By Michael Sacopulos, Esq, Jeff Segal

People don't like uncertainty. Sociologists teach us that structural ambiguity motivates individuals to seek security and certainty. Well, it's difficult to imagine an industry with a more uncertain future than healthcare. Congress passes laws and regulations by the ream. Third party payers behave more and more like slot machines in the Las Vegas Airport. Patients misinterpret the complexity of medical care by Google searches. What a mess... Who won't want to hit the Staples "Easy Button?"

By Edward Kuhn

Physicians today are required to be sophisticated buyers of liability insurance. Risk lies more as a function of what you do as a specialty and less for how well you perform. Your specialty is the main factor in determining your annual premium. A physician can be the best OB/GYN in the world, but the fact that OB/GYN as a risky specialty class and the annual premium is rated to reflect the risk.

By Jeff Segal

Pause for a second, stop reading this article and close your eyes. Imagine living life as one of the 1.3 million blind people in the United States. Think about how you would access information exchanged over the Internet. For 60-year old New York resident Mindy Jacobsen, this is her reality. She has been blind since birth.

Thanks to the American for Disabilities Act ("ADA") it is easier for Mindy to navigate around New York City. She can walk sidewalk to sidewalk, hop on a train and live a fully functional life, except when it comes to navigating through the internet.

By Brian S. Kern, JD

Uncertainty surrounding the future of healthcare has led many physicians to consider merging with other practices or joining a healthcare system. While there may be significant benefits, these decisions should not be rushed, and require considerable due diligence. One of the most important issues for physicians in any transaction continues to be professional liability insurance.

By Jeff Segal

Snail mail is becoming less popular as the calendar pages turn. E-mail and social media networks have changed how we communicate. Before clicking the send button in an e-mail template, healthcare professionals should better understand that HIPAA violations have also entered a new era. More cases are prosecuted with assessment of both statutory civil fines and criminal penalties.

By Jeff Segal

I speak to doctors day in and day out. Many are still scratching their heads. Some have smoke fuming from their ears.

By Brian S. Kern, JD

Following the crash of the traditional medical malpractice insurance market at the turn of the last century, the alternative risk market - in particular a model referred to as a risk retention group (“RRG”) - has enjoyed unprecedented popularity. Now that the traditional market has rebounded, the value of many RRGs has been called into question. Promises ranging from ownership or control convince some physicians and administrators to entertain RRGs, but since so few have strong financial backing, they should first understand the full scope of potential risk factors before signing on.

By David B. Mandell, JD, MBA, Jason O'Dell, CWM

As consultants to hundreds of physicians, we encounter many misconceptions about asset protection planning everyday. In this article, we will address the most important of all misconceptions regarding asset protection: that this area of planning is not important. The thinking of many physicians around the country, and unfortunately their advisors as well, is that there is little to any risk of a physician losing their personal assets in a malpractice claim, especially if there is $1-3 million malpractice insurance coverage.

By Tammy Bogner, Brian Layman, David B. Mandell, JD, MBA

By Christopher R. Jarvis, MBA, David B. Mandell, JD, MBA

As medical reimbursements continue to shrink and threats of continued healthcare reform loom, a very popular question we receive at conferences and in consults with high income practices is, “Would owning part of a Small Insurance Company help me and my practice become more financially efficient?” If your practice currently generates over $3,000,000 of revenues and you would like to take advantage of opportunities to improve the financial success you realize from your hard work without having to see any more patients, then this article may prove to be very valuable information for you.