Posted by Benji Riggins on February 14, 2010 under Safety | 
North Carolina residents now have online access to information on malpractice lawsuits, convictions, suspensions, or other disciplinary actions taken against physicians and other medical professionals in the state.
The North Carolina Medical Board has expanded its Web site to include the data on the 35,000 licensed physicians and physician assistants it licenses and regulates.
The information includes malpractice suits that have been settled or lost since May 2008. The General Assembly established that cutoff date after medical providers, insurers and defense lawyers objected to posting older malpractice data.
The Web site www.ncmedboard.org allows consumers to search by a doctor’s name or by city.
The board has maintained a searchable database of information regarding its licensees’ education, training and professional background for several years. Those listings included board certifications and disciplinary history, if any, with the state medical board.
But a recent change in North Carolina law authorized the board to expand this information to include the malpractice liability payment information and additional details including final suspensions or revocations of hospital privileges; final disciplinary orders or actions of any regulatory board or agency; felony convictions; and misdemeanor convictions involving offenses against a person, offenses of moral turpitude, offenses involving the use of drugs or alcohol and violations of public health and safety codes.
Licensees are required to report this information to the board under state law.
Posted by Benji Riggins on January 4, 2010 under Interesting Info |
HANDBOOK 2010
Health :
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009 .
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.
Personality :
11. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don’t over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree….
Society :
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything..
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
Life :
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. Our Higher Power heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank your Higher Power for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.
Last but not the least :
40. Please Forward this to everyone you care about, I just did..
Posted by Benji Riggins on June 30, 2009 under Insurance News |
North Carolina legislators started grappling last week with how to beef up the state-created but underfunded insurance program for coastal property, and immediately confronted the possibility that all of the state’s insured property owners could pay more after a catastrophic hurricane season.
Legislation at fixing the Beach Plan was introduced in the House Insurance Committee, which will take it up again this week. The bill’s balancing act includes a proposal to cap insurers’ risks from a catastrophe and shift remaining rebuilding costs to all North Carolina policyholders.
There is now no limit on the price tag insurers could face, and several have warned they would scale back their business or quit North Carolina altogether without a cap on their liability. That could limit competition for consumers, Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin said.
“I have no choice but to believe some of what the insurance companies say is true,” Goodwin said. “This is not a perfect bill, but it has protections for consumers.”
The Beach Plan was created in 1969 as the insurer of last resort. But it has ballooned as insurance companies raised rates in storm-prone coastal areas after Hurricane Andrew in 1993 and politicians extended coverage to more people. The Beach Plan now insures 170,000 properties valued at nearly $74 billion. But it has the resources to cover just a fraction of that.
The bill would allow every property insurance policy’s annual premium to rise by up to 10 percent if the Beach Plan’s claims surpassed about $2.4 billion in available assets, reinsurance and additional charges assessed on property insurance companies doing business in the state.
Each insurer could be forced to pay for claims on Beach Plan policies under regulations thats allow them to do business in North Carolina. The assessments would be besides paying off their own policy holders who suffered damage from storms.
The statewide surcharge could mean up to an extra $65 a year for the average annual homeowners premium of about $650, the state Insurance Department said. North Carolina’s homeowners insurance premiums have been among the country’s lowest, with the state ranking 35th in 2006, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
Insurance industry lobbyist John McMillan said the statewide surcharge would only kick in if the Beach Plan’s losses topped $2.4 billion.
“When you get calls about the possibility of surcharges in the western part of the state, it is very, very remote,” McMillan said.
In comparison Hurricane Hazel, the monster 1954 storm that set the standard for damage in North Carolina, would have cost more than $6 billion in current dollars, Insurance Department lobbyist Rose Vaughn Williams said.
The measure also would:
- Change the program’s name from Beach Plan to Coastal Property Insurance Pool, which is described as the insurance market of last resort for coastal properties.
- Make sure wind and hail coverage through the pool would always be 10 percent more expensive than the rate the state allows companies to charge. The pool’s surcharge for homeowner’s insurance that includes wind and hail coverage would be 20 percent.
- No longer distribute back to insurance companies surpluses accumulated during times the Beach Plan did not have to pay claims.
- Cut the maximum coverage on residential properties the pool would insure from $1.5 million to $750,000. The portion of a property’s value that exceeds $750,000 would have to be insured through a costlier excess and surplus coverage. The pool would not insure the first $750,000 until the excess coverage was lined up.
- Direct the pool’s wind and hail policies to include a deductible of at least 1 percent, which means the owner of a $300,000 home would have to pay at least the first $3,000 in damage out of pocket in the event of hurricane damage.
- Allow pool policies to be paid on an installment plan.
- List the types of damage-reducing construction features or improvements that policyholders can adopt in return for credits on their policy.
- Let the insurance commissioner forgive an insurer’s assessments to the pool if the commissioner thought it would put the company into danger of insolvency.
Posted by Benji Riggins on June 26, 2009 under Safety |
Young motorboat drivers in North Carolina would be required to meet minimum boating safety education requirements in legislation approved by the House.
The bill approved this week would obligate people under age 26 to complete an approved boating safety course or pass a test to operate a boat with a motor of at least ten horsepower.
There are many exceptions, including those who operate in state waters for less than 90 days, commercial fishermen and someone who is renting a boat.
Violators would face no monetary penalty except for court costs.
Supporters say the requirement hopefully will prevent accidents on the state’s waterways.
The bill now returns to the Senate, which must decide whether to accept the House changes.
