Proposed cap on lawsuits!

[PrincessFiona]

What do you guys think? In general, I tend not to agree with Bush on....well...most things but I'm definately in favor of this. He is proposing a limit of $250,000 for 'pain and suffering' . I still think that that is a high number...but I think it would really be a step in the right direction! As it is, it seems like many physicians that we know have the attitude that it isn't 'if' they will be sued about something, but 'when'. Maybe this will change things.

I can't imagine that the big legal lobby is going to go for this kind of reform though.....so I doubt it will get the thumbs up in the end.....


Any opinions?

Kris

[DCJenn]

There was a really interesting discussion on the Diane Rehm show (NPR) yesterday about the state of affairs in the healthcare system in general. They said that while medical testing isn't really a huge part of why things are so expensive- at least 30% of all medical testing ordered is due to "defensive medicine", that is physicians ordering tests that aren't necessarily medically necessary just to coever themselves in case of a law suit.

I'm so glad my husband doesn't have to work under those conditions.

I feel very badly for people who were harmed by bad doctors but just as many or more have bad outcomes by good doctors. There's a new book and I wich I could remember the title (again, from Fresh Air on NPR) that a surgical resident wrote- basicially his premise is that Good doctors make bad decisions, bad doctors make bad decisions, good doctors make good decisions and bad things still happen. I really want to read it. Anyway, he talked about this very issue as well, and emphasized that medicine is NOT an exact science and those who think that it is set themselves up for problems.

I was quite annoyed to read that the Gibbs are automatically blaming the doctor for Maurice Gibbs death.

Anyway, my point to this ramble is that I agree that the malpractice limits should be capped. (and if you all knew how it pained me to agree on anything that the man that didn't win the popular vote does....)

Jenn

[houseelf]

Ahem...as one of the resident bad guys (read: lawyer) I agree with the caps too. I find the majority of these PI cases offensive.

Kelly

[SueC]

I haven't heard of this, but I think it sounds great! Maybe I'd feel differently if I were on the other side, but I have always felt that whenever someone smacks some doctor with a million dollar lawsuit, they are just placing a price tag on their loved one. I'm not a big fan of George W. Bush, but if he is able to accomplish this I would definitely like him a little bit better!

I'm totally in favor of the malpractice cap. I did a lot of research into what premiums were in what states, and we actually excluded some states from our job search for just that reason--which was tough, because some of them were places we really wanted to go. The things I read were insane--that the premiums for the exact same doctor could vary from $40,000/yr in California, to $120,000/yr in Florida and $190,000/yr in Pennsylvania. Doctors are moving their practices elsewhere when they see premium jumps of 52%, and the main impact of all of this is felt by the patient populations in these areas--they get hurt the most.

Sure, I've read about some horrific malpractice cases, but they are so few when you look at how many people are in practice today. I'm wondering when as a human race did we start expecting perfection--that if you went to the doctor things would be okay 100% of the time? I see it in my work as well--no one can stand to be inconvenienced, or uncomfortable, or have anything bad happen. People instantly look for someone to blame. It's become a sort of lottery mentality--put something over on those rich doctors, who are 99.999% of the time really doing whatever they can to make people well and healthy and live long lives.

Eliz

As a stay at home spouse that has the time to read over the journals that come out with the information on PLI and the damge that can be done, it appears to be time for this to happen. Last year, Las Vegas shut down their only Level 1 Trauma Center due to increase Ins premiums. The state of Mississippi was losing all their OB/Gyns because of increases of 200% and more on insurance. It is worse on the East coast, California was the only state that already had anything in place to limit amounts.
It has caused an increase in insurance for all doctors but has really affected the surgeons, and OB's and high risk specialties. A pediatric neurosurgeon in Kansas City insurance premium increased $140,000 from last year. All to cover the lawsuit that will eventually come, because the indigent paitent (read-parents) are looking for a payday. All this is done if a mistake was made or not, or if the parents are "convinced" that more measures could have been taken. The majority of malpractice cases are settled, and that money comes from insurance.
There is debate that is about Dr's wanting more $, that isn't true at all. It is about staying in business. If your state doesn't have any limit on the malpractice claims then it will run Dr's out of the state. So, that in turn hurts the patient, who by the way is the most uninformed next to the Dr's about this whole issue. A recent article in a D.O. sponsored magazine stated that about 70% of Dr's interviewed didn't even know who their Senators/State reps were. That is disturbing and yet not, since I am married to a Dr I know the amount of time that they have to pay attention to news, be it local or national. But they are figures in the community and need to be aware of what they can do for them and their patients beyond the medical aspects.
Several medical webpages have links to use online faxing to Senators, and to get people more familiar with this issue.
http://www.aoa-net.org/Government/relations/PLI/pli.htm

caps on payouts were introduced last year by the New South Wales State Government. This happened only shortly before Australia's biggest provider of PLI, United Medical Protection went into voluntary administration. The Cth Gov had to step in to provide indemnity as practitioners were not happy about treating private patients. So if your surgery was scheduled in a public hospital you are a-ok - too bad if you were in a private hospital (strange irony isn't it?).


There has also been a cap on the damages that can be awarded in all negligence cases. This occurred after some guy was awarded millions after he dived head first into a sandbar at Bondi Beach. He was not aware that there *could* be sandbars at the beach or that he would be a paraplegic after his injuries.

The council should have sign posted it.

bit of a joke really

As I am with just about everything that that George W. Bush does (Sorry girls, but I have to stand up for the man because I am a fan of his politics), I am definately in agreement with the proposed cap on lawsuits. It may not be enough but at least it is a step in the right direction. Another issue that is very interesting is the new residency regulation that will go into action in July of this year. It limits residents to spending only 80 hours a week inside the hospital doors. Although that is still a lot, for some residencies that would be a significant cut in hours. What do the rest of you all think about this law? There has been some critisicm on this law form the medical community because they feel that they cannot adequately train residents to become doctors in that amount of time. Any Comments?
Lauren

[Meenah]

WELL.
Even though I think he is a #$#%$# PIG I have to agree with him on this. I am very liberal left wing here!!!
Luanne

luanne,
we all have our different opinions ! I am very conservative in my politics, and therefore I am on the right side of the spectrum. But I am just glad that we can all communicate our opinions and discuss them in an organized mannerly way.
Lauren

[DCJenn]

I think there are some pretty good arguments presented by the medical community (and by good, I mean they make sense to them). First, someone is going to have to do the work that used to be done by residents. One argument that I've heard is that they are afraid it's going to take away from the teaching time. whatever. The next problem is the severe nursing shortage that is just about everywhere. There aren't enough nurses now and the ones that they still are there are getting close to retirement age and are also exerting upward pressure on their salaries and benefits (as well they should- right Luanne!?!) Some insititutions are expecting that the nurses and PAs will be picking up the slack. Not exactly what they had in mind, I'm sure! The other thing I've heard is that residencies mught have to be extended. Honestly, I really don't think it would have made a difference to us if the residency had been more than the three years. So, obviously the problem continues to be medicine trying to stay within the box.

Jenn