AAFP, family physician turn up heat, tell lawmakers about liability crisis -- August 2002 -- FP Report

August 2002 • Volume 8 • Number 8

AAFP, family physician turn up heat, tell lawmakers about liability crisis

The Academy and an individual family physician brought Congress this message recently: Tort reform is crucial, especially for rural patients and their physicians.

Written testimony. "When confronted with substantially higher costs for liability coverage, family physicians are often forced to stop delivering babies." The Academy sent this message in June to the House Judiciary Committee's Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee and in July to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

"With fewer physicians providing maternity and prenatal care, women's access is restricted, depriving them of the proven benefits of early intervention," wrote the Academy.The AAFP testimony accented the dependence of rural communities on family physicians for routine maternity care.

The Academy endorsed the Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-Cost, Timely Health Care (HEALTH) Act, H.R. 4600. It should be passed, said the AAFP, because it would:

require that a party pay damages only to the extent that the party was liable for the harm caused -- ensuring that physicians would not be held responsible for others' clinical decisions,
limit attorneys' fees so a larger proportion of an award could go to the injured patient and
cap noneconomic damages at $250,000.

Florida field forum. George Harris, M.D., of St. Petersburg, Fla., spoke at a field forum of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee in Clearwater, Fla., June 22.

"I am concerned about the continued access to care for Florida patients, especially rural women who may have worsened pregnancy outcomes than if they had regular access to a physician for their maternity care," said Harris.

Sharing information from the Florida AFP, Harris said:

Insurance rates for an FP managing an emergency room in a rural Florida community rose from $54,000 in 2001 to $179,000 in 2002.
Many Florida FPs who have had no claims filed against them and have been in practice more than 10 years have had their insurance premiums more than double from one year to the next.
An FP who serves three rural Florida counties and delivers from 50 to 75 babies a year can find liability coverage for only 40 deliveries a year and has to cut back or eliminate service to high-risk patients.

"The crisis that Florida is facing is real and deserves the attention of Congress," said Harris.

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