MDNews - Central New York

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PA SSAGE OF MA JOR MEDICAL LIABILIT Y INSUR ANCE REFORM ON JUNE 28 AND SUPPORT FOR THIS LEGISL ATION FROM THE WHITE HOUSE HAVE BEEN VERY ENCOUR AGING TO HE ALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. T H E H O U S E A P P R O V E D t h e bi l l b y a c l o s e 2 1 8 – 2 1 0 m a r g i n . A l l but 19 Republicans cast yes votes and no Democrats voted in favor of the bill. The next step is Senate consideration and vot- ing on this measure. There is no guarantee that the Senate will give final approval. Republicans control that body by only two votes. If 50 Senators can be convinced to support the bill, Vice President Mike Pence could cast the needed 51st vote for passage. Prior to the House vote on HR 1215 which took place on June 28, the White House issued a statement, which ended with these words. "If HR 1215 were presented to the President, his Administrative Advisers would recommend that he sign the bill into law." The White House statement takes note that: " The rising cost of healthcare is a major concern in our nation . State Medical Liability rules often allow for unlimited non-economic damages. This encourages providers to practice defensive medicine, increasing the cost of healthcare and imposes a significant burden on healthcare providers. "HR 1215 would limit non-economic damages to $250,000 and limit the fees lawyers may charge in a healthcare lawsuit. The bill would also impose aƒthree-year statute of limitations on such lawsuits. ... "In addition to the provisions of HR 1215, the President's FYI 2018 bud- get would also modify the collateral source rule to allow evidence of a claim- ant's income from other sources toƒbe int rodu ced at t r ia l . T h e p ro posa l would provide a safe harbor based on defined clinical standards, authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide guidelines to cre- ate expert panels and administrative panels and exclude expressions of regret and apology in a healthcare suit. These additional policies would likely generate additional savings to patients and to the Federal Government by reducing unnec- essary medical services. They mayƒalso promote evidence-ba sed practices moving forward. The Administration e n co ura ges th e Co ngress to e n a ct theƒ additional medical malpractice reform proposal included in President Trump's budget. " PI A A i s t he le a d i n g a s s o ci a t ion representing the medica l and hea lth- ca re professiona l liability insura nce community. Medical Liability Mutual Insurance Company, by far the largest medical malpractice carrier in New York State, was a founding member of PIA A. MLMIC's President Edward Amsler was a recent president of PIAA. In a statement released by PIA A after the House's pas- sage of HR 1215, the organization said, "This represents a tremendous victory for tort reform advocates and is the first comprehensive medical liability reform legislation to be passed by either house of Congress in more than five years." "HR 1215 will help ensure fair and timely compensation to injured patients, improve access to patient care and pro- mote aŠordable and accessible medical liabilit y insura nce coverage, PI A A's leadership role in advocating for this legislation models the proven reforms from states like California and Florida," the statement continued. All of the above is encouraging news to physicians in New York State who are well aware that the climate to practice medi- cine in this state is, to put it mildly, not too favorable. In March of this year, WalletHub reported that New York is the worst state for physicians to work in. Backing up that statement is the fiscal reality that New York MDs pay the largest medical liability insurance premiums in the country. Added to that is the fact that rewards and settle- ments liability cases are the highest of all states. Rewards and settlements are twice as high in New York as they are in the state of Pennsylvania, the third highest state. No wonder that 55 percent of physicians completing training decide to go elsewhere to practice medicine. Gerald N. "Jerry " Ho"man was chief executive o•cer of the Onondaga County Medical Society f rom 1981 until his retirement on Jan. 31, 2014, and is co- author of two books, Medical Malpractice Insura nce, A Leg islator 's View, and The Histor y of Loca l Medica l Ca re: Celebrating Physicians Past and Present, 1806-2006. ■ ENCOURAGING NEWS on Medical Liability Front BY JERRY HOFFMAN M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S C E N T R A L N E W Y O R K ■ 2 017 H E A LT H C A R E P E R S P E C T I V E ❰❰❰❰❰ 0 5

• Cover