| Background
Concerns over the medical liability system have been brewing
for years and have now reached crisis levels in many states.
An alarming number of insurers have left the medical liability
market, resulting in liability premiums that are rising for
medical specialties not typically associated with high risk,
including cardiology. Suffering most from this liability crisis
are patients. Growing medical liability premiums are forcing
cardiology practices to make tough decisions that ultimately
affect the delivery of care
There
are now at least 20 states that are considered to be in a
liability crisis and many more are on the verge. These states
lack the fundamental reforms that provide for a stable liability
system. The scope of the medical liability crisis is such
that it requires a federal solution. The problem now touches
nearly every American as costs from our current medical litigation
system are passed on in other forms of health care costs.
At
least one factor is widely believed to be contributing to
rising medical liability premiums — litigation costs.
A relatively small percentage of medical liability cases filed
ever go to trial, but it costs an average of $24,699 just
for physicians to defend a claim. At the root of the problem,
however, is the unrestrained escalation of jury awards. The
legal system has turned our medical liability system into
a lawsuit lottery. The number of claims is rising, as is the
size of the awards. According the Jury Verdict Research, the
median medical liability jury award in medical malpractice
cases jumped 176 percent from 1994 to 2001, topping $1 million.
Legislative
Action
Federal Legislative Activities
House—On May 12, 2004, the House passed H.R.
4280, the "Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely
Health Care (HEALTH) Act," by a vote of 229 to 197, with
15 Democrats joining Republicans in support of the bill. Passage
of H.R. 4280 marked the eighth time that medical liability
reform legislation has passed the House since 1995. The outcome
of the May 12 vote closely mirrored a vote a year ago on an
identical bill, H.R. 5, both of which are supported by the
ACC.
H.R.
4280, introduced by Rep. Jim Greenwood, R-Pa., includes medical
liability reforms that are similar to those remedies that
have kept the market stable in California since its enactment
of tort reform in 1975, including a cap on non-economic damages
and the elimination of joint and several liability.
Senate—The
Senate defeated two attempts early in 2004 to pass legislation
that would have provided liability protections to select high-risk
specialties. On April 7, a Senate vote to bring up S. 2207,
the “Pregnancy and Trauma Care Access Protection Act
of 2004” failed by a vote of 49 to 48, short of the
60 votes needed to proceed to consideration of the bill. The
bill would have provided liability protections, including
a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages, for emergency and
trauma services and obstetrical and gynecological (ob-gyn)
care. On Feb. 24, the Senate defeated S. 2601 that would have
applied to ob-gyn services only. The ACC supported both S.
2207 and S. 2061 as an incremental step toward medical liability
reform for all patients and all physicians.
The
Senate also blocked consideration of a comprehensive medical
liability reform bill, the "Patients First Act"
(S. 11), last July by a vote of 49-48. Every Democrat, with
the exception of three who didn't vote, and two Republicans
voted against bringing the bill up for formal consideration
on the Senate floor. Those Democrats not voting included Sens.
Bob Graham, Fla., John Kerry, and Zell Miller, Ga. The two
Republicans voting against the bill were Lindsey Graham, SC,
and Richard Shelby, Ala.
ACC
Activities
Last year, after partisan politics once again stood in the
way of medical liability reform in the U.S. Senate, the ACC
and other physician specialty organizations, deciding it was
time to mount a hard-hitting campaign, came together and formed
Doctors for Medical Liability Reform (DMLR). DMLR includes
10 physician specialty organizations and represents more than
230,000 practicing physicians. In February, DMLR launched
its Protect Patients Now campaign. The campaign is designed
to educate and inform patients, physicians, business leaders
and lawmakers about the destructive effects that the medical
liability crisis is having on this country’s health
care system, with the ultimate goal of achieving the enactment
of federal medical liability reform that includes an effective
cap on noneconomic damages. More information about the campaign
can be found at www.ProtectPatientsNow.org.
To
obtain more information about medical liability reform and
the ACC’s involvement, check out the ACC’s Medical
Liability Reform Resource Center at 1-800-253-4636, ext. 694.
Outlook
It is possible that the Senate will hold another vote on medical
liability legislation before the end of the legislative session,
however, achieving enactment of federal medical liability
reform will require a sustained, multi-year effort in which
the ACC and its members will continue to play a vital role.
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