Pa. Docs Not Impressed With Med Mal Proposals

Pa. Docs Not Impressed With Med Mal Proposals

NU Online News Service, June 12, 2:48 p.m. EDT?Pennsylvania doctors are giving a cold reception to Gov. Edward G. Rendell's proposals to reform Pennsylvania's medical malpractice liability system.

The governor's scheme, doctors complained, has ignored the solution that they have sought for months: a cap on non-economic damages in jury awards.

Separately, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a medical malpractice liability reform measure this week, which does offer a cap on non-economic damages that the governor excluded from his proposals.

The bill (H.B. 1326) would place a cap on non-economic damages for all lawsuits, not just medical malpractice cases. The legislation now goes to the Senate, and if approved, Pennsylvania residents would vote through a referendum, likely to be sometime next year, on whether the state constitution should be amended to allow such caps on non-economic damages.

Gov. Rendell is proposing a reform package that includes requiring the state to cover 100 percent of the cost of Mcare assessments--Pennsylvania-mandated liability insurance which covers the $500,000 to $1 million worth of insurance coverage that doctors buy from a state fund--for the four specialist fields hit with the highest malpractice premiums for at least three years.

Other doctors would also see their cost of MCare assessments drop. Gov. Rendell proposed that the state cover 50 percent of their fees for the same three-year period.

According to the governor's statement, this reduction would lower most doctors' total malpractice payments between 20 percent to 33 percent during that time and cost the state some $200 million a year.

Gov. Rendell also added that he is still working on ways to cover the costs of this program. Some of the options he may have range from an increase in the state's cigarette and alcohol taxes to a new fee added onto the co-payments that patients pay for physician office visits.

Other parts of the reform package include giving state judges more power to reduce unjustifiably large jury awards and asking the state's Supreme Court to adopt rules that would limit attorneys' contingency fees. It would also provide litigants with voluntary mediation in medical malpractice cases.

The governor also plans to ask the state's General Assembly to give the insurance commissioner authority to regulate medical malpractice rates.

"At the heart of the problem is a system where medical errors occur, and those errors lead to lawsuits," said Gov. Rendell. "This plan addresses the myriad of challenging issues by proposing a combination of realistic and achievable solutions."

But doctors in Pennsylvania are offering a critical diagnosis of the governor's plan.

"We stand with the governor in urging the Supreme Court to limit attorneys' fees and delays in liability cases, and to implement voluntary mediation. Unfortunately, in the eyes of most physicians, the package fell well short of the mark," said Dr. Edward Dench Jr., president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society.

Dr. Dench said what may stand out more from the governor's reform package is "what the plan does not include." There's no mention of caps on non-economic damage awards as even a potential solution, he pointed out. "Did the governor listen to the members of his Task Force on Medical Liability Reform?" Dr. Dench asked.

Dr. Dench also argued that while the Medical Society appreciates Gov. Rendell's efforts to find solutions to the crisis, "on the first analysis, the plan does not appear to contain the types of immediate reforms that physicians desperately need."

On the other hand, the Pennsylvania Medical Society is taking a more positive view of the bill just passed by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives that could eventually lead to caps on non-economic damages, calling it a "historic step to preserve the quality of health care in the state."

The Alliance of American Insurers, a trade association based in Downers Grove, Ill., also praised the bill. "There is still a long way to go, but this is a groundbreaking step," said Charles Schmidt, spokesman for the Alliance.

Neil Malady, Mid-Atlantic regional manager for the Alliance, added that although this bill is just a first step, it is still great news for those who believe that Pennsylvania's whole economy, not just the insurance market, is getting hurt by "out-of-control" lawsuits.

"Changes such as this will go a long way toward improving the state's business climate, translating into greater job opportunities and more predictable pricing on a wide variety of consumer goods and services," Mr. Malady said.