Illinois became the fifth state this year to pass medical liability reform legislation that promises to provide insurance rate relief to family physicians in upcoming years.
The legislation, passed May 31, caps noneconomic damages awards in medical liability litigation at $500,000 for physicians. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has announced he will sign the bill into law.
Vincent Keenan, C.A.E., Illinois AFP chapter executive, credited Gordana Krkic, C.A.E., vice president of government relations for the Illinois chapter, for successfully preserving the interests of family physicians in the bill. Moreover, IAFP members from across the state contacted their legislators and mobilized patients in support of the bill, said Keenan.
The new law bodes well for the state's FPs because "the legislation should provide physicians with better protections against baseless lawsuits and bring some predictability to our current unlimited awards system," he said.
Among the Illinois law's provisions: public hearings when insurers seek rate increases, assurance that physician apologies cannot be used as evidence in litigation, required disclosure of insurance companies' actuarial data and required certification by a board-certified physician that a plaintiff's claims merit a trial.
Other States Provide Relief
Illinois joins Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina and Montana in moving this year to rein in skyrocketing medical liability insurance rates that have driven many FPs out of hospital practice and obstetrical care. The new medical liability laws:
- Georgia caps noneconomic damages at $350,000, establishes strict criteria for lawsuits arising from emergency room procedures, and has provisions to encourage early out-of-court settlements and to discourage frivolous lawsuits.
- Missouri now requires that lawsuits be filed in the county where the alleged injury occurred; limits punitive damages to $500,000 or five times the actual damages, whichever is greater; and caps noneconomic damages at $350,000.
- South Carolina limits noneconomic damages to $350,000 and caps multiple-defendant awards for noneconomic damages at $1.05 million.
- Three of Montana's four new medical liability laws preclude the use of a physician's apology in malpractice litigation, protect physicians from suits involving medical mistakes made by others over whom the doctor had no direct supervision and establish strict criteria for determining who may serve as expert witnesses in medical liability trials. The fourth law protects hospitals from litigation involving nonemployee, independent contractors.
Reform Sparks Optimism
The medical community is optimistic that the new Illinois law would survive any potential legal challenges, according to Keenan. Though the state's Supreme Court struck down two previous medical liability reform laws, legislative analysts expect the new Illinois law to pass legal muster, he said.
"Those bills provided noneconomic caps only," he said. "This has the caps, but it also has insurance reform, physician profiling provisions, physician certification of the merits of a (malpractice) claim and inseverability -- which means if one part is thrown out, all if it is thrown out. Everyone has a vested interest in this law."
However, Keenan advised patience as insurance companies test legal waters and the new law goes through inevitable legal challenges. Physicians in other states waited up to two years before they saw lower malpractice insurance premiums.
For a state-by-state update on medical liability reform, visit the Web site of Protect Patients Now! -- an initiative of Doctors for Medical Liability Reform.
