Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Rounds Up Media Coverage of State Action on Medical Malpractice

Several states this week have taken action to address the increased cost of medical malpractice insurance premiums for providers. Summaries of media coverage of the actions appear below:

• Florida: A Florida task force formed to address increased medical malpractice insurance premiums, which providers in the state attribute to high jury awards in medical malpractice lawsuits, met with Gov. Jeb Bush (R) on Dec. 3 to discuss the issue, the AP/Tallahassee Democrat reports. Bush told the Select Task Force on Healthcare Professional Liability Insurance that he supports a cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits. He added, "If you look at the states that have meaningful caps and you compare it to the states like Florida that don't and you compare insurance premiums, you'll see." Bush said that he will make the issue "if not our highest priority ... in the top one or two" next year. The task force plans to recommend a proposal to Bush in January (Royse, AP/Tallahassee Democrat, 12/4).
  
• Massachusetts: The Massachusetts Medical Society on Dec. 3 filed legislation that would limit damage awards in medical malpractice lawsuits, the Boston Herald reports. The bill would cap noneconomic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits at $500,000, hold interest payments at current rates, place a number of requirements on which physicians can testify as expert witnesses and allow court oversight over large payments. Dr. Charles Welch, president of the society, said, "Massachusetts is facing a growing crisis in health care, in large part because of a professional liability system that is teetering on the brink of collapse." Marc Breakstone, a Boston attorney who specializes in medical malpractice lawsuits, opposes the bill. He said, "I'm not surprised they dusted off this legislation, which they file perennially and which has always fallen on deaf ears and hopefully will do the same in the coming season" (Lasalandra, Boston Herald, 12/4).
  
• Nevada: The Nevada secretary of state on Dec. 2 qualified a petition to overturn a law passed this summer that limits damage awards in medical malpractice lawsuits, a move that will require state lawmakers to "reopen the contentious medical malpractice debate" in February, the Las Vegas Sun reports (Kulin/Neff, Las Vegas Sun, 12/3). The petition, filed by Keep Our Doctors in Nevada, raises concerns about legislation passed in a special legislative session in August that placed a $350,000 cap on jury awards for pain and suffering in most medical malpractice lawsuits and a $50,000 civil liability cap on noneconomic damages in lawsuits against trauma care physicians. As part of the legislation, hospital officials must report medical errors to the state, and physicians can face liability only for their part of the fault in medical malpractice lawsuits that seek noneconomic damages. The petition would eliminate exceptions to the $350,000 cap and would limit the payments that attorneys can receive from a settlement (AP/Las Vegas Sun, 10/17). The Nevada Legislature will have to pass the petition "or some form of it" or place the petition on the 2004 ballot, the Sun reports. Larry Matheis, executive director of the Nevada State Medical Association, said, "We know the legislation (that was passed) will take time to work. If it works, we won't know for several years. But what if we're at 2004 and have lost 40% of the doctors in Clark County?" (Las Vegas Sun, 12/3).
  
• New Jersey: New Jersey Assembly Democrats on Dec. 2 unveiled legislation to address increased medical malpractice insurance premiums for obstetricians in the state, the Newark Star-Ledger reports. The bill would require plaintiffs to file lawsuits that allege medical malpractice in deliveries before the children reach age 13, down from age 20 under current state law. In addition, the legislation would require a mediator to hear medical malpractice cases before they move to court, expand the authority of judges to reduce jury awards and require expert witnesses to have the "same credentials as the physician being sued." However, the bill would not include a limit on noneconomic damages, a provision included in two Republican-sponsored bills under consideration by the state Senate Commerce Committee. Robert Rigolosi, president of the Medical Society of New Jersey, said that the Democratic legislation "nibbles around the edges of the tort system that trial lawyers exploit" and would only place a "Band-Aid on a gaping wound." Sen. Joseph Vitale (D), who plans to introduce a separate bipartisan plan next week, said that he opposes a cap on noneconomic damages. He added, "I don't think it has support on either side of the aisle" (Schwaneberg, Newark Star-Ledger, 12/3).