Roberts expects action on malpractice crisis
Bard’s legislation would reduce the mandatory limits of liability from $1 million to $250,000. It would also tap funds from the state’s $11 billion settlement with tobacco companies to help subsidize insurance costs. Hospitals and managed care insurance plans would be prohibited from requiring providers to carry any level of medical malpractice insurance greater than the new mandated $250,000 level.
At the moment, physicians must purchase $500,000 worth of insurance coverage from private carriers and $500,000 worth of coverage from the state-run Medical Professional Liability Catastrophe Loss Fund, known as the CAT Fund, which shares the malpractice awards load for doctors along with private insurers.
Under Bard’s bill, the amount of coverage needed would be cut by 75 percent. From 2003 to 2005, $125,000 of the mandated liability insurance would be purchased from the private insurance market, and $125,000 would come from the CAT Fund.
The amount of money physicians must pay for CAT Fund coverage is based on the amount of money the fund pays out each year for malpractice settlements and awards. Bard’s legislation would use tobacco settlement money during the years 2003 to 2005 to help reduce the unfunded liability of the CAT Fund, thus lowering the surcharge assessed to doctors.
If enacted the changes will take place next year. The legislation will require all insurers writing medical malpractice policies in the state to refile a rate filing with the state Department of Insurance within 15 days of the effective date to reflect changes made in the bill.
Over the past five years, medical malpractice insurance has become a major healthcare problem in the state. Since 1997, the state’s major malpractice insurers increased their rates between 80 percent and 147 percent, according to the Pennsylvania Medical Society. Doctors blame frivolous lawsuits and colossal jury awards for driving up insurance costs, while lawyers fault medical errors.
The three Uniontown obstetricians said that had they renewed their policy instead of deciding not to continue delivering babies, it would have been a 250 percent increase with the cost going from $150,000 to $400,000 per year.
As another way to push the issue, three Bucks County Republic legislators, Reps. Paul I. Clymer, Charles T. McIlhinney Jr. and Katharine M. Watson, are seeking to have a special session on the issue this year.
The three began seeking support for the issue in late August. Roberts said he has not been approached about signing on for a special session, but said the issue needs to be addressed because doctors are leaving all across the state. He earlier said that a special legislative session is good because lawmakers can concentrate only on the one issue.