Pushing tort reform, doctors backing two court hopefuls

Doctors want tort reform that would limit jury awards for pain and suffering.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR HEALTH WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Area doctors, running scared because of malpractice insurance costs, are on the political stump for two Ohio Supreme Court candidates they believe would support tort reform.
The doctors want tort reform, one of the proposed solutions to high-priced malpractice insurance costs, that would limit what doctors believe are unreasonable jury awards for pain and suffering.
Such a law has twice been passed by the Ohio Legislature, but both times was rejected as unconstitutional by 4-3 votes of the state's top court.
The Ohio State Medical Association is pushing for the re-election of Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton and the election of Lt. Gov. Maureen O'Connor, believing those candidates would tilt the court's opinion in favor of tort reform.
So the OSMA has supplied member doctors with background information on the issue, as well as brochures for their offices and sample letters to send to their patients, said Tim Maglione, OSMA senior director of government relations.
State rally
Hundreds of doctors -- many wearing white lab coats and sporting campaign buttons -- gathered Wednesday at the Statehouse to support a Republican-backed bill that would cap jury awards for pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases. Doctors say large jury verdicts and frivolous lawsuits are driving up the insurance costs.
Doctors and supporters filled more than half the lawn on the west side of the Statehouse, an unusually large event for a legislative issue. At least 2,000 people attended, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Opponents of the bill say insurance companies are raising prices to make up for stock market losses.
Evidence of concern
That doctors would take the unusual action of handing out political materials and mailing letters to their patients shows the level of concern they have about the insurance crisis, Maglione said.
Locally, the Orthopaedic Center in Canfield mailed letters to its patients. The center is not in immediate danger of closing.
But, sooner or later, if liability insurance premiums continue to rise and re-imbursements for services continue to fall, doctors will have to make a decision about whether to continue practicing, said Dr. Larry Herman, the center's administrator.
"I never thought I'd have to write this letter, but as your doctor I'm worried about your future access to quality health care," the letter begins.
No physician is perfect, and right or wrong, it is much cheaper to settle out of court than to go to trial. But then the insurance goes up, Dr. Herman said.
"It has to stop at some point. Otherwise, physicians will be afraid to practice. There has to be a cap on pain and suffering awards," Dr. Herman said.
An example
Maglione said there is a four-doctor office in Columbus that paid more than $100,000 for liability insurance in 2001. They had to use financial reserves to pay the premium of more than $500,000 in 2002.
They can't deliver enough babies (more than 700 in 2001) and see enough patients to cover their bills, he said. If another increase like that occurs, that office will close, Maglione said.
"There was a time when physicians, especially specialists, did make a lot of money and lived high and mighty. But that is in the past," he said.
"What we bill and what we collect are two different things. Doctors used to be able to afford malpractice insurance, but not now.
"Today, doctors can't see enough patients and do enough procedures to pay $100,000 or $150,000 a year in liability insurance premiums," Dr. Herman said.
Opposition
Doctors who bring politics into the office run the risk of appearing to do it only in their own self-interest, said Stuart Youngner, a medical ethicist at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
"They're using the doctor-patient relationship in a way that is potentially problematic," said Youngner, chairman of the school's bioethics department. "They'll say, 'Well, it's in the patients' interest,' but I think the issue is a little more complicated than that."
For example, patients might wonder why a doctor doesn't offer campaign information about an issue that offers increased health-care benefits, Youngner said.
O'Connor appreciates the doctors' support but isn't promising a vote in any direction, said Mark Weaver, O'Connor's campaign consultant.
XThe Associated Press contributed to this report.
alcorn@vindy.com