CMIC Group Announces Appointment of Edmund Schiavoni, MD, to CMIC Board

November 20, 2019 by matray

CMIC Group announced that Edmund Schiavoni, MD, has joined the CMIC Board of Directors. Since 2014, Schiavoni has served on the CMIC RRG Board of Directors and was elected president and chairman of the CMIC RRG Board in 2017.

Schiavoni received his medical degree from the Georgetown University and has practiced primary care internal medicine for more than 25 years. He is the president of Southern New Hampshire Internal Medicine Associates, a physician-owned practice with three locations and 22 providers. He has previously held many hospital leadership roles including chief of medicine, chair of credentials and chair of the Board of Trustees. Schiavoni currently serves on the Board of Directors of Village MD of New Hampshire, a partnership focused on enhancing the role of primary care practices in a value-based healthcare environment.

“We are pleased to have Dr. Schiavoni expand his role to the CMIC Board of Directors,” said Stephen J. Gallant, chief executive officer of CMIC Group. “He has been a great asset to the CMIC RRG Board and we look forward to his contributions on the CMIC Board as well.”

ACS NSQIP recognizes 88 participating hospitals for achieving meritorious surgical patient care outcomes

November 11, 2019 by matray

The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) has recognized 88 of an eligible 592 hospitals participating in the adult program for achieving meritorious outcomes for surgical patient care in 2018. ACS NSQIP participating hospitals are required to track the outcomes of inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures; these outcomes are then analyzed by ACS and reported back to hospitals. These results direct patient safety initiatives within the hospital and impact the quality of surgical care.

  The ACS NSQIP recognition program commends a select group of hospitals for achieving a meritorious composite score in either an “All Cases” category or a category which includes only “High Risk” cases. Each composite score was determined through a different weighted formula combining eight outcomes. Outcomes in the following eight clinical areas were evaluated:

• Mortality


• Cardiac: cardiac arrest and myocardial infarction


• Pneumonia


• Unplanned Intubation


• Ventilator > 48 hours


• Renal Failure


• SSI: superficial incisional SSI, deep incisional SSI, and organ/space SSI


• UTI: urinary tract infection

  To be eligible for either list, the hospital must have submitted at least one case in each of the calendar years, 2016, 2017, and 2018, though only performance in calendar year 2018 was evaluated for the 2018 meritorious lists. Five hundred and ninety-two of the 722 NSQIP hospitals participating in 2018 met the 3-year criteria to be eligible for Meritorious consideration.

The 88 hospitals achieved the distinction based on an outstanding composite quality score. Risk-adjusted data from the July 2019 ACS NSQIP Semiannual Report, which presents data from the 2018 calendar year, were used to determine which hospitals demonstrated meritorious outcomes. Seventy-two hospitals were recognized on the “All Cases” list and 72 hospitals were recognized on the “High Risk” list; the 72 hospitals represent ten percent of the 722 calendar-year 2018 ACS NSQIP hospitals. Fifty-six hospitals were recognized on both the “All Cases” and “High Risk” lists, 16 other hospitals were on just the “All Cases” list, and 16 other hospitals were on the “High Risk” list only – yielding 88 hospitals in total.  These meritorious hospitals are also eligible to display these achievements amongst their staff and within their institutions.

A listing of the recognized hospitals is available here.

ACS NSQIP is the only nationally validated quality improvement program that measures and enhances the care of surgical patients. This program measures the actual surgical results 30 days postoperatively as well as risk adjusts patient characteristics to compensate for differences among patient populations and acuity levels. The goal of ACS NSQIP is to reduce surgical morbidity (infection or illness related to a surgical procedure) and surgical mortality (death related to a surgical procedure) and to provide a firm foundation for surgeons to apply what is known as the “best scientific evidence” to the practice of surgery. Furthermore, when adverse effects from surgical procedures are reduced and/or eliminated, a reduction in health care costs follows. ACS NSQIP is a major program of the ACS and is currently used in nearly 850 adult or pediatric hospitals.  

Hub International Acquires Certain Assets of California-Based Newsura Insurance Services, Inc.

November 5, 2019 by matray

Hub International Limited announced today that it has acquired the medical professional liability and associated property and casualty lines of insurance brokerage business of Newsura Insurance Services, Inc. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Located in Roseville, Calif., Newsura provides insurance and risk management services to the healthcare industry, specializing in medical professional liability insurance for medical groups. Its focus on the healthcare industry supports Hub's Specialty Practices by complementing and strengthening Hub's existing capabilities. Newsura vice president-Healthcare Industry, David Hulsebus, will join Hub California as part of the transaction.

CMIC Group Announces Appointment of Scott Serels, MD, to CMIC Board

October 29, 2019 by matray

CMIC Group announced that Scott Serels, MD, has joined the CMIC Board of Directors.

