... by 1 vote. The bill now goes to committee:
"The original bill, passed by the Senate on Feb. 1, also capped non-economic damages -- commonly referred to as pain and suffering -- on medical malpractice lawsuits at $250,000 per party. The House raised those limits to $350,000 on Thursday.
The bill was authored by Sen. Preston Smith, R-Rome. Harp, an attorney who practices family law, had backed the bill until Thursday. He is vice-chairman of the Judiciary Committee and voted to get the bill out of committee. When it came before the Senate last week, he voted to keep the bill from being amended. He later voted for passage of the bill.
Thursday he did not support it."
Link...
Friday, February 11, 2005
Malpractice Reform fails in GA...
... by 1 vote. The bill now goes to committee:
"The original bill, passed by the Senate on Feb. 1, also capped non-economic damages -- commonly referred to as pain and suffering -- on medical malpractice lawsuits at $250,000 per party. The House raised those limits to $350,000 on Thursday.
The bill was authored by Sen. Preston Smith, R-Rome. Harp, an attorney who practices family law, had backed the bill until Thursday. He is vice-chairman of the Judiciary Committee and voted to get the bill out of committee. When it came before the Senate last week, he voted to keep the bill from being amended. He later voted for passage of the bill.
Thursday he did not support it."
Link...
"The original bill, passed by the Senate on Feb. 1, also capped non-economic damages -- commonly referred to as pain and suffering -- on medical malpractice lawsuits at $250,000 per party. The House raised those limits to $350,000 on Thursday.
The bill was authored by Sen. Preston Smith, R-Rome. Harp, an attorney who practices family law, had backed the bill until Thursday. He is vice-chairman of the Judiciary Committee and voted to get the bill out of committee. When it came before the Senate last week, he voted to keep the bill from being amended. He later voted for passage of the bill.
Thursday he did not support it."
Link...
Seeing the light?
Former malpractice trial lawyer who spearheaded Florida's opposition to to lawsuit caps now decides to back his party's agenda:
Martinez says it's not a matter of party loyalty, and that he now understands the need for litigation reform to ensure doctors can get affordable insurance and stay in practice. The restrictions limit access to the court system, he said, but need to be done for the 'greater good.' ...
He favors a cap [on malpractice pain and suffering claims] of at least $500,000 - a rare case of how he disagrees with Bush, who supports $250,000 caps. But both agree there need to be caps."
Link...
Martinez says it's not a matter of party loyalty, and that he now understands the need for litigation reform to ensure doctors can get affordable insurance and stay in practice. The restrictions limit access to the court system, he said, but need to be done for the 'greater good.' ...
He favors a cap [on malpractice pain and suffering claims] of at least $500,000 - a rare case of how he disagrees with Bush, who supports $250,000 caps. But both agree there need to be caps."
Link...
Patient Safety Fund in Washington State
An interesting approach to improve patient safety that is suprisingly supported by both health care providers, and malpractice lawyers.
"The plan would create a patient safety account for grants and loans to support efforts to reduce errors in medical treatment, emphasizing evidence-based practices recommended by a variety of government and private medical groups... [The account] would be funded by a $2-per-bed annual fee paid by hospitals, a $2-per-license fee charged to health care professionals and a fee of 1 percent of any attorney contingency fee for malpractice lawsuits. "
Link...
"The plan would create a patient safety account for grants and loans to support efforts to reduce errors in medical treatment, emphasizing evidence-based practices recommended by a variety of government and private medical groups... [The account] would be funded by a $2-per-bed annual fee paid by hospitals, a $2-per-license fee charged to health care professionals and a fee of 1 percent of any attorney contingency fee for malpractice lawsuits. "
Link...
Federal Answer to Malpractice Crisis
The House is working on a bill to limit malpractice awards and curb attorney fees. This article comments about the plight of Lancaster county doctors due to the high costs of dealing with malpractice litigation and insurance...
"The bill, which is still being crafted, would limit pain and suffering payments to $250,000. It also could limit attorney fees and include other reforms... The House previously passed a malpractice reform bill but it was blocked by the Senate, Pitts said. This time, he thinks it will be successful."
Link...
"The bill, which is still being crafted, would limit pain and suffering payments to $250,000. It also could limit attorney fees and include other reforms... The House previously passed a malpractice reform bill but it was blocked by the Senate, Pitts said. This time, he thinks it will be successful."
Link...
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Better in Pennsylvania?
Governer Rendell claims victory in malpractice crisis. But somehow it still takes women 6 months to get an ob/gyn appointment in Philadelphia due to the exodus of doctors that continues...
"In response to employer concerns that malpractice awards were driving up health insurance costs, this body passed medical malpractice reforms in 2002 and 2003, which are beginning to bring down the cost of malpractice awards and settlements. Together we stopped the exodus of doctors who considered fleeing Pennsylvania to find relief from rising malpractice insurance costs by passing the MCARE abatement. The State Courts, under the leadership of Chief Justice Cappy and the members of the Supreme Court, changed venue rules, required certificates of merit, and imposed guidelines to review jury awards, all of which will reduce malpractice costs even further. The good news is that for the first time in recent years new companies are offering malpractice insurance policies in Pennsylvania and we have witnessed a 28 percent decline in the number of malpractice suits filed. "
Full link...
