MAHONING COUNTY Doctors group offers ideas to get malpractice insurance on course

Local doctors say they may retire, quit or move if there is no relief.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR HEALTH WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- With the benefits of tort reform years away, the Ohio State Medical Association has proposed several additional measures to bring the cost of medical malpractice insurance under control.
Tort reform, which went into affect in Ohio this spring, limits court awards for noneconomic damages to $350,000 generally, and up to $1 million in special circumstances. In addition, the law imposes a four-year deadline to file malpractice suits.
Dr. Marc Saunders, president of the Mahoning County Medical Society, said if relief does not come soon, many local doctors say they will retire, quit providing high-risk procedures, or move to states, such as Indiana and Wisconsin, where liability insurance costs are more under control.
"We are absolutely in crisis. I know of many physicians who are looking to move to other areas, for salary positions at hospitals," Dr. Saunders said.
"It's going to affect patients. They are going to wake up one day and not be able to get a doctor's appointment," he said.
Tim Maglione of the Ohio State Medical Association said that tort reform is just the first piece of the puzzle to bring liability insurance costs under control.
Additional proposals
Other moves proposed by OSMA include:
U Medical review panels to screen litigation for nonmeritorious claims and encourage settlement of meritorious claims before trial. Panel decisions are nonbinding, but the results are admissible as evidence in court.
UTemporary state tax credit for physicians based on a percentage of their liability insurance premium to offset dramatic premium increases. Because this tax would be based on a percentage of the premium paid, high-risk specialties paying higher premiums would receive a greater tax credit, providing more equitable relief for the most severely impacted physicians.
USliding-scale attorney contingency fees similar to those enacted in California. Independent studies say that a California-type law lowering lawyer contingency fees would yield a 12-percent increase in damage awards retained by the plaintiff.
ULower hospital-required liability limits, which are usually $1 million per incident and $3 million in the aggregate, to $200,000 per incident and $600,000 in the aggregate, thereby providing premium relief to physicians.
UPatient compensation fund, an "excess layer" liability insurance mechanism, designed to increase professional liability coverage availability and affordability.
There is no "silver bullet," no single thing, that will solve the medical liability insurance crisis, Maglione said.