Physicians win seats in state legislatures

Medical liability woes in West Virginia and Nevada spurred many physicians into political action.

By Tanya Albert, AMNews staff. Dec. 9, 2002.

When the legislatures of two of the states hardest hit by medical liability insurance problems -- West Virginia and Nevada -- go back into session next year, physicians will have a bigger say on tort reform and other health care issues.

West Virginia voters in November elected two physicians to the state House of Delegates. They also voted to put West Virginia State Medical Assn. Executive Director Evan Jenkins in the state Senate.

In Nevada, voters elected two physicians to the State Assembly.

Neither state had a single physician in their legislatures when tort reform was addressed last session.

"It's one thing for physicians to testify before a committee," said Lawrence P. Matheis, the Nevada State Medical Assn.'s executive director. "But now they can give opinions in caucuses that go on behind closed doors where lawmakers try to understand the issues. They can explain the pros and cons of issues from the physician's perspective. On health care issues, no one has more respect than physicians."

Doctors nationwide recently have been more politically active than they've been in years past. Before the West Virginia primaries, eight physicians sought legislative seats. And physicians in several other states ran for office in greater numbers than they have in previous years.

For many politically active doctors, rising medical liability insurance rates or the inability to secure professional liability insurance at all has been a catalyst for action.

Nevada and West Virginia physicians have been particularly hard-hit by the medical liability crunch and were especially motivated by the current liability atmosphere. Both states are on an AMA list of states in the midst of a liability insurance crisis. Voters also made medical liability an issue for candidates in those states. [...]