Advisen FPN

NY AG accuses hospitals of kickbacks, fraud	Management Liability
ALBANY, N.Y._Seven New York state hospitals are facing lawsuits accusing them, in some cases, of rounding up the homeless or paying kickbacks to get more inpatient detox patients into their drug treatment beds, and lacking certification for detox services.

It's the law: California patients can have an interpreter at their side	Healthcare
Jan. 3--Millions of Californians with limited English proficiency now have the right to an interpreter from their commercial health and dental plans -- made possible by a first-in-the-nation law aimed at dismantling the language barriers that get in the way of good medicine.

LONGER MATERNITY LEAVE RESULTS IN FEWER C-SECTIONS AND INCREASED BREASTFEEDING	Healthcare
Report from Asian News International brought to you by HT Syndication. Washington, Jan.

Study findings on health and medicine are outlined in reports from P.S. Chan and colleagues	Healthcare
2009 JAN 5 - -- According to a study from the United States, "Context Rapid response teams have been shown in adult inpatients to decrease cardiopulmonary arrest rates outside of the intensive care unit .

Reports outline obesity study findings from Seton Hall University, Department of Surgery	Healthcare
2009 JAN 10 - -- A report, '23-hour stay outcomes for laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in a small, teaching community hospital,' is newly published data in The American Surgeon .

M&A Activity Expected to Rise in 2009 as Japan Emerges as Most Active Market	Mergers & Acquisitions
Global merger and acquisition activities in the insurance sector reached $108 billion in 2008, down 17% from the previous year, according to global deal tracking firm Dealogic.

Recession Pushes U.K. And U.S. Economic Risk to Same Level as Brazil	Business & Economy
The ongoing credit crunch, which is pulling much of the world into the depths of recession, has undermined economic risk levels in both the United Kingdom and the United States, according to London-based broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson. This time last year the U.K.

Justices' Ruling in Discrimination Case May Draw Quick Action by Obama	Management Liability
President-elect Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress are planning swift action to overturn a Supreme Court decision that made it much harder for people to challenge discrimination in employment, education, housing and other fields. The decision, involving a woman named Lilly M.

US govt to NY judge: Jail Madoff without bail	Management Liability
NEW YORK_A prosecutor on Monday asked that Bernard Madoff be jailed pending trial, saying the disgraced financier violated an agreement with the court by mailing watches, jewelry, cufflinks and mittens worth more than $1 million to relatives and friends.

US lawmakers criticize US agency in Madoff affair	Management Liability
WASHINGTON_Republican and Democratic House members said Monday that the alleged $50 billion fraud involving Wall Street figure Bernard Madoff reflects deep, systemic problems at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

U.S. Insurance Industry	Insurance Market
Jan 05, 2009 -- Ongoing turmoil in the financial markets has resulted in a highly challenging environment for the U.S. insurance industry, a trend that is expected to continue in 2009.

California Earthquake Would Accelerate US Mortgage Meltdown Reveals Aon Benfield Study	Catastrophe
CHICAGO and LONDON, January 5 /PRNewswire/ -- In light of current economic conditions, a major catastrophe such as an earthquake in California would bring new misery to both US and ...

Anderson Kill to Merge With Wood & Bender	Insurance Market
Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C. said it's merging with Wood & Bender LLP, expanding what it says is the largest U.S. insurance recovery law firm.

Former Executive, Legislator Named Arkansas Insurance Commissioner	Regulation
Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe appointed former state legislator Jay Bradford to serve as the state's new insurance commissioner, replacing Julie Benafield Bowman.

ExxonMobil Charged in Boston Harbor Oil Spill	Environmental
A criminal information was filed today in federal court charging a wholly owned subsidiary of ExxonMobil Corporation with violating the criminal provisions of the Clean Water Act in connection with a spill of approximately 15,000 gallons of diesel oil into the Mystic River from ExxonMobil's oil terminal in Everett, Mass.