Latest Maryland Headlines

All the headlines from our Maryland Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Md. Democrats Hit Redmer for HMO Rate Hike OK; Redmer Points to Legislators’ Approval of Tax

Jan 27 2005 // Maryland Democratic legislative leaders have castigated Insurance Commissioner Alfred Redmer for his blanket approval of a 2 percent increase in HMO premiums, saying he is playing politics with the issue to advance the...

MD. LAWMAKERS OVERRIDE VETO:

Jan 24 2005 // Insurance companies, claiming that the measure would have only minimal effect on insurance prices for doctors, got their wish as Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich (R) vetoed a reform bill passed earlier this month by lawmakers....

Tower Group Expanding to States Throughout East Coast, Including N.J., Conn., Mass. and Md.

Jan 18 2005 // Tower Group, Inc. announced that it entered into a stock purchase agreement today to acquire North American Lumber Insurance Company, a shell company with 17 state licenses, nine of which are active in the following...

New Md. Medical Liability Law, Upcoming Issues Reportedly Concerning Insurers

Jan 13 2005 // Although disappointed that the Maryland General Assembly chose to override Gov. Robert Ehrlich’s veto of a controversial medical liability reform bill, insurers are reportedly equally concerned about other challenges...

Maryland Lawmakers Override Veto of Med-Mal Bill

Jan 11 2005 // The Maryland House and Senate overrode Gov. Robert Ehrlich’s veto of medical malpractice bill that includes a 2 percent premium tax on HMOs.The $64 million estimated revenues from the tax in the first year will be...

Insurers Urge Veto of Maryland Med-Mal Measure

Jan 7 2005 // Insurance companies, claiming that the measure will have only minimal effect on insurance prices for doctors, are urging Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich (R) to veto a reform bill passed last week by lawmakers.The American...

Maryland Docs Urge Gov. Ehrlich to Sign Med-Mal Bill Despite Its Tort Shortcomings

Jan 5 2005 // Imploring lawmakers to follow the physician’s oath to “first, do no harm,” a coalition of doctors said that a medical malpractice reform bill passed last week should become law, despite the bill’s...

Maryland Hunts for Motives Behind State’s Largest Residential Arson

Jan 3 2005 // An arson that destroyed part of a Greenbelt, Maryland-area development with many black homeowners was “an effort to wipe out a community” and authorities are “very carefully investigating” whether...

INSURERS BACK MD. CLAIMS LAW:

Jan 3 2005 // The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America has filed an amicus brief before the Maryland Court of Appeals, urging the court to affirm a lower court decision upholding a law, in existence since 1872, that...

DEL. COURT WEIGHS CAREFIRST:

Jan 3 2005 // Health care insurer CareFirst has asked the Delaware Supreme Court to overturn an order that dissolved its affiliation with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware. CareFirst attorney Harding Drane Jr. maintained Insurance...

Maryland Lawmakers Agree on Med-Mal Bill But Governor Vows Veto Due to Tax Feature

Dec 31 2004 // The Maryland General Assembly, meeting into the early morning hours Thursday, approved a medical malpractice insurance reform package that Gov. Robert Ehrlich said he would veto because of a dispute over a tax on HMO...

Maryland Gov. Ehrlich’s Med-Mal Proposal Unveiled; Special Legislative Session Gets Underway Today

Dec 28 2004 // Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., on Dec. 22 provided Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael E. Busch a copy of the medical malpractice legislation that will be introduced during special...

Md. Gov. Ehrlich Calls Special Med-Mal Session But Details of Proposal Remain Unclear

Dec 22 2004 // Days after Gov. Robert Ehrlich announced he had reached an agreement with top legislative leaders to call a special session of the legislature to work on medical malpractice insurance reform, details of the agreement...

Md. to Hold Special Legislative Session on Med-Mal

Dec 20 2004 // Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich on Friday called for a special legislative session after Christmas to deal with the “most important issue in the state of Maryland” — medical malpractice insurance.The...

MD. SESSION ON MED-MAL UNLIKELY:

Dec 20 2004 // Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich’s failure to provide a source of funds needed to underwrite malpractice insurance premiums makes a special session of the legislature unlikely, according to Senate President Thomas V....

From Maine to Virginia … What Happened in 2004

Dec 20 2004 // Leaving aside the insurance brokerage compensation investigations, the World Trade Center trial, the St. Paul-Travelers merger and the UnumProvident settlement, all of which have their roots in this region but grew to...

NTSB Chairman to Speak at Md. Town Hall Meeting Focusing on Teen Driving Deaths

Dec 16 2004 // National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Ellen Engleman Conners will speak to Washington, D.C. area parents about teen driving safety at a town hall meeting on Thursday, Dec. 16, at 6 p.m.“In Maryland, teen...

Arson Suspected in Fires in Posh Md. Subdivision; FBI Also Looking into Possible Ecoterrorism

Dec 8 2004 // Investigators suspect arson in at least four of the fires that destroyed a dozen homes and burned several others in Indian Head, a posh Maryland subdivision under construction near a nature preserve, and the FBI said it...

Md. Special Session on Med-Mal Called Unlikely

Dec 8 2004 // Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich’s failure to provide a source of funds needed to underwrite malpractice insurance premiums makes a special session of the legislature unlikely, according to Senate President Thomas V....

Task Force X-Rays Maryland Medical Malpractice System

Dec 6 2004 // Having low risk doctors subsidize premiums for higher risk doctors, establishing state courts exclusively for health matters, abolishing the state’s arbitration office, licensing life care planners, restricting...