Illinois Med-Mal Reform Appears to Stall

A package of medical liability reforms largely opposed by insurance industry interests seems to have a good chance to pass in the Illinois House of Representatives, but it’s Senate future is grim, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.

The bill, sponsored by Chicago Democrat Rep. John Cullerton, would pair a series of rate rollbacks and a state premium fund for doctors with measures designed to lessen the number of frivolous malpractice suits.

A competing bill offered by Moline Democrat Denny Jacobs has the support of insurers and the state’s medical groups but appears unlikely to make any headway in the Democratic-led General Assembly.

Cullterton’s bill would give the Illinois Department of Insurance the power to roll back rates it deemed excessive, a drastic change of course for a state whose rate regulation has been wide open for decades.

It would also create a fund to assist doctors unable to afford medical liability insurance premiums, though it’s unclear what revenue would fund the fund. The Chicago Tribune, the state’s largest newspaper, editorialized this week against the assistance fund saying that it would do nothing to address the underlying cause of higher rates — high jury awards.

The National Association of Mutual Insurance Cos., headquartered in Indianapolis, issued a news release agreeing with the newspaper’s assessment.