Medical Care

Why do some people get sicker and die sooner than others? The answer involves more than our genes, behaviors and medical care, according to a new study by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and the advocacy group Equity Inc. It turns out that where we live is often the strongest predictor of our well-being, and that disparities along racial and class lines in health outcomes and access to care mirror the inequities in every other aspect...

The recent article about the large amount of settlements in malpractice claims reveals the inequities in the medical system and how the trial lawyers continue to be getting favorable treatment while the actual delivery of medical care is controlled ("Doctors, hospitals concerned about hefty malpractice awards," Aug. 4). The Sun article highlights that since 2011 there has been $890 million in settlements paid out. Keep in mind that the trail lawyers receive anywhere from 25-to-33 percent of the settlement.

If anyone in Baltimore City or Prince George's County needs medical care, they'd better hope that contributory negligence stands ("Soccer field accident could remake 150 years of Md. injury law," Sept. 18). Baltimore has the nation's worst physician pay, and liability costs in these venues are twice that of the rest of Maryland. Without contributory negligence, a patient could hit himself in the head with a hammer in the waiting room and sue the doctor for head injury. Injury lawyers don't care in the slightest about access to medical care, they want all of us to pay for their ever bigger yachts with higher liability costs.

The O'Malley administration kicked off an effort to bring medical services to disadvantaged neighborhoods Thursday by designating the state's first five "health enterprise zones" created under a law passed last year. Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, who led the administration's efforts to launch the $4 million-a-year pilot project, said the five zones will be located in West Baltimore, Annapolis, Capitol Heights (Prince George's County), Greater Lexington Park (St. Mary's County) and Dorchester-Caroline counties.

SOMEDAY I may have to commit a crime. I don't believe I have an inherently criminal nature. I don't have a drug habit (nicotine excepted), and I don't need more money than I can earn. No, I'll become a criminal if I get sick. Without medical benefits, it may be the only way for me to get treatment.I will choose my crime carefully; I don't want to spend much time in the City Jail, even though one of my neighbors, a man familiar with the accommodations, says, "Every American should spend a few days there, just to see what it's like."

Three of every 10 children in the U.S. rely for their health needs on Medicaid, the single largest health insurer of children. Access to Medicaid not only ensures that 30 million children receive adequate medical care and preventive services, but also benefits society. Because of Medicaid, low-income families are protected from burdensome medical expenses. Children with Medicaid are more likely to receive timely and appropriate medical care than uninsured children, saving the entire health care system money.

A Tennessee-based company that has provided medical services to most of Maryland's prisons for the past five years announced yesterday that it failed to win a new contract for inmate medical care potentially worth tens of millions of dollars. America Service Group Inc. of Brentwood, Tenn., said in a statement that it had not yet received formal notification from Maryland officials that its subsidiary - Prison Health Services Inc. - lost the state's business in a bidding process that began last fall.

Hospital chain buys surgery centerColumbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. yesterday agreed to buy surgery center operator Medical Care America Inc. for approximately $1.1 billion in stock and assumed debt, in another step in the rapid consolidation of the medical care industry.The proposed merger expands the reach of Louisville, Ky.-based Columbia/HCA, already the nation's biggest hospital chain, by adding 96 outpatient centers.Medical Care America shareholders will receive Columbia/HCA shares worth approximately $30 for each Medical Care share, according to a formula based on the value of Columbia's share price.

A for-profit company the state brought in to provide medical care to Maryland prison inmates has hired far fewer staff than required, and advocates for prisoners say that they have compiled dozens of cases of poor and inadequate care since the new contract took effect July 1. St. Louis-based Correctional Medical Services Inc. serves as primary medical care provider for Maryland's 27,000 prisoners and is required under its contract to have 603 full-time staff....

WASHINGTON -- Nonwhite Americans are twice as likely to lack health insurance as whites, and almost one-third of them say they have little or no choice of where they receive medical care, according to a study released yesterday.The survey by the Commonwealth Fund, a national philanthropy group involved in health and social policy research, also found that nonwhite adults were 50 percent more likely than white adults to report problems paying for medical care.The survey was released as Congress is considering cuts in Medicaid for the poor as part of its drive to cut the federal budget deficit.