Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/76826
medical liability reform, premiums came down, physicians stopped leaving the state, many physicians who had moved to other states returned, and access to health care in the Lone Star State was greatly improved. Q What does the ACS perceive to be the key problems with the medical liability system? A: One of them is out-of-control jury verdicts. Juries see these cases as individual issues, but they have a huge impact on the health care system. Medical liability insur- ance premiums are doubling and tripling for some surgeons. When costs for physi- cians to run their practices are increasing and reimbursements are remaining static at best, Business 101 tells you this scenario won't lead to a successful outcome. As in Texas, unfavorable medical liabil- ity environments may force physicians to close their practices and relocate to other states, threatening patients' access to care. If a trauma surgeon is forced to leave a rural area, for example, patients — who can't afford to travel far when traumatic injuries occur — are put in a bind. Q What is your assessment of current medical liability reform efforts? How would you characterize the stances of President Barack Obama and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney on medical liability reform? A: We are not seeing anything imminent in terms of legislative activity, but there is court activity. State judicial branches are looking at caps on noneconomic damages. Courts in Florida, for example, are expected to rule soon on the limits of noneconomic damages. President Obama has consistently brought up medical liability reform as an important issue, but he seems to approach it from a different perspective in terms of not supporting caps on non- economic damages. He has supported funding opportunities for testing of various other medical liability reforms at the state level. This is good, but it's not changing the system right now. I haven't seen a clear position from Mr. Romney about medical liability reform. Republicans, in general, have had medical liability reform as one of the key components of their health care package, but we're also beginning to see Republicans who aren't supporting federal medical liability reform. These individuals view medical liability reform as more of a states' rights issue. Q What is the ACS' vision for medical liability reform? A: We have advocated for years for a federal medical liability reform system similar to the MICRA reform measures California enacted more than 30 years ago. The ACS continues to favor federal medical liability reform, but we've seen more success from the states, where caps on noneconomic damages and other reforms we've sup- ported have been enacted. I tend to doubt we'll ever see medical liability reform at the federal level, but we continue to advocate it. The ACS has never supported placing limits on economic damages; rather, we propose placing reasonable limits on noneconomic damages. We also have never advocated blocking patients' right to sue. We need to have a practical system in place in which health care experts — health courts — rule on particular cases. Q What would you most like readers to know about the ACS' medical liability reform efforts? A: We need to educate state and federal legislators about the importance of this issue. It cannot be overstated that medical liability insurance costs are some of the key contributors to the high cost of health care and that reasonable medical liability reform could go a long way toward solving one of our country's most pressing problems. The ACS is looking at all options that could prove successful in bringing widespread medical liability reform to fruition. ■