GOVERNMENT & MEDICINE

Liability insurance crisis hits breaking point in W.Va., Pa.

Office closures are avoided in Pennsylvania, but some West Virginia doctors start 2003 taking 30-day leaves of absence.

By Tanya Albert, AMNews staff. Jan. 20, 2003.

Before the ball dropped in Times Square New Year's Eve, medical liability insurance was shaping up to be an even more pressing topic for physicians and their patients in 2003 than it was in 2002. And so far, the new year seems to be playing out that way.

Surgeons in Wheeling, W.Va., took 30-day leaves of absence from hospitals starting Jan. 1. Pennsylvania's governor-elect helped avert office closures there by making legislative promises, but physicians' ability to continue to practice hinges on what lawmakers do in the coming months.

Nearly two dozen state legislatures expect to consider tort reform bills aimed at easing problems with the availability and affordability of medical liability insurance.

And Congress -- now with a Republican-controlled Senate led by a physician -- plans to debate tort reform at the national level again. The House passed a measure last year that included a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages, but the Senate never took up the subject.

"The AMA believes this issue will be discussed early in the new Congress because the crisis continues to get worse," said American Medical Association President-elect Donald J. Palmisano, MD. "The AMA is concerned that patients will continue to lose access to care unless the broken liability system is fixed now."

Medical liability problems have been brewing for two years in some states. While federal lawmakers have grappled with the issue, some states have already sprung into action to address problems, and more are expected to pass legislation this year.

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