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Rising costs for medical liability insurance, plus the need for caps on damages for a patient's pain and suffering, stirred debate in several states this spring.
The largest malpractice insurer in Massachusetts will raise doctors' premiums 20 percent on July 1, an unusually large increase that physicians predict will force colleagues to close their practices, stop providing high-risk medical services or squeeze in more patients to make up lost income, the Boston Globe reported.
ProMutual Group, which covers about 10,000 of the state's doctors -- just more than half of the total -- has told the Massachusetts Medical Society that average premiums will rise 20 percent, but that individual doctors will get credits or penalties depending on their malpractice history. The company, which covers most Massachusetts doctors not affiliated with Harvard Medical School, raised premiums 9 percent in 2000, 14 percent in 2001 and 12.5 percent last year.
In Texas, H.B. 4, which at press time was out of committee and expected to be debated on the Senate floor soon, called for limiting noneconomic damages to $250,000, the Houston Chronicle reported.
In Ohio, lawmakers were considering legislation to limit jury awards in cases of medical malpractice. The Ohio bill proposed capping jury awards at $250,000 for pain and suffering and $100,000 for punitive damages -- down from limits of between $350,000 and $1 million approved last November, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.
In Georgia, the House Judiciary Committee failed to act on S.B. 133, the Civil Justice Reform Act of 2003, and the bill is expected to be carried over to next year's legislative session. On the final night of the 2003 session, H.B. 792, which deals with reform of class-action litigation, was amended to include a few tort reform components. At press time, H.B. 792 was on the governor's desk for signature, and S.B. 133 remained in the House Judiciary Committee for potential action in 2004. The Georgia AFP was urging family physicians to keep seeking legislative support for S.B. 133.
In Pennsylvania, physicians urged state lawmakers to pass S.B. 50, which could pave the way for caps on pain and suffering in malpractice lawsuits. Such limits are banned by the state constitution. But the bill would allow the public to vote to lift that ban and give lawmakers the authority to pass caps. The physicians were hoping damages could eventually be capped at $250,000, the Philadelphia Daily News reported.
The Daily News also said the New Jersey State Senate had passed a bill in March that would cap damages for pain and suffering paid by private insurers at $300,000. An excess liability fund would pay for damages between $300,000 and $700,000. The bill was sent to the New Jersey Assembly as an amendment to a bill the Assembly passed in December. At press time, the Assembly had yet to vote on the Senate's amended version.
On April 8, North Carolina physicians held a rally at the General Assembly in support of a preferred bill that would, for example, cap noneconomic damage awards, enact a sliding fee scale for attorney fees, and prohibit the use in court of routine and complaint-based investigative reports on nursing homes. A few other medical malpractice bills have been introduced in the statehouse. The Senate has created a select committee to examine the legislation and make recommendations.
And less than four months after Wheeling, W.Va., surgeons staged a dramatic two-week walkout, West Virginia gained a new law limiting jury awards in medical malpractice cases. In addition to a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages, the new law, passed in April, includes tort reform language, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
 This spring, the states in yellow have been considering changing their laws to provide relief from the medical liability insurance crisis. Some other states may consider reforms in the future; some may already have passed reforms. Source: National Conference of State Legislatures |
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