Florida Docs Plan Protest Over Insurance Rates
NU Online News Service, May 29, 9:17 a.m. EDT?More than 50 doctors from the Palm Beach County hospitals in Florida have submitted a request for a leave of absence to protest rising costs of medical malpractice insurance rates, according to the Palm Beach County Medical Society.
This pending job action is the latest effort by Florida doctors to bring the issue of medical malpractice insurance to the attention of legislators. On May 2, some 100 doctors from Jacksonville went on a similar leave of absence, with the majority of them still staying out of their hospitals, according to Tenna Wiles, executive director at the Palm Beach County Medical Society.
One of the legislative changes some doctors involved in the job action would like to see is a $250,000 cap on non-economic damage awards in malpractice suits, a demand also echoed by many physicians in recent protests in other parts of the country.
"There is a disaster knocking on our door right now and we have not yet coordinated efforts to avoid the consequences," said Dr. Alan B. Pillersdorf, the medical society president for Palm Beach County.
Dr. Pillersdorf also warned that the system in Florida has deteriorated to the point where physicians are now forced to change specialties, alter their services or to simply leave the state altogether.
Dr. Pillersdorf cited the fact that, in 1983, Palm Beach County had 14 neurosurgeons, but that number has dwindled to nine this year even though the county's population has more than doubled during that time span. The county also regularly sees obstetricians who no longer deliver babies because they cannot afford the liability insurance, he said.
"There are vital services that have already been severely curtailed in Palm Beach County because institutions are unable to procure the necessary providers," he said. "We need to convince our legislators that comprehensive reform is not only necessary; it is mandatory," Dr. Pillersdorf said.
Commenting on the pending leave of absence by some of its member doctors, the Palm Beach County Medical Society said it did not know how long the job action would last, but the group added that doctors involved in the protest would likely remain on leave until they feel that legislators have adequately addressed the medical malpractice insurance issue.
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