By TERRENCE STUTZ - The Dallas Morning News - Wednesday, May 21, 2008
AUSTIN – A state commission, citing the fact that four out of five insured Texans now receive health care through preferred provider organizations, urged the Legislature on Wednesday to protect consumers by placing all PPOs under state regulation for the first time.
The staff of the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission said the lack of state authority over PPOs is "outdated" in the current health care environment and may result in harm to a large number of consumers if the situation remains unchanged.
A report from the commission on the Texas Department of Insurance called for the state agency to begin licensing of all PPOs in the state similar to the way HMOs are now regulated. The commission periodically evaluates all state agencies for effectiveness and recommends changes to the Legislature.
In addition, the Sunset Commission staff recommended that the Office of Public Insurance Counsel – a state agency that represents insurance consumers – be abolished and its employees and duties into the shifted into the insurance department.
It also called for changes in state regulation of auto and home insurance rates that Sunset Commission staffers said would improve the current system for setting rates. Under the current system, called "file-and-use," insurers can put rate hikes into effect immediately after notifying the state Insurance Department.
The insurance commissioner has authority deem rate increases as excessive and to deny them, but in recent years that authority mainly has been used against the largest companies in the state.
Showing posts with label malpractice insurance rates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label malpractice insurance rates. Show all posts
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Monday, July 16, 2007
Lawsuit limits lure doctors to Texas, creating backlog
Associated Press - Tuesday, July 10, 2007
AUSTIN - An influx of doctors lured to Texas by new limits on malpractice lawsuits has overwhelmed the state board that screens candidates for medical licenses, creating a backlog that forces many applicants to wait months before they can start seeing patients.
Officials said many of the relocating physicians are filling shortages in areas such as Beaumont, where trauma patients previously had to be flown other cities because there weren't enough surgeons to treat them.
But Austin psychiatrist Dr. James Kreisle Jr. said he fears the Texas Medical Board's backlog could prompt some physicians to rethink their decision to move.
Kreisle and his colleagues have been waiting since the fall for two psychiatrists from South Carolina and Georgia to get licensed in Texas so they can join their practice. In the meantime, patients are being forced to wait three weeks for appointments.
The board received 4,000 applications for medical licenses in 2006, up from 2,992 the previous year. Spokeswoman Jill Wiggins said the board expects to approve 2,750 new licenses this year, 235 more than last year. There is a backlog of more than 2,398 applications.
Lawmakers approved $1.2 million to hire six more employees to process applications more quickly. The board has also hired temporary workers and is paying staffers overtime, but they still can't keep up, Wiggins said.
"The pipeline is just clogged," she said.
Approving an application for a medical license involves verifying the doctor's medical education, doing a criminal background check and other steps. In 2003, it took 45 days to approve the most complex applications and 20 days to approve the simplest.
Data provided by the board shows it is now taking the agency more than six months to process the most complicated applications, including those that come from out-of-state doctors or veteran doctors who have long histories to be checked. The simplest applications are taking about 41 days to approve.
Wiggins estimated it will take "a little over a year" before the agency's new staffers can bring the applications backlog under control.
"You're turning a battleship around," she said.
Several doctors who moved to Texas from other states said they were drawn by lower malpractice insurance rates.
read more
AUSTIN - An influx of doctors lured to Texas by new limits on malpractice lawsuits has overwhelmed the state board that screens candidates for medical licenses, creating a backlog that forces many applicants to wait months before they can start seeing patients.
Officials said many of the relocating physicians are filling shortages in areas such as Beaumont, where trauma patients previously had to be flown other cities because there weren't enough surgeons to treat them.
But Austin psychiatrist Dr. James Kreisle Jr. said he fears the Texas Medical Board's backlog could prompt some physicians to rethink their decision to move.
Kreisle and his colleagues have been waiting since the fall for two psychiatrists from South Carolina and Georgia to get licensed in Texas so they can join their practice. In the meantime, patients are being forced to wait three weeks for appointments.
The board received 4,000 applications for medical licenses in 2006, up from 2,992 the previous year. Spokeswoman Jill Wiggins said the board expects to approve 2,750 new licenses this year, 235 more than last year. There is a backlog of more than 2,398 applications.
Lawmakers approved $1.2 million to hire six more employees to process applications more quickly. The board has also hired temporary workers and is paying staffers overtime, but they still can't keep up, Wiggins said.
"The pipeline is just clogged," she said.
Approving an application for a medical license involves verifying the doctor's medical education, doing a criminal background check and other steps. In 2003, it took 45 days to approve the most complex applications and 20 days to approve the simplest.
Data provided by the board shows it is now taking the agency more than six months to process the most complicated applications, including those that come from out-of-state doctors or veteran doctors who have long histories to be checked. The simplest applications are taking about 41 days to approve.
Wiggins estimated it will take "a little over a year" before the agency's new staffers can bring the applications backlog under control.
"You're turning a battleship around," she said.
Several doctors who moved to Texas from other states said they were drawn by lower malpractice insurance rates.
read more
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