New York's highest court of appeals has held that no-fault insurers cannot deny no-fault benefits where they unilaterally determine that a provider has committed misconduct based upon alleged fraudulent conduct. The Court held that this authority belongs solely to state regulators, specifically New York's Board of Regents, which oversees professional licensing and discipline. This follows a similar recent ruling in Florida reported in this publication.
U.S. Comptroller Appoints Chiropractor to Chair PCORI
Christine Goertz, DC, PhD, has been appointed by the Comptroller of the United States to a three-year term as chair of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute's Board of Governors. The PCORI is the largest public research funder focusing primarily on clinical effectiveness research, and has "funded hundreds of studies that compare healthcare options to learn which works best, given patients' circumstances and preferences."
Dr. Goertz has served on the board in various capacities since the institute launched in 2010. The board includes 21 representatives of the patient, general consumer, clinical, insurance, research, employer, industry, policy and other health care sectors.
The PCORI is an independent, nonprofit, nongovernmental entity authorized as part of the 2010 Affordable Care Act to, according to the institute, "close the gap" that currently exists between the questions clinicians and their patients have when it comes to health care – and the research that can provide them with answers.
Dr. Goertz's distinguished career in chiropractic and health care includes service as vice chancellor of research and health policy at Palmer College of Chiropractic and as a program official at the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health at the National Institutes of Health.
Editor's Note: For more information about the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, visit https://www.pcori.org. You can learn more about Dr. Goertz on the same site at https://www.pcori.org/people/christine-goertz-dc-phd.