Serels received his medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine where he was also the recipient of the Samuel Soifer Memorial Award. He completed his urologic residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center in New York. During his residency, he also studied at both Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital for Urologic Oncology and at the University of California, Los Angeles, for Urogynecology. Serels currently practices at Urology Associates of Norwalk and is chief of urogynecology at Norwalk Hospital.

“Dr. Serels is a highly skilled medical professional with extensive experience,” said Stephen J. Gallant, CMIC Group chief executive officer. “He will bring a unique perspective to the Board as well as the Company. We are very pleased to have someone of his caliber joining the CMIC Board.”

Correction

October 22, 2019 by matray

In its 2019 Annual Rate Survey issue (MLM, October 2019), Medical Liability Monitor published incorrect 2018 rate data for Physicians’ Reciprocal Insurers (PRI) in New York.

While the 2019 mature, base-rate premiums were correct, the company's published “percentage of change” between years was distorted by the 2018 rates.

Between 2018 and 2019, there was no change in rates in any PRI territory for Internal Medicine and General Surgery. There was a 5-percent decrease between 2018 and 2019 in all PRI territories for OB/Gyn.

For greater detail, CLICK HERE

AM Best Downgrades Credit Ratings of Members of Kansas Medical Mutual Group

October 17, 2019 by matray

AM Best has downgraded the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) to B++ (Good) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICRs) to “bbb+” from “a-” of Kansas Medical Mutual Insurance Company, and its subsidiary, KAMMCO Casualty Company, Inc. These companies are referred to collectively as Kansas Medical Mutual Group (the group). The outlook of the FSR has been revised to stable from negative, while the outlook of the Long-Term ICRs remains negative. Both companies are domiciled in Topeka, KS.

The ratings reflect the group’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as very strong, as well as its marginal operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).

The rating downgrades reflect the change in the company’s operating performance assessment to marginal from adequate. Although the group produced strong earnings historically, results in recent years have been far less favorable, driven largely by underwriting losses and below average investment returns. As a result, the group’s profitability metrics are significantly below the medical professional liability (MPL) composite averages in each of the past five years. The disparity between recent and historical earnings further amplifies the group’s concentration risk in MPL lines, primarily in Kansas. Recent changes in Kansas law, which redefined who is a covered medical professional under the group’s policies, contributed to an increase in claims in 2017, although down slightly in 2018. A recent judicial ruling that resulted in the removal of non-economic damage caps in Kansas also is causing headwinds for the group, and subsequently, reserves are being recalculated, as increased litigation is expected. Compounding this has been the decline in written premium over the past five years and decrease in net investment income from the low interest rate environment.

The negative outlook of the Long-Term ICRs reflects the pressure being placed on the group’s overall ERM from continued adverse underwriting results and lack of demonstrated effective actions to control and mitigate the operating performance declines in recent years, as well as the significant challenges and uncertainties management is facing associated with the MPL industry in Kansas and the recent judicial ruling that could impact the group negatively. The revised FSR outlook to stable reflects the group’s very strong balance sheet.

Constellation Announces Strategic Collaboration With Baldrige Organization

October 10, 2019 by matray

Constellation announced a strategic collaboration with the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, the Baldrige Foundation and the Alliance for Performance Excellence, which have a common mission of defining, recognizing and fostering excellence in healthcare, education, business, government and nonprofits. Since 1988, the Baldrige Award, which carries the presidential seal, has been the highest recognition in the nation for excellence across the critical performance areas of the Baldrige criteria found in the Baldrige Excellence Framework.

“As a medical profession liability (MPL) insurance company, we have achieved an industry milestone in our collaboration with Baldrige. It’s a way for Constellation to incorporate Baldrige standards of quality and excellence in what we do,” said Vince Gallucci, Constellation head of national programs and client relations. “Specifically, it embraces our own Constellation Aligned Performance Initiative (CAPI), which is a way we partner with our healthcare and senior living clients to acknowledge and advance their performance metrics. CAPI’s proprietary scoring system enables us to identify our clients’ performance results, as indicated by their scorecard or dashboard and — more importantly — to reward those results using premium adjustments, gain-sharing arrangements, multi-year rate locks and expert support for risk management programs.

“A Baldrige award recipient has demonstrated sustained high performance against the Baldrige criteria, which makes them a client we seek. And we are equally interested in the many healthcare organizations who have embraced performance excellence and are committed to delivering the highest-quality care in the communities they serve. Healthcare has placed a significant emphasis on measuring results and those results, we believe, are critical in determining risk.”

The collaboration breaks new ground for Baldrige as well.

“This is the first time we have been invited into the medical professional liability space in healthcare, and Constellation’s vision is extremely exciting for us as a partner as it allows us to advance our mission of expanding performance excellence across the U.S.,” said Brian Lassiter, chair of the Alliance for Performance Excellence (the consortium of 29 state, regional and sector Baldrige-based programs).

