Senate Committees Hear Testimony on Medical Malpractice Insurance Rates

[CAL/AAEM News Service]

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-----Original Message-----

From: California Healthline [mailto:CALIFORNIAHEALTHLINE@ADVISORY.COM] 

Senate Committees Hear Testimony on Medical Malpractice Insurance Rates 

02/12/2003 



Doctors, patients and insurance experts testifying before a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committees yesterday agreed that sharply rising medical malpractice insurance premiums are responsible for the "health care crisis" facing 12 states and threatening 30 others but could not reach consensus on the source of the increase or how to slow it, the AP/Baltimore http://www.sunspot.net/news/nationworld/bal-te.nat12feb12,0,6208790.story?coll=bal%2Dnationworld%2Dheadlines Sun reports. Some witnesses attributed the rise in premiums to high jury awards for pain and suffering in malpractice cases, while others said insurance companies have raised premiums to recover money lost in the stock market (AP/Baltimore Sun, 2/12). Citing high malpractice insurance premiums, doctors in several states are moving to other states or leaving the profession, leaving some communities without easy access to high-quality care (O'Rourke, Raleigh <http://!
www.news-observer.com/news/story/2195749p-2076521c.html> News & Observer, 2/12). Texas Insurance Commissioner Jose Montemayor said that "increasing amounts paid for claims are ... the primary cause of rising costs in medical malpractice insurance." However, former Missouri Insurance Commissioner Jay Angoff attributed the rising premiums to insurance companies' decreasing investment returns, rising reinsurance costs after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and insurance companies' exemption from antitrust law (Rovner, CongressDaily/AM, 2/12). The committees also heard from physicians, including Dr. Shelby Wilbourn, an obstetrician who recently moved from Las Vegas to Maine to avoid the high malpractice insurance costs in southern Nevada. Wilbourn called jury awards a "jackpot" for patients (AP/Baltimore Sun, 2/12). Woodville, Wis., resident Linda McDougal, who had a double mastectomy as a result of a cancer misdiagnosis, testified against limiting malpractice jury awards (Ford, Minne!
apolis <http://www.startribune.com/stories/1556/3647810.html> Star-Tribune, 2/12). In addition to the joint Senate committee hearing, Democrats from the House Judiciary Committee yesterday hosted a roundtable discussion with 50 patients who have experienced medical errors (Rovner et al., CongressDaily, 2/11). 

Legislative Response 

Federal lawmakers have offered several different proposals to the malpractice insurance problem. Rep. James Greenwood (R-Pa.) last month introduced legislation (HR 5 <http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c107:h.r.5:> ) to establish a $250,000 cap on noneconomic jury awards, a measure that President Bush has endorsed (AP/Baltimore Sun, 2/12). Greenwood's measure passed the House last year but died in the Senate (CongressDaily, 2/11). Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) yesterday filed a bill that would allow the federal government to "deter price-fixing and bid-rigging" in malpractice insurance, according to the AP/Sun. Rep. Joseph Hoeffel (D-Pa.) has said he plans to file a similar measure in the House. Hoeffel's bill would also cap pain and suffering awards at $1 million, deter unmerited lawsuits and to create a consumer reporting system to track medical errors (AP/Baltimore Sun, 2/12). In addition, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said on Monday that she plans to introduce biparti!
san malpractice insurance legislation within the next two weeks. HELP Committee Chair Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) said yesterday that the Senate will vote on medical liability, including limits on patients' pain and suffering damages and caps on attorneys' fees, by March or April. Gregg said that he would "consider making the caps more flexible in the case of egregious errors," CongressDaily reports (CongressDaily, 2/11


Brian Potts 
Managing Editor, CAL/AAEM News Service 
MS-IV, UC Irvine 
MD/MBA candidate 
pottsbri@yahoo.com


