| 01/12/2005 |
| Poll: Award caps not priority |
| By Jeff Sonderman TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER |
|
A nationwide poll about health care priorities
suggests that President Bush's call for capping jury awards in
medical malpractice lawsuits is not among the public's
greatest concerns.
Mr. Bush has made medical malpractice lawsuit reform a top priority for congressional action this year. His proposal would limit juries to awarding no more than $250,000 for pain and suffering. The American public has other things on its mind, according to a poll released Tuesday from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, both nonpartisan groups. While most supported caps, only 26 percent said they should be a top priority. It placed eleventh out of 12 issues. Even among Republicans, less than 40 percent said caps should be a top priority. Americans were more concerned with the related issue of improving the quality of medical care and reducing errors, with more than half saying it should be a top priority. Scranton attorney David Fallk said he was not surprised by the poll's findings. "If given the choice, I'm sure Americans would rather cap insurance company excesses, drug company price gouging and the shocking number of preventable medical errors before seeing their constitutional rights limited," Mr. Fallk said. The biggest health care concern was lowering the cost of health care and insurance, according to the poll. Two-thirds emphasized the issue. Polling in Pennsylvania has also suggested people support caps but are more concerned about other health care issues, said LeeAnne Rogers, policy analyst for IssuesPA, an arm of the Pennsylvania Economy League. Americans concerned about malpractice were more interested in solutions limiting lawsuits rather than awards, according to the poll. Pennsylvania made such reforms in 2002. A physician must certify any malpractice case before it can be filed. The state also required cases be filed in the county where treatment occurred. The year reforms were passed, 70 malpractice suits were filed in Lackawanna County. In 2003, there were 35, and in 2004, there were 31, according to court statistics. Health care issues ranked as a third priority behind the war in Iraq and the national economy, tied with "terrorism/national security."
|