PENNSYLVANIA Proposal reduces doctors' payments

Rendell called the plan a 'temporary fix' for the doctors, adding that help is on the way.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- In a bid to keep disgruntled doctors from walking off the job Wednesday, Gov.-elect Ed Rendell unveiled a proposal to cut physician payments to a state malpractice insurance fund by two-thirds.
The plan, released days before scores of doctors said they would stop work rather than continue to pay high insurance premiums, would cut physician contributions to the MCare fund by $220 million.
Instead, the state's health insurers would be forced to pay a one-time "special assessment" to finance the fund, which helps pay court damages to patients who have been injured by a doctor's negligence.
Rendell called the plan a temporary fix for doctors hit hard by rapidly rising malpractice premiums, and noted that it needs approval from the state Legislature before it could take effect.
Joint press conference
But in a joint press conference Monday, Rendell and departing Gov. Mark Schweiker asked doctors to consider the plan a "show of good faith" that permanent reforms are in the works, and urged them to keep working.
"This ought to be enough to keep you practicing in Pennsylvania," Rendell said. "We hear you. Help is on the way. Everybody is serious about this."
Doctors reacted warmly to Rendell's proposal, but it was unclear whether it would keep many of them from stopping work Wednesday.
Scores of physicians in eastern Pennsylvania have said they intend to close their practices Wednesday to protest high malpractice insurance premiums, which have gone up more than 50 percent for thousands of doctors this year and can run as high as $200,000 annually.
"It [Rendell plan] is certainly worthy of discussion," said Margo Opsasnick, chief executive of Delta Medix, a surgical practice that had announced it was closing. "There are obviously some positives. But is it enough?"
The Pennsylvania Medical Society also praised the plan, but said it was unclear whether it would head off walkouts.
The proposal received a sharper reaction from health insurers.
Concerned about plan
Capital Blue Cross Chief Executive James Mead said he was "disappointed and troubled" by the proposal, which would link insurers' payments to the MCare fund to the size of their operating surpluses. He said the companies need surpluses to keep premiums low.
"We recognize that there is a serious problem when it comes to medical malpractice in this state, and we also realize that something is going to have to be done about it. But I'm not sure how this proposal solves the problem," Mead said.
The Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania, which represents commercial health insurers including Aetna and Cigna, questioned whether the companies would be any more able to absorb the costs than doctors.
Doctors have lobbied for tort reforms that would cap damages for people injured by a doctor's error, and make it tougher to file "frivolous" suits.
Rendell, who takes office next month, also said he expects the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to consider adopting a rule that would bar attorneys from bringing a malpractice case without first obtaining a "certificate of merit" from an independent physician.
The certificates would indicate that the independent doctor had looked at the circumstances of the case, and agreed that it was not a frivolous suit. Rendell said that in other states, similar rules have cut malpractice claims by 25 percent.