Everything is going up but your payments

By Robert C. Fine, JD, CAE; Robert Jasak, JD; and Matthew Twetten Orthopaedists face 11+ percent Medicare payment cut Orthopaedists are facing possible across-the-board Medicare payment cuts of more than 11 percent, starting in January 2008. Physicians in other specialties are facing similar payment cuts. If these cuts take place, they will be among the largest since the “resource-based” Medicare physician payment system started in 1992.

DTCA: Improving patient education or simply increasing pharmaceutical profits?

Sharat K. Kusuma, MD; Ryan M. Nunley, MD; Samir Mehta, MD; James W. Genuario, MD; Jeanie Kennedy; the Washington Health Policy Fellows

Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) in the healthcare arena generally refers to marketing activity conducted by a producer or provider of a drug, medical device, or medical service that bypasses physicians and other healthcare professionals and focuses on the actual recipient (the patient or “consumer”). Until recently, pharmaceutical companies directed marketing efforts to the prescribers of their products, such as physicians and other healthcare professionals.

Where do they stand on health care?

By Annie Hayashi, Jennie McKee, Peter Pollack, and Carolyn Rogers Democrats and Republicans square off in race for White House In the second in a series of reports on presidential candidates and their stances on issues of importance to orthopaedic surgeons, AAOS Now examines the proposals for reforming the current healthcare system put forth by former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark.; Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio; Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas; and Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M.

Maryland court upholds self-referral decision

On Oct. 16, 2007, the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland upheld a decision of the Maryland Board of Physicians (Board) prohibiting a physician from referring patients for tests on a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine that is owned or leased by the physician. The litigation began in 2006 when the Board interpreted a 1993 statute (known as the Maryland Self-Referral Law) to prohibit this type of MRI referral.

Florida reforms on track to drive competition

Starr McCaffery

Report documents ED exposure risk Since Florida passed medical liability legislative reforms in 2003, the medical liability insurance environment is continuing to improve, according to a recent report from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. The report specifically documents a net decline in medical malpractice rates for the primary market, which includes physicians and surgeons. Although the report notes that rates for all companies in Florida had a net decrease of 3.