Hike in NY medical malpractice insurance rates approved

Local News

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.

comments powered by Disqus

July 3, 2007

Anonymous The Press Republican Tue Jul 03, 2007, 10:52 AM EDT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Regulators in New York approved a 14 percent increase in medical malpractice insurance rates on Monday and Gov. Eliot Spitzer formed a task force to find ways to rein in the high cost of the coverage.

The state Insurance Department said the latest rate hike was lower than insurance companies wanted and "is necessary to avoid further financial deterioration of the companies and perhaps an irreversible crisis in an already severely distressed market."

The task force that will report back to Spitzer by the end of the year will include state Health Commissioner Dr. Richard Daines and representatives of physician and hospital groups, the insurance industry, consumer groups, health plans, trial lawyers and state lawmakers.

"I am concerned that the increasing cost of medical liability insurance will drive some physicians out of the field and will discourage young people from entering the medical profession in the first place," Daines said.