Medical Liability Reform Update: National Update

Patrick Hope, Esq., ACP legislative counsel, gave an overview of the federal liability reform landscape. He said that we are still short of the votes needed to pass liability reform in the Senate. Sixty votes are needed to pass liability reform in the Senate and there are only 52 to 53 votes. He said that the House voted along party lines to pass a MICRA bill and has enough votes to pass liability reform when ever it wants. He said that there are no surprises in the Senate even though there was a switch from a MICRA type reform with a single $250,000 cap to the Texas 2003 reform (law) model with a $250,000 cap on liability to physicians with a maximum of $750,000 total non-economic damage award for multiple defendants. Mr. Hope said the Texas liability reform law is the new model for liability reform (the new MICRA) at the federal level and that a bill is expected to be introduced in the Senate in May that is similar to the Texas law. The bill may include some other elements that are not in the Texas law such as a sliding scale of attorneys fees, joint and several liability, periodic payment for large awards, statue of limitations, and broader scope of practice (to include HMOs, pharmaceutical, medical devices, etc.). He said the law seems to be working in Texas. In Texas malpractice rates premium decreased 17 percent in 2004 and access to care has improved with over 3000 physician moving back into the state. Mr. Hope said that medical liability reform remains a top priority for the College at the national level. What we have learned from the Texas success is that states’ actions to reform medical liability are keeping the issue in the national spotlight. A summary of medical liability reform actions in the states for 2005-06 was available at the meeting.

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