The prospect of securing universal coverage is certainly much closer as a result of the recent legislation signed by Governor Romney. That objective is intended to reduce the aggregate social cost of uninsured residents by spreading the costs throughout the insurance pool and requiring essentially all of us to be members of the pool. Yet, this program adds new members to a claims process that is already not working economically. Even though the law has been signed, it still deserves clear definition on the roles and responsibilities that providers and insurers will have in getting even more claims processed economically. The new onslaught of medical claims, combined with the necessity for new reporting and regulatory mechanisms, should make all providers take a long, hard look at the utility of further streamlining the claims process. Hospitals and other providers should want to ensure that the new legislation will actually enhance, and not further reduce, their bottom lines.

Insurers’ representations of coverage may not mean much

If you are a physician or other health care provider who routinely relies on authorization numbers from health insurers as guarantees of payment, you may want to think again.

With three new associates, Sara Hirshon, Natalie Sawyer, and Margaret “Maggie” Carleen, Hanify & King continues to ensure that its clients receive top quality legal services with an expanding base of highly-qualified young attorneys.

There is a copycat phenomenon in litigation which I have observed over the years. If one particular type of litigation has been overwhelmingly successful, the proven model is converted to use in other fields.

Attorneys Harold Murphy, Charles Bennett, Jr., Ethan Jeffery and Andy Lizotte of Hanify & King’s Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Practice have been recognized by nationwide legal publication Chambers USA for their work on high-profile cases across the New England region. Chambers USA ranked Hanify & King, P.C. #1 for 2006, and highlighted the firm as a “premier boutique renowned for its debtor work and success with solving a vast range of insolvency matters”.