"In response to employer concerns that malpractice awards were driving up health insurance costs, this body passed medical malpractice reforms in 2002 and 2003, which are beginning to bring down the cost of malpractice awards and settlements. Together we stopped the exodus of doctors who considered fleeing Pennsylvania to find relief from rising malpractice insurance costs by passing the MCARE abatement. The State Courts, under the leadership of Chief Justice Cappy and the members of the Supreme Court, changed venue rules, required certificates of merit, and imposed guidelines to review jury awards, all of which will reduce malpractice costs even further. The good news is that for the first time in recent years new companies are offering malpractice insurance policies in Pennsylvania and we have witnessed a 28 percent decline in the number of malpractice suits filed. "
Full link...
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Where will the doctors go?
A group of New Hampshire doctors says that malpractice reform is needed before doctors are forced to leave the state:
"There is a line drawn in the sand over the issue, with doctors on one side and trial lawyers on the other. The medical society wants a screening panel system identical to the one that has been operating in Maine since 1986. Sen. John Gallus, R-Berlin, has sponsored Senate Bill 214, which would do just that. However, the New Hampshire Trial Lawyers Association says it will agree to a screening panel, but is opposed to the Maine system"
"There is a line drawn in the sand over the issue, with doctors on one side and trial lawyers on the other. The medical society wants a screening panel system identical to the one that has been operating in Maine since 1986. Sen. John Gallus, R-Berlin, has sponsored Senate Bill 214, which would do just that. However, the New Hampshire Trial Lawyers Association says it will agree to a screening panel, but is opposed to the Maine system"
2.2% of GDP on litigation!
GM expects to save $5.3 billion per year on healthcare costs thanks to litigation changes.:
"`This is the best opportunity we've had in recent history,' says Kevin McMahon, chairman of the American Tort Reform Association, a business coalition that includes Detroit- based GM and New York-based Pfizer. "
The cost of litigation is high:
"Lawsuits over torts, which are wrongful acts that can be compensated with damages, cost businesses $162 billion in 2003, up from $153 billion in 2002, according to a study by Tillinghast, a division of the Philadelphia-based consulting firm Towers Perrin. Individuals accounted for another $84 billion in tort costs, primarily from automobile accidents. The total of $246 billion was 2.2 percent of the Gross Domestic Product; in 1960, total tort costs of $5.4 billion accounted for 1 percent of GDP. "
"`This is the best opportunity we've had in recent history,' says Kevin McMahon, chairman of the American Tort Reform Association, a business coalition that includes Detroit- based GM and New York-based Pfizer. "
The cost of litigation is high:
"Lawsuits over torts, which are wrongful acts that can be compensated with damages, cost businesses $162 billion in 2003, up from $153 billion in 2002, according to a study by Tillinghast, a division of the Philadelphia-based consulting firm Towers Perrin. Individuals accounted for another $84 billion in tort costs, primarily from automobile accidents. The total of $246 billion was 2.2 percent of the Gross Domestic Product; in 1960, total tort costs of $5.4 billion accounted for 1 percent of GDP. "
No Caps in Connecticut
Connecticut governor Rell's plan to solve the malpractice crisis involves certain legal reforms to control the trial lawyers while attempting to hold physicians responsible for the wellbeing of their patients. The proposal would:
- "Amend the Certificate of Good Faith procedures to require that a doctor from the same area of expertise as the defendant file a detailed opinion of the case with the court
- Require that a jury consider all additional payments received by a plaintiff for the same injury when assessing damages
- Require that any payment over $200,000 be paid over time
- Reduce the “Offer of Judgment” penalty assessed on defendants for failing to settle certain lawsuits from 12 percent of damages to the prime rate"
California State Cap Appealing
President Bush favors the cap on malpractice damages implemented by California:
"The Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act, or MICRA, supposedly has kept California malpractice premiums low in comparison with other states, without limiting access to the courthouse for deserving patients one bit. It also has purportedly put a leash on all those greedy and unscrupulous lawyers who pocketed the money that should have gone to patient care."
Though the caps have kept malpracitce premiums down, the author seems to think that they are not effective - maybe he's related to a malpractice attorney?
"The Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act, or MICRA, supposedly has kept California malpractice premiums low in comparison with other states, without limiting access to the courthouse for deserving patients one bit. It also has purportedly put a leash on all those greedy and unscrupulous lawyers who pocketed the money that should have gone to patient care."
Though the caps have kept malpracitce premiums down, the author seems to think that they are not effective - maybe he's related to a malpractice attorney?
Battle over malpractice
With the battle between doctors and attorneys raging at the state level for years, the malpractice crisis is reaching a critical stage.
Trial lawyers, who earn a living from malpractice lawsuits are lined up against physicians. This MSNBC article talks about the battle in North Carolina, though northeastern states such as Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York are the critical crisis states. Maybe the problem has a better chance of resopution at the national level, where President Bush has made it one of his top priorities.
Trial lawyers, who earn a living from malpractice lawsuits are lined up against physicians. This MSNBC article talks about the battle in North Carolina, though northeastern states such as Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York are the critical crisis states. Maybe the problem has a better chance of resopution at the national level, where President Bush has made it one of his top priorities.
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