Healthcare

Government Sues Honeywell Over Required Testing, Fines In Wellness Program

November 3, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>MINNEAPOLIS — Federal officials are challenging new benefit rules at Honeywell Inc. that create monetary penalties unless employees and spouses take medical tests.</p> <div> <p>A lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in response to complaints from two Minnesota employees sets up a potential court case over how far employers can go to shift health costs and influence worker behavior.</p>

Sorting Through Misleading Ads for the Real Proposition 45

October 31, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Would the real Proposition 45 please stand up?</p> <p>One of the main arguments advanced by the commercials aired and the torrent of mailers sent by the <a href="http://stophighercosts.org/">No on 45 campaign</a> is that the measure would place healthcare in the hands of a single corruptible politician. "Who do you trust with your health care," a recent mailer asks, "a politician or your doctor? Prop. 45 gives one Sacramento politician control over medical treatment options."</p>

Ads Point Out Pros, Cons Of Doctor Drug Testing

October 28, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<script type='text/javascript' src='http://v9.anv.bz/scripts/anv_mcp_9.js'></script><script type='text/javascript'>var p = new anv_pl_def(); p.config = {}; p.config.width = 640; p.config.height = 360; p.loadVideoExpressV3('eyJ1cGxvYWRfaWQiOiJleHByZXNzLTE0MTQ2MjQwMjQ4MzYiLCJ2aWRlb190eXBlIjoiMSIsInNyY19pbWFnZV91cmwiOiJodHRwOi8vbWVkaWEuMTBuZXdzLmNvbS9waG90by8yMDE0LzEwLzI4LzE2eDkvQWRzX3BvaW50X291dF9wcm9zX19jb25zX29mX2RvY3Rvcl9kcnVnX18yMTgwOTcwMDAwXzkzNzQxMTRfdmVyMS4wXzY0MF80ODAuanBnIiwiZGVmX3RpdGxlIjoiQWRzIHBvaW50IG91dCBwcm9zLCBjb25zIG9mIGRvY3RvciBkcnVnIHRlc3RpbmciLCJ0aXRsZSI6IkFkcyBwb2ludCBvdXQgc

Voters Have Say In Doctor-Lawyer Battle Over Malpractice Cap

October 27, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<div id="content-body-713359-3411759"> <p>Nearly 40 years ago, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law to help stem spiraling costs for medical malpractice insurance policies in California.</p> <p>Brown would later describe the situation at the time as dire: Doctors were forced to “go bare” because they couldn’t afford insurance. Some stopped providing high-risk procedures. Others threatened to quit their jobs.</p>

Opioids Prescribed By Doctors Led To 92,000 Overdoses In ERs In One Year

October 27, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p><strong><span class="trb_sharelines_text" data-role="socialshare_sharetext">Study finds that 68% of ER patients who overdosed on opioid drugs took pills prescribed by a doctor</span></strong></p>

Kidney Settlement Derided

October 25, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>DaVita Healthcare Partners Inc. this week agreed to one of the largest ever anti-kickback settlements in the U.S.</p> <p>But even a $350 million penalty isn’t enough to satisfy Jamie Court’s sense of justice.</p> <p>The president of Consumer Watchdog wants to hold accountable the kidney doctors who bought ownership stakes in DaVita dialysis clinics and then referred patients there for treatment.</p> <p>Dialysis referrals are made when people are most vulnerable, he said.</p>

$66M Raised So Far in Fight Over Medical Malpractice Ballot Initiative

October 24, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

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Hospital of Ebola Patient Posts Poor ER Benchmarks

October 23, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>DALLAS (AP) — Diplomas from outstanding medical schools. Records free of discipline. A team trusted by a president.</p> <p>For all the strengths of <a href="http://www.chron.com/search/?action=search&channel=news%2Ftexas&inlineLink=1&searchindex=property&query=%22Texas+Health+Presbyterian+Hospital+Dallas%22">Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas</a>, the first U.S.-diagnosed Ebola patient walked through its seemingly weakest link: the emergency room.</p>

California Malpractice Cap Generates Big Spending

October 22, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p class="permalinkable" id="h1822696-p1">SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Bob Pack wanted to go after the HMO doctors for recklessly prescribing painkillers to a drug-abusing nanny who ran over his 10-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter as they were heading for ice cream one early fall evening in 2003.</p>

Proposition 46 Seeks To Raise Medical Malpractice Cap

October 21, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Voters could make California the first state to require many doctors to submit to random drug and alcohol tests, a safeguard that has long been in place for pilots, police officers and others who must stay clear-eyed on the job.</p> <p>While supporters are promoting that aspect of Proposition 46, it is not the initiative’s most contentious provision.</p> <p>If approved by voters, it also would lift the ceiling on damages for pain and suffering caused by medical negligence, something that has been sought for decades by trial lawyers.</p>

Beyond The Airwaves, Prop. 46 Backers and Opponents Use Grassroots Tactics

October 21, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p>The battle over Proposition 46, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-pol-proposition46-20141021-story.html">the medical malpractice and drug testing initiative</a>, has led to a deluge of TV and radio ads, mostly from the opposition.</p> <p>But although the fight on the airwaves may be the most visible element of the campaign, both sides are also using grassroots tactics to get their message out.</p>

Debating Proposition 46: Medical-Malpractice Damages, Drug-Testing Docs

October 21, 2014  ·  Mark Reback

<p><a href="">Click here to listen to the audio of this radio broadcast</a>.</p> <p>A hotly contested ballot issue this November is Proposition 46 focusing on medical malpractice suits and doctor drug-testing, pushed forward by Robert and Carmen Pack. The couple's two children, Troy and Alana, were killed by an intoxicated driver who'd been prescribed a plethora of narcotics.</p>