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Med Mal News
Insurers Test Payment Methods That Encourage Cheaper Treatments
The New York Times reports that United Healthcare and Aetna, two of the nation's major health insurers, are studying whether to change their policies to reward doctors for sticking with tried-and-true ' and often cheaper ' cancer treatments. Abelson, The New York Times, 10/20/10. The insurers' pilot programs will test whether different payment incentives discourage physicians from working up individualized treatment plans for patients. The thinking is that patients ' whose bills for cancer treatment are so high already that they often have nothing to lose and everything to gain from trying experimental treatments ' are pressuring doctors to go all out in treating their illnesses. Doctors, for their part, currently receive higher fees for ordering expensive treatments. Some feel the proposed changes to the way doctors are reimbursed will help patients by making it less likely that they will undergo unnecessary and painful treatments, while others fear doctors may gain an incentive to steer patients away from treatments that could prolong their lives. Potential malpractice liability for recommending one therapy over another would depend, as always, on questions of whether the therapy ordered met with the standard of care.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.