Medical liability reform will be on the Senate's agenda in 2006, according to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. Meeting with members of the AAFP Board of Directors Oct. 20, Frist told them he planned to begin moving pending legislation on medical liability through the Senate as soon as Congress had acted on tort reform legislation affecting the asbestos industry.
Congress to Tackle Medical Liability in 2006
By Leslie Champlin
• San Diego
11/17/2005
Medical liability will be on the congressional agenda in 2006, AAFP President Larry Fields, M.D., tells participants at this year's AAFP State Legislative Conference in San Diego.
"He will take liability up next year after he deals with asbestos," AAFP President Larry Fields, M.D., of Ashland, Ky., said Nov. 11 during AAFP's 2005 State Legislative Conference. "He wants to 'de-link' a lot of the issues that have been hanging onto medical liability legislation and that have been giving legislators cover for not voting" on reform proposals.
Fields' comments came during a discussion he led about recent findings and recommendations from the AAFP Strike Force on Medical Liability. The strike force found that hard caps on noneconomic damages and elimination of attorneys' fees have an impact on medical liability insurance premiums, he said.
To that end, the strike force recommended that the Academy
Fields' comments came during a discussion he led about recent findings and recommendations from the AAFP Strike Force on Medical Liability. The strike force found that hard caps on noneconomic damages and elimination of attorneys' fees have an impact on medical liability insurance premiums, he said.
To that end, the strike force recommended that the Academy
- back legislation that caps noneconomic damages at a specified amount, not to exceed $500,000, and that supports the Fair and Reliable Medical Justice Act, S. 1337, which would fund studies of alternative judicial and extra-judicial systems;
- advocate eliminating contingency fees in medical liability cases; and
- support (e.g., provide model legislation and research data) constituent chapters that are advocating liability reform.
Other factors in medical liability, including limiting expert witnesses to those belonging to the same medical specialty as the defendant, limiting the time allowed to bring a suit, and restructuring malpractice claims involving Medicare and Medicaid, had a less clear impact on premiums, said Fields.
"The Academy is going to continue to look at the effect of this middle group of factors," he added.
"The Academy is going to continue to look at the effect of this middle group of factors," he added.