“We admire Vince and the Constellation team for seeing the potential in joining forces to increase the impact of our efforts to achieve better healthcare for all Americans, and for proposing novel ways of extending our reach. They are true pioneers in the medical professional liability market,” said Al Faber, President and CEO of the Baldrige Foundation.

Under the arrangement, Constellation member insurance companies MMIC, UMIA and Arkansas Mutual will reach out to Baldrige healthcare organizations to share the CAPI strategy with them for their business consideration and review. Ultimately, the goal of the collaboration is to help healthcare organizations reduce risk and improve clinical and nonclinical outcomes.

AM Best Removes From Under Review with Negative Implications and Downgrades Credit Ratings of CMIC Group’s Members

October 10, 2019 by matray

AM Best has removed from under review with negative implications and downgraded the Financial Strength Rating to B++ (Good) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings to “bbb+” from “a-” of Connecticut Medical Insurance Company (Glastonbury, CT) and its sponsored risk retention group company, CMIC Risk Retention Group (District of Columbia). These companies are referred to collectively as CMIC Group (the group). The outlook assigned to these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect the group’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as strongest, as well as its marginal operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The ratings were placed under review earlier this year in consideration of various strategic initiatives to be implemented by management aimed at improving operating performance. After conducting internal analysis, management decided not to pursue some of the proposed initiatives, largely as a result of costs versus the long-term benefit of such actions.

The ratings downgrade reflects a revision in AM Best’s view of the group’s operating performance from adequate to marginal. Underwriting losses (after policyholder dividends) have been generated since 2014, primarily due to increased claims severity, diminishing reserve redundancies and a declining premium base.

While the 10-year average underwriting and overall performance ratios compare favorably with the medical professional liability (MPL) composite, the more recent five-year ratios compare unfavorably to the MPL composite. Management has significantly reduced policy limits, implemented rate increases and revised underwriting guidelines in an attempt to improve results, which will take time to become evident due to the long-tailed nature of MPL insurance. In addition, management continues to analyze further options to improve operating performance.

ISMIE Mutual Launches Affinity Program for Association of Independent Doctors with New Discount

October 7, 2019 by matray

ISMIE Mutual Insurance Co. announced a new affinity program partnership with the Association of Independent Doctors (AID). This national program is open to all AID members in good standing. When they choose ISMIE for their medical liability coverage, AID members receive a 10-percent premium discount and gain access to ISMIE's risk management services and other benefits.

Based upon individual underwriting, AID members will also be eligible for additional premium discounts. To establish this program, AID collaborated with ISMIE-Endorsed broker, HUB International.

“This new partnership aligns perfectly with ISMIE’s expansion plan given ISMIE's history as a physician-founded insurer,” said ISMIE chairman Paul H. DeHaan, MD. “ISMIE understands what drives AID members and looks forward to standing with them as an ally as they care for patients.”

“We had been looking to partner with a national medical liability insurance company that shared our values and mission,” said Marni Jameson Carey, AID's executive director. “ISMIE is a perfect fit for AID as it is a highly respected, reliable carrier that can write medical professional liability insurance in all 50 states, and is committed to protecting doctors. By helping independent doctors' bottom lines, we help them survive in a challenging market.”

Global brokerage firm HUB International is also part of the new alliance. Its nationwide team of agents will work to process applications for AID members seeking the discount benefit. The program, which had a soft launch in August, is, as of this week, available to all AID members nationwide.

“We truly support the philosophy and mission of AID as an association,” said Daniel Nissi, HUB’s chief marketing officer, HUB Healthcare. “We have a great rapport with ISMIE and feel they offer the experience, knowledge and bandwidth to make this medical professional liability program successful.”

AID members can access the ISMIE affinity program through all ISMIE-appointed brokers, including program administrator HUB International. AID members can find information and request a quote at www.ismie.com/AID.

Acadia Professional Acquires Toro Risk Consulting Group

October 4, 2019 by matray

Acadia Professional, a medical professional liability insurance agency, announced the acquisition of Toro Risk Consulting Group, a healthcare consulting firm that primarily works with emerging companies to support providers in value-based care programs.

“Traditional medical malpractice risk can no longer be viewed in a silo. Toro brings a deeper understanding of value-based care and new market access that allows us to better position our clients from a risk perspective,” said Scott Parker, Acadia president.

“Toro is both a business and a cultural fit for Acadia,” said Henry Kane, Acadia co-founder. “The synergies position Acadia to deliver more expertise and resources to our clients who want to be ahead of value-based reimbursement programs.”

“We have long understood the need to align the risk providers take in value-based care programs with professional liability risk. With the acquisition of Toro, Acadia is now able to expand its portfolio to help clients leverage the transition to a value-based care system," said Brian Kern, who was the founder and managing member of Toro Risk, now a partner at Acadia.

Effective immediately, Toro Risk Consulting Group will move its office to Acadia's Headquarters in Morristown, N.J.