Task Force Report In But Time Running Out for Maryland Med Mal Session

Gov. Robert Ehrlich, who submitted medical malpractice reform legislation more than a month ago, has received a final report from a task force he created to recommend solutions to the insurance crisis.

The report contains 38 recommendations, some of which the Republican governor and the state’s Democratic lawmakers have been negotiating over for months. Many are in the bill that the governor proposed.

A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers has called for a special legislative session to consider changes in the law that would help hold the line on increases in malpractice premiums but no session has yet been called.

Ehrlich, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael Busch have met several times over the last three months to discuss the possibility of a special session. A Senate committee is scheduled to wrap up its hearings on the issue this month.

Top 2005 agenda
If nothing is done at a special session, malpractice insurance is expected to top the agenda for the 2005 General Assembly that begins in January.

Malpractice insurance premiums for many doctors, which were due Dec. 1, are up 33 percent from last year, prompting some doctors in high-risk specialties such as obstetrics and neurosurgery to warn that they cannot afford the higher premiums and will have to shut down or curtail their practices.

Democratic and Republican leaders from both houses of the Maryland General Assembly have urged convening the special session “as soon as practical.” The legislators include Sen. John Astle (D-Anne Arundel County); Sen. John Hafer (R-District One, Western Maryland); Delegate Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County); Delegate Kumar Barve (D-Montgomery County) Delegate John Donoghue (D-Washington County); and Delegate Wade Kach (R-Baltimore County).

The lawmakers are backing a position paper published by the Maryland Medical Society (MedChi). They want any legislation to include a state-funded pool to stabilize malpractice insurance premiums in addition to longer-term liability reforms. They are also seeking limits on attorneys’ fees as well as increased support of the Maryland Patient Safety Center.

“We’ve had task forces, studies, and exhaustive debate on medical liability reform. Now we have to take action to provide Maryland doctors with the immediate relief they need so that they can continue to serve patients in the future. Our proposal offers comprehensive solutions to the crisis. Accordingly, we urge our leaders to convene this special session soon so we can deliver meaningful reform now before it’s too late,” said House Majority Leader Kumar Barve.

“We have come to the point where the entire healthcare delivery system in Maryland is in jeopardy because our medical liability insurance crisis is deepening by the day. Women in my area have been losing their doctors for over a year and we have to reverse this situation,” commented House Speaker Pro Tem Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County).

Sen. John Hafer (R- District One, Western Maryland), who serves on the Senate Finance Committee with Astle, said he sees protecting Maryland’s healthcare delivery system “as an issue that cries out for bipartisan support because it is vitally important to every citizen of the state.”

The MedChi recommendations and the findings of the governor’s task will be part of the mix to be considered by the General Assembly if and when it takes up malpractice insurance. Ehrlich’s bill embraced the major recommendations by the task force, including caps on awards.

The task force also recommends limits on attorney’s fees, a proposal included in Ehrlich’s bill that has been sharply criticized by Miller and some other Senate leaders.