Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Highlights News of State Medical Malpractice Developments

Main Category: Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Article Date: 06 Feb 2005 - 15:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

The following summarizes news about malpractice-related developments in seven states.

• Georgia: The state Senate on Tuesday voted 39-15 to approve medical malpractice legislation, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (Rankin, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/2). The bill (SB 3) would cap noneconomic damages at $250,000, or $750,000 if multiple defendants are found liable; impose penalties in cases that could have been settled out-of-court but go to trial; and change the rules on expert testimony in civil and criminal cases (Rankin, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/1). The bill was approved shortly after MAG Mutual Insurance, which insures most doctors in the state, said it would reduce malpractice insurance premiums by 10% if legislation is approved and withstands court challenges. The rollback is expected to save physicians about $20 million in premium costs, the company said. The bill now moves to the Republican-led House, where approval is expected (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/2).
  
  
• Maryland: Democrats who supported Gov. Robert Ehrlich's (R) attempted veto of a 2% HMO tax, which is intended help defray the costs of medical malpractice insurance premiums in the state, are "reluctant" to say whether they would support Republican efforts to repeal the tax, the Washington Times reports. Several Democrats said legislation intended to repeal the tax would need further study; Republicans last week said they would submit such a bill. The HMO tax is expected to generate an estimated $64 million over three year to help doctors pay increasing malpractice insurance premiums. Ehrlich's proposal would use $48.5 million from the state's general fund to subsidize premiums. HMOs have said they would pass the cost of the tax on to enrollees (Redding, Washington Times, 2/3). Democratic lawmakers in the state House and Senate are preparing bills to require the state insurance commissioner to hold a public hearing before approving any HMO premium increases (Washington Times, 2/4).
  
  
• Missouri: Republican lawmakers on Monday introduced medical malpractice reform legislation that would limit noneconomic damages to $250,000 and require lawsuits to be filed in the counties in which the alleged malpractice occurred, the Kansas City Star reports. The legislation also would eliminate a state law that holds defendants who are as little as 1% liable in malpractice cases responsible for the entire judgment if other defendants cannot pay. Additionally, the bill would limit punitive damages to $250,000 or three times the amount of damages awarded -- whichever is greater -- and define nursing homes and pharmaceutical companies as health care providers, thereby extending the cap to them (Hoover, Kansas City Star, 2/1).
  
  
• Nevada: The Clark County Medical Society recently informed members that it plans to lobby for the creation of a new medical screening panel that would review medical malpractice claims before they go to court, the Las Vegas Sun reports. The state's previous panel was disbanded in 2002 during a special session of the state Legislature on malpractice. According to Michael Colletti, president of CCMS, the number of lawsuits against health care providers has increased from 372 in 2001 to 1,246 in 2003. He added that for 2004, 820 malpractice lawsuits had been filed as of November. The proposal, which the state Board of Medical Examiners supports, would make the panel a paid position for retirees or part-time workers. State Sen. Dennis Nolan (R), who is working to develop the panel, said it should be able to forward names of doctors with a pattern of complaints to the state board. The Nevada Trial Lawyers Association has said it opposes reinstatement of the panel. NTLA President Gerald Gillock said that in its original form, the panel was "abused" by malpractice insurers who refused to settle cases when the panel found the doctors were at fault. Gillock also said the panel would be a large "and unnecessary" expense to the state (Searer, Las Vegas Sun, 1/31).
  
  
• North Carolina: A task force of the North Carolina Bar Association has concluded that the state does not have a problem with frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits, the Raleigh News & Observer reports. A report by the 19-member task force, which was adopted by the NCBA's board of governor's on Jan. 20, found that although there is a "crisis of affordability" related to malpractice insurance premiums for some specialties -- such as obstetrics and neurosurgery -- there is insufficient evidence to show that caps on noneconomic damages in malpractice cases would result in a decrease in premiums. The report also found that there is no evidence suggesting that a large number of doctors are leaving the state because of high malpractice premiums or the threat of lawsuits; that more malpractice suits filed in the state involve serious injuries than in the past; and that the cost of litigating such negligence cases has increased significantly. In related news, state Sen. Robert Pittenger (R) on Wednesday introduced a bill proposing a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages in malpractice cases. The bill also would create a panel to review such claims (Weigl, Raleigh News & Observer, 2/3).
  
  
• South Carolina: The state Senate next week will consider a bill approved Tuesday by the state Senate Judiciary Committee that would establish a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases except in cases involving paralysis. The bill also would cap economic damages in malpractice lawsuits unless it can be proven that the actions of doctors or hospitals were willful, wanton, reckless or malicious. An amendment of the bill specifies that the loss of a spouse's services would not fall under the cap to help prevent a disparity in malpractice awards for stay-at-home spouses and parents. The state House is considering similar legislation, according to the AP/Charleston Post & Courier (AP/Charleston Post & Courier, 2/2).
  
  
• Wyoming: The state House Judiciary Committee on Jan. 27 approved a bill (HB 83) that would create a medical malpractice review panel to review medical malpractice claims before they go to court, the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle reports. The five members of the panel -- two health care providers, two attorneys and a member of the public -- would be paid $1,000 per day, which would be funded by a $500,000 appropriation from the state's general fund. Panel members would be required to have Wyoming residency. The bill would allow both the claimant and the health care provider to forgo the panel if they both sign a waiver. The bill also would leave admissibility of the panel's decisions up to trial judges (Frazer, Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, 1/28).

'Ask the Experts'
President Bush has made clear that reform of the medical malpractice system is a high priority for his administration this year. What steps have states already taken? What is the evidence of tort reform's effect on malpractice insurance premiums, compensation for patients and quality of care? How much of a factor is medical malpractice in the rising cost of health care in general, and what is driving the recent increases in malpractice premiums? Join kaisernetwork.org's "Ask the Experts" at 2 p.m. ET Friday, Feb. 4, for a live discussion on these questions and more on medical malpractice reform. Moderator Larry Levitt, kaisernetwork.org editor in chief and a Kaiser Family Foundation vice president, will be joined by Peter Budetti, chair of the Department of Health Administration and Policy at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center College of Public Health; Scott Harrington, professor of Health Care Systems and Insurance and Risk Management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business; and Nicholas Pace, a staff researcher at the RAND Corporation's Institute for Civil Justice. To participate, call toll-free at 1-888-KAISER8 (524-7378) during the scheduled showtime or submit your questions to ask@kaisernetwork.org before and during the webcast.

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

• Additional
• References
• Citations