House approves compromise on malpractice insurance

Lawmakers also extended the deadline for their campaigns to file electronic finance reports.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- The Ohio House, by a 61-34 vote, approved a compromise Friday on a bill designed to hold down rates for doctors' medical-malpractice insurance.
The Senate also must approve the proposal, with a vote expected Tuesday.
The bill, approved Friday, would cap damage awards for injured patients at $350,000 for most claims and $500,000 for injuries causing permanent disability or damage.
If more than one patient is involved, such as a mother and her baby during a birth, damages would be capped at $500,000 in most cases and $1 million for those considered catastrophic.
House Speaker Larry Householder said his experience with his own family's doctor convinced him of the need for change. He said the doctor had been sued 16 times in 20 years.
"The way he explained it to me was, 'When you're in the business that I'm in, you've got to be sharp.' You can't be sharp when you've got this threat of someone suing you constantly hanging over your head," Householder said.
Rep. Dale Miller, a Cleveland Democrat, said, however, that the reason doctors must pay insurance premiums of tens of thousands of dollars each year is insurance companies' drive for profits.
"I think the insurance companies will use the benefits provided here to improve the bottom line," Miller said.
Campaign finance
Lawmakers also reached agreement on legislation that would have removed a requirement for their campaigns to file electronic finance reports beginning in January.
After talks with Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell's office, a House-Senate committee extended the deadline until March 1, 2004. The agreement also includes a pledge by Blackwell to work with campaigns to make the filing smooth.
Blackwell was satisfied with the agreement, spokesman Carlo LoParo said.
"Secretary of State Blackwell's primary objective was to reinstate mandatory electronic filing for state and legislative candidates," LoParo said.
The agreement now goes to the Senate.