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<FONT size=2>
<P>-----Original Message-----</P>
<P>From: California Healthline [</FONT><A href="mailto:CALIFORNIAHEALTHLINE@ADVISORY.COM"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>mailto:CALIFORNIAHEALTHLINE@ADVISORY.COM</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>] </P>
<P>Senate Committees Hear Testimony on Medical Malpractice Insurance Rates </P>
<P>02/12/2003 </P>
<P></P>
<P>Doctors, patients and insurance experts testifying before a joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committees yesterday agreed that sharply rising medical malpractice insurance premiums are responsible for the "health care crisis" facing 12 states and threatening 30 others but could not reach consensus on the source of the increase or how to slow it, the AP/Baltimore </FONT><A href="http://www.sunspot.net/news/nationworld/bal-te.nat12feb12,0,6208790.sto"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2><A href="http://www.sunspot.net/news/nationworld/bal-te.nat12feb12,0,6208790.story?coll=bal%2Dnationworld%2Dheadlines">http://www.sunspot.net/news/nationworld/bal-te.nat12feb12,0,6208790.sto</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>ry?coll=bal%2Dnationworld%2Dheadlines</A> Sun reports. Some witnesses attributed the rise in premiums to high jury awards for pain and suffering in malpractice cases, while others said insurance companies have raised premiums to recover m!
oney lost in the stock market (AP/Baltimore Sun, 2/12). Citing high malpractice insurance premiums, doctors in several states are moving to other states or leaving the profession, leaving some communities without easy access to high-quality care (O'Rourke, Raleigh &lt;</FONT><A href="http://www.news-observer.com/news/story/2195749p-2076521c.html"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>http://www.news-observer.com/news/story/2195749p-2076521c.html</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>&gt; News &amp; Observer, 2/12). Texas Insurance Commissioner Jose Montemayor said that "increasing amounts paid for claims are ... the primary cause of rising costs in medical malpractice insurance." However, former Missouri Insurance Commissioner Jay Angoff attributed the rising premiums to insurance companies' decreasing investment returns, rising reinsurance costs after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and insurance companies' exemption from antitrust law (Rovner, CongressDaily/AM, 2/12). The committees also heard fr!
om physicians, including Dr. Shelby Wilbourn, an obstetrician who recently moved from Las Vegas to Maine to avoid the high malpractice insurance costs in southern Nevada. Wilbourn called jury awards a "jackpot" for patients (AP/Baltimore Sun, 2/12). Woodville, Wis., resident Linda McDougal, who had a double mastectomy as a result of a cancer misdiagnosis, testified against limiting malpractice jury awards (Ford, Minneapolis &lt;</FONT><A href="http://www.startribune.com/stories/1556/3647810.html"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>http://www.startribune.com/stories/1556/3647810.html</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>&gt; Star-Tribune, 2/12). In addition to the joint Senate committee hearing, Democrats from the House Judiciary Committee yesterday hosted a roundtable discussion with 50 patients who have experienced medical errors (Rovner et al., CongressDaily, 2/11). </P>
<P>Legislative Response </P>
<P>Federal lawmakers have offered several different proposals to the malpractice insurance problem. Rep. James Greenwood (R-Pa.) last month introduced legislation (HR 5 &lt;</FONT><A href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c107:h.r.5:"><U><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c107:h.r.5:</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>&gt; ) to establish a $250,000 cap on noneconomic jury awards, a measure that President Bush has endorsed (AP/Baltimore Sun, 2/12). Greenwood's measure passed the House last year but died in the Senate (CongressDaily, 2/11). Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) yesterday filed a bill that would allow the federal government to "deter price-fixing and bid-rigging" in malpractice insurance, according to the AP/Sun. Rep. Joseph Hoeffel (D-Pa.) has said he plans to file a similar measure in the House. Hoeffel's bill would also cap pain and suffering awards at $1 million, deter unmerited lawsuits and to create a consumer reporting system to track med!
ical errors (AP/Baltimore Sun, 2/12). In addition, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said on Monday that she plans to introduce bipartisan malpractice insurance legislation within the next two weeks. HELP Committee Chair Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) said yesterday that the Senate will vote on medical liability, including limits on patients' pain and suffering damages and caps on attorneys' fees, by March or April. Gregg said that he would "consider making the caps more flexible in the case of egregious errors," CongressDaily reports (CongressDaily, 2/11</P></FONT><BR><BR><STRONG>Brian Potts <BR>Managing Editor, CAL/AAEM News Service</STRONG> <BR>MS-IV, UC Irvine <BR>MD/MBA candidate <BR>pottsbri@yahoo.com<p><br><hr size=1>Do you Yahoo!?<br>
<a href="http://rd.yahoo.com/finance/mailtagline/*http://taxes.yahoo.com/">Yahoo! Tax Center</a> - forms, calculators, tips, and more
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