Posted on 01/01/2003 6:47:09 AM PST by Captain Shady
By DAVID B. CARUSO
Associated Press Writer Hospitals in eastern Pennsylvania braced for a potential New Year's Day walkout by scores of surgeons who say they can no longer afford to buy malpractice insurance policies.
But with Tuesday's midnight deadline looming, there were signs that Gov.-elect Ed Rendell might have averted a large-scale work stoppage with a proposed aid package that would reduce doctors' insurance payments by $220 million in 2003.
Several large surgical practices in northeast Pennsylvania backed off Tuesday from a threat to stop performing operations Wednesday if something wasn't done about their insurance costs.
Scranton's biggest hospital, Community Medical Center, notified state officials Tuesday that its neurosurgeons agreed to keep working, avoiding the closing of northeast Pennsylvania's only trauma center.
"It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders," said hospital spokeswoman Jane Gaul.
It was unclear whether doctor shutdowns would be avoided altogether.
At least 21 hospitals in southeastern Pennsylvania expected to experience some service shortages on Wednesday, according to the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council, a lobbying group that represents hospitals.
Most of the doctors threatening to stop work were surgeons, but some doctors in specialties where lawsuits are more common, like obstetrics, had also said they might curtail their practices.
Gov. Mark Schweiker said he didn't expect a crisis, but warned that there might be "pockets" around the state where patients would have trouble finding specialists.
Weeks ago, hundreds of doctors had been poised to stop working on New Year's Day to protest high premiums.
The Pennsylvania Medical Society said that in early December, at least 1,100 doctors were still looking for affordable insurance for the new year. Hundreds have since bought policies, but the society predicted there would still be many who would stop practicing on Jan. 1.
Those who have agreed to keep working are banking that Rendell - a Democrat who doesn't take office for another three weeks - can persuade the Republican-controlled Legislature to accept his plan.
Debate over the proposal isn't likely until midwinter.
"Our hope is that Rendell will be true to his word, and put through the reforms he has proposed," said neurosurgeon Steven Barrer of Abington Memorial Hospital in suburban Philadelphia.
Pennsylvania law requires surgeons to buy $1 million in medical liability insurance, plus pay into a state fund that helps pay court judgments that exceed the limits on their private policies.
For some doctors, the combined premiums can cost as much as $150,000 a year. Other doctors unable to obtain private coverage because of their claims history have been forced to turn to a state insurance plan that can cost as much as $300,000 a year.
Rendell's proposal would slash doctor payments to the state medical liability fund, and instead have health insurance companies pay for the fund through a one-time "assessment." Insurers haven't said whether they will fight the plan.
Surgeons in some specialties could save $30,000 to $50,000 a year under Rendell's plan.
Meanwhile, West Virginia officials doubted they could prevent a similar walkout by two dozen surgeons from four hospitals in the state's northern Panhandle.
Insurance and Retirement Services Director Tom Susman said Tuesday that the doctors seemed reluctant to wait a week for legislative proposals being drafted to address the costs of malpractice insurance.
In the event of a walkout, the hospitals planned to divert patients to Ohio and Pennsylvania, or south to Morgantown, W.Va.
Owl_Eagle
”Guns Before Butter.”
Besides Pennsyvania, West Virginia (#49) and Mississippi (#50) are the poorest, most corrupt, and most 3rd World of all 50 states, yet have many of the richest lawyers. Mississippi judges get huge "loans" and oceanfront condos from the crooked trial lawyers. The attorney industry (read democrat party) basically runs both states as their medieval fiefdoms. (see linked newspaper articles at www.Overlawyered.com )
The trauma care, emergency surgical, and obstetrical physicians in all 3 states (plus Clark County, Nevada---Las Vegas) are being driven out of business due to massive malpractice premiums they cannot afford. There is no meaningful trauma care in most of both states. The obstetricians in particular have been run out of town by the lawyer industry, becoming economic refugees to other states less benighted than the pathetic, corrupt West Virginia and Mississippi backwaters. Healthcare in WV and 'Ol Miss (already the worst of all 50 states) is detreriorating rapidly due to the multi-millionire greed of the shysters.
The dirty little secret of medical liability insurance is that only 30% of the premiums go to (allegedly) injured plaintiffs. The trial lawyers get their 30-40% of course. But the costs of the DEFENSE attorneys is equal to the payouts to the plaintiffs attorneys!!
God forbid the pathetic excuses for governors in Pennsylvania, WV, and Mississippi would enact authentic tort reform to lower the income of their lawyer buddies.
The democrats will enrich themselves (or at least their trial lawyer constituency), destroy the trauma and obstetrical system, and have the SHAMELESS gall to demand a federal takeover and universal health system to "correct" the non-functional, lawyer-ravaged system. I am absoluely convinced this will be lawyer-politician Hillary's agenda when the time comes.
I think that the trial lawyers are only too happy to be a part of the democrat effort to destroy the health care system, so that the democrats will then trot themselves out of the shadows to claim to be saviors!. I strongly believe that national health care will be the cornerstone to a Hillary Clinton campaign!!
One maddening thing (for the docs) about the med malpractice industry is that the suits and payouts generally bear no relationship to competence. Thus doctors who agree see the most high risk (sickest) patients are the most likely to be sued. Very sick patients are more likely to have adverse outcomes. Another example is the gold mine (for crooked lawyers) who make mega-bucks off of neurosurgeons (brain injury almost always has some residual brain damage, by definition) and obstetricans (congenital blameless birth defects equals lawyer yachts and French Riviera condos).
My recommendations for this problem and for the unregulated lawyer plague that damages all of our lives in so many ways? The world would be a better place with:
1) Loser Pays.
2) Massive tort reform on a unprecedented level
3) Widespread empowerment of paralegals for independent practice
4) An end to punitive damages.
5) An end to bogus class action suits.
6) Outlawing contingency fees.
7) Lawyers forbidden from running from office. They are agents of the judiciary.
8) Most important: a total disempowerment of the bar associations. Lawyer discipline by true consumer control. Like any other industry.
It seems that two states where a crisis has developed (West Virginia and Mississippi) are known for having idiotic juries. What those states need to realize is that Atlas, M.D. will shrug and move to another state if they keep kicking him in the shins.
proposed aid package that would reduce doctors' insurance payments by $220 million in 2003.
Thereby simply shifting costs from one pocket to another and avoiding any consideration of the cause of this mess.
The burden of risk would properly be placed on the patient assenting to surgery.
Our current system places all risk on doctors, as if they are unerring gods, which is absolutely ridiculous.
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