M.D.s: No Joy In N.J. Lawmakers' Med-Mal Offer

By Michael Ha

NU Online News Service, Feb. 6, 2:54 p.m. EST?After four days, most New Jersey doctors had ended a work stoppage protesting soaring malpractice insurance costs today, but their leaders voiced dissatisfaction with measures state legislators offered to fix coverage problems.

On Tuesday, with thousands of New Jersey doctors off the job for a second day, key state legislators announced a proposal for a compromise bill to resolve the issue.

"The main component of the proposal, in principle, would limit the liability for malpractice insurers at $300,000 per claim for noneconomic damages. And it would create a separate trust fund to compensate victims above and beyond that amount," said Sen. Joseph R. Vitale, D-Woodbridge.

Mr. Vitale is co-chair of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee and one of the legislators, who introduced the proposal.

The fund would be built from an annual surcharge on health insurers of $2 to $3 for each person they cover, as well as $15 annual fees for each New Jersey doctor and lawyer.

"We are still working on all the details before introducing a bill," Sen. Vitale told National Underwriter. "Our hope is that it addresses the concerns of the doctors and, at the same time, meets the needs of the victims and stabilizes insurance costs. That way, patients' rights are not sacrificed to end the medical malpractice insurance crisis facing physicians in New Jersey."

The senator rejected doctors' previously stated demands for caps on jury awards, instead of a limited liability for insurers for noneconomic damages.

Mr. Vitale said the "bottom line is that we are trying to protect doctors as well as victims involved. Caps on jury awards are not an option. The medical society can't have it all or get it all."

Some of the leading organizers of the job action were critical of the lawmakers' efforts. While the work slowdown began to wind down, with many returning to their offices yesterday, their comments revealed a considerable gap between doctors' demands and the new proposal discussed by state legislators.

"In this proposal, you are just shifting the cost to somebody else," said Dr. Robert S. Rigolosi, a kidney specialist and president of the Medical Society of New Jersey and one of the organizers of the job action.

He also estimated that the job action, which he said involved 70-to-75 percent of some 22,000 doctors in the state, would continue for some participants, with some doctors announcing that their work stoppage would continue indefinitely until a satisfactory bill is passed by lawmakers.

"You still have to tax somebody to fund those awards. They don't seem to understand the fact that the cost is so big that it is breaking the system. So we need to cap these big awards," Dr. Rigolosi told National Underwriter.

Medical Society spokesperson John Shaffer added, "We haven't seen all the details yet, but we do have serious concerns."

"The state would be creating a fund that will pay noneconomic damages in excess of $300,000. And we are concerned whether the funding will be adequate, and [that] this pot of unlimited funds may lead to even more lawsuits," Mr. Shaffer said.

According to New Jersey's Republican Senate Co-President John O. Bennett, R, Freehold, the legislative proposal could become a compromise bill ready for a full Senate vote later this month.

The proposal is also being reviewed by Gov. James E. McGreevey, who continues to work with legislators on resolving this issue, said Ellen Mellody, a spokesperson for the governor.

Despite failure to secure a remedy they could embrace, physicians said the job action had managed to succeed in putting the issue of medical malpractice costs to the forefront in a way that was never done before.

"There were thousands of doctors participating statewide, primary care doctors and specialists alike, uniting for a common cause," said Dr. Alan Zaccaria, president of Monmouth County Medical Society and a plastic surgeon in the town of Little Silver, N.J.

"This has never been done before in our country, so we are truly making history," Dr. Zaccaria said.

In the past few weeks, several other states saw smaller groups of physicians voice their concerns on medical malpractice insurance costs.

Late last month, some 800 Florida doctors skipped work to attend a two-day conference in West Palm Beach, Fla., to learn more about rising medical malpractice premiums and to talk about possible remedies.

And in Mississippi, a dozen surgeons took leaves of absence to protest high insurance costs. Additionally, some 750 doctors in Missouri staged a rally late January to ask the state legislature for changes that would lower their medical malpractice rates.

Special Reports /

M.D.s: No Joy In N.J. Lawmakers' Med-Mal Offer

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