N.J. Governor Likely To Sign Med Mal Reform Bill

By Michael Ha

NU Online News Service, May 25, 3 :48 p.m. EDT?A spokesman for New Jersey's governor said today that he is likely to sign a newly approved measure designed to stem rising medical malpractice insurance premiums for the state's doctors. [@@]

The bill that secured final approval from the Assembly yesterday followed nearly two years of negotiations.

Micah Rasmussen, spokesman for Democratic Gov. James McGreevey, told National Underwriter the governor would "take one last look at it, now that it's on his desk. You know, a lot of changes went into the bill, so he wants to review it one last time."

"Health care is a top priority for the governor, and he is pleased that the Legislature has moved forward to ensure patient access," Mr. Rasmussen said, adding that the governor is likely to sign the measure into law after a final lookover. Gov. McGreevey now has 45 days to consider the bill.

The final version of the bill, A50, was approved by the Democrat-controlled state Assembly in a 46-25 vote, with eight abstentions. The approved bill was a revised version that incorporates changes made by the state Senate, also controlled by Democrats, in March.

Some critics of the bill complain that the measure fails to include a key element that the medical community and carriers generally support: caps on pain-and-suffering litigation awards.

Instead of the caps, the bill provides a three-year subsidy fund amounting to $78.3 million to help physicians and hospitals pay for insurance coverage. The subsidies would be funded by physicians, lawyers, chiropractors and dentists?professionals who would pay a $75-per-year license fee. Hospitals and other health care employers would also pay a $3 tax on each worker.

The bill also sets stricter guidelines for filing malpractice lawsuits, gives judges more leeway to control monetary awards, and encourages mediation rather than court battles.

Additionally, the bill expands the Good Samaritan Act, which allows health care workers who respond to emergencies beyond their normal duties to receive protection from civil lawsuits.

Commenting on the bill, a spokesman at the Medical Society of New Jersey noted that despite the progress, a lot more still needs to be done to fix New Jersey's medical malpractice insurance crisis.

"This bill is far from perfect," John Shaffer, Medical Society of New Jersey spokesman, said.

Mr. Shaffer said his group is urging the governor to expedite the creation of the state's Medical Care Availability Task Force, to further look at other possible remedies including capping non-economic damages, screening panels to evaluate case merits earlier, and reducing mandated coverage levels, as well as further insurance industry reform.

Dr. Manzoor Abidi, president of the Medical Society of New Jersey, added that the bill's passage only represents "the initial step" toward fixing flaws and abuses in the state's medical liability system.

"The financial stability of the few medical liability insurance providers willing to write in New Jersey continues to deteriorate," Dr. Abidi said. "We are concerned that if more effective reforms are not enacted, neither these carriers nor physicians will be around in a few years."

Richard Stokes, a representative for the Des Plaines, Ill.-based Property Casualty Insurers Association, commented that the legislation "really doesn't deal with the long-term aspect: how to get a better handle on costs and make it more affordable for the medical community."

"There are elements in the legislation that are probably very helpful. But it has to go back to the caps issue. In our estimation, caps, in following the California model, would be a better model to look at," Mr. Stokes said.

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N.J. Governor Likely To Sign Med Mal Reform Bill

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