Consumers Caught in the Middle

In four states, Florida, Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming, pre-election battles raged between doctors, who claimed that America’s liability system is broken and should be repaired by placing caps on malpractice lawsuits, and trial lawyers against limiting damage awards and attorney fees.

Doctor-backed proposals were narrowly defeated in Wyoming and Oregon. In Nevada, voters approved a cap.

In Florida, voters supported limits on attorneys’ fees, but approved two lawyer-backed amendments intended to benefit malpractice victims. Amendment 3, pushed by medical doctors, limits plaintiffs’ lawyers fees by guaranteeing clients a greater share of damages in medical malpractice cases.

Alexander Clem, Florida Academy of Trial Lawyers president, said attorneys would continue to fight the idea, which he calls “price fixing.” He said the trial bar might fight the issue in court, arguing it could infringe on the right to freely contract for services.

Florida doctors were disappointed by the passage of lawyer-backed Amendments 7 and 8, both of which passed by large margins. Those amendments require doctors and hospitals to make reports of their medical mistakes public and take away the licenses of doctors who commit three incidents of medical malpractice.

The Florida Hospital Association quietly filed lawsuits even before the amendments passed, asking judges to block them from going into effect until the Florida Legislature clarifies what they mean, including spelling out what records must be released, by whom and how.

In Florida, battle lines are being drawn, again. Doctors, who perceive the vote as a win, want to maximize their benefits; while lawyers attempt to blunt the impact. The Florida Legislature, in the meantime, is gearing up to tailor the amendments to meet constitutional requirements.

Several studies predict that non-economic damages account for more than 60 percent of all malpractice lawsuits. A report by the Wyoming Healthcare Commission indicated that by capping non-economic medical malpractice damages at $250,000, insurance company losses in such cases could be reduced by 15 percent. Insurance companies would save from reduced damage awards and lower defense-related costs.

The bottom line here is that state legislatures have to make health care affordable. Politicians on both sides of such issues need to work together to serve the voters who put them in office, especially so when the public waves a red flag at them. The public is concerned about high medical costs and an obvious way to curb this escalation is to lessen doctor’s financial burden and make economic medical treatment more available to the public.