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Tuesday, February 17, 2004A state senator is asking the Ohio Department of Insurance to launch an investigation into insurance company decisions to deny malpractice coverage to doctors who treat nursing home patients. State Sen. Robert F. Hagan, D-Youngstown, a member of the Health, Human Services and Aging Committee, said he was ``overwhelmed'' and ``troubled'' by a story in Sunday's Akron Beacon Journal that chronicled how doctors are being denied malpractice coverage until they agree to no longer treat nursing home patients. ``We are losing care for some of the most precious individuals in our lives, at the end of their lives when they really need that care the most,'' Hagan said Monday. .....In addition to asking the Department of Insurance to investigate, Hagan wants the Health, Human Services and Aging Committee to hold hearings, bringing individual insurance companies to the table to explain their policies for insuring doctors at nursing homes. ``If it's true that they're coercing doctors to leave nursing homes,'' he said, ``we need to take away their license to sell in this state, because they don't deserve it.'' Here's the problem. We only have five malpractice insurance companies writing policies in northeast Ohio. Only three of those have a financial rating of "A-" or higher, a prerequisite for doctors to maintain their hospital staff privileges. One of those three is planning to leave the market. That will leave two companies. Take away their license or their ability to maintain financial solvency in this state, and we'll be down to zero. We're headed that way as it is, but we'll just get there quicker with Senator Hagan's plan. posted by Sydney on 2/17/2004 07:48:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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