doctor who treats himself has a fool for a patient. That’s doubly true of the patient who treats himself. There’s nothing at all wrong with everyone being well-versed in a variety of subjects, including health care. So what’s the issue? At the bottom line, it’s a matter of objectivity.

A physician considers the patient’s input invaluable to diagnosis and treatment. The patient knows what feels how, where and when, knows when his or her body is “off,” and that helps doctors form a diagnosis. It’s also regularly true that the symptom can be caused by something seemingly removed and unrelated. The correct diagnosis is possible because of the doctor’s training, intuition, and ability to remain objective. If a physician were to only look in the direction the patient suggests, accurate diagnosis would be very difficult indeed.

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