Med Mal Reforms Start To Work

Med-Mal Reforms Start To Work

03/28/2004

Statistics compiled by the state Supreme Court show a significant decrease in new medical malpractice cases in 2002 -- a development that is both welcome and ironic relative to current events in Harrisburg.

Throughout Pennsylvania, 1,989 medical malpractice were filed last year, down from 2,686 in 2000, 2,714 in 2001 and 2,957 in 2002. It's too soon to tell if the decline, resulting largely from reforms passed in 2002, is the beginning of a downward trend. But it clearly is the reversal of an upward trend.

In Northeastern Pennsylvania, fewer suits were filed than in the previous year in Lackawanna, Monroe, Pike and Wyoming counties. In Lackawanna County, 35 suits were filed in 2003, compared to 99 in the previous year.

Perhaps the best news regarding new litigation was that it plummeted in Philadelphia, by more than 58 percent, from 1,365 in 2002 to 577 last year. A principal contention of those who sought the reforms in 2002 was that many lawyers engaged in "venue shopping," that is, in trying to file cases in jurisdictions with histories of producing large verdicts in favor of plaintiffs.

A key reform passed in 2002 was a ban on venue-shopping. In 2003, the numbers of cases filed in suburban Bucks and Montgomery counties increased. But the total number of cases filed in all of those jurisdictions, combined, still was significantly lower than the total in each of the previous four years.

The good news, ironically, received a lukewarm reception in many quarters of the state Capitol, where some lawmakers need bad news as the basis to drive a proposed constitutional amendment that would enable them to establish caps on non-economic damage awards. For them, caps are a political, ideological issue rather than an economic one. The Supreme Court also recorded that verdicts were returned in favor of plaintiffs in only 25 percent of cases that went to trial in 2003. But no one knows how much was paid in the majority of cases that were settled. So the amendment proponents are driving forward without even knowing the scope of the problem.

Gov. Ed Rendell was on the mark when he said that the issue is not just the amounts of awards, but the costs of litigation, even when doctors and institutions win their cases. He proposed a series of further reforms designed to reduce the costs of litigation, mainly for defense-initiated mediation.

The governor also has maintained his focus on the original issue -- the costs imposed on physicians and institutions, that threaten the public's access to care. So far, state taxpayers have covered more than $400 million in catastrophic loss coverage for physicians. The governor would extend payments for neurosurgeons, obstetricians and other high-risk specialties, through 2007. While many taxpayers object to paying medical malpractice insurance premiums when they can't afford their own escalating health-care coverage, the alternative -- restricted access -- could be even more expensive.

The question now is how the insurance industry will respond. According to the Insurance Department, at least eight entities are writing malpractice insurance in the state, and 17 more have registered to do so. The Legislature should enact further reforms, requiring medical malpractice insurers to seek state approval for rate increases.

Clearly, the reforms have produced positive results. And, along with new proposals, they are likely to produce more long before the proposed constitutional amendment even is eligible for the ballot. The Legislature ought to focus on those practical reforms rather than ideological exercises.