Bush in Scranton offers malpractice solution

Rendell calls his solution “not useful”

By TOM KANE

	TRR photo by Tom Kane President Bush received loud applause at the University of Scranton. (Click for larger image)

SCRANTON, PA — President George W. Bush came to Scranton to outline his solution to the serious medical liability crisis that is driving malpractice insurance up by 50 and 100 percent in Pennsylvania.

He spoke to a partisan crowd in the University of Scranton’s gymnasium on January 16.

The core of his solution is the imposition by the federal government of a cap or limit on court awards given by juries in malpractice lawsuits.

Because of high court awards in the last two years in the state, many insurance companies say they have to double their rates, forcing some doctors to curtail their practices and others to move out of the state. A few insurance companies have refused to do business in the state.

“There will be a cap of $250,000 on non-medical damages and a cap on punitive damages,” Bush said. He did not specify what the punitive damage cap would be. Non-medical damages refer to psychological hardship and emotional stress.

“We cannot allow this condition to continue,” Bush said. “The medical liability system is broken. We’re going to fix it.”

In the last session of Congress, the House passed a bill providing a cap on lawsuits but the Democrat-dominated Senate did not pass it. The new Senate will be controlled by Republicans.

“We’re going to make it happen in the Senate this session,” Bush said.

In a press conference at the Moses Taylor Hospital, a few blocks away in the same city an hour later, Pennsylvania Governor-elect Ed Rendell, a Democrat, gave a press conference calling Bush “uninformed” and his solution “not useful.”

“I should think the president would know this, but the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania does not allow caps on any court awards by constitutional regulation,” Rendell said. “It would take a constitutional amendment to change it and that can take two or three years.”

There is an outside chance that the federal government’s law could superseded the state law but it wasn’t at all certain, he said.

	TRR photo by Tom Kane Governor-elect Ed Rendell responds to Bush’s address at nearby Moses Taylor Hospital. (Click for larger image)

Rendell said that Bush could assist Pennsylvania immediately by issuing a presidential order designating Scranton as an urban area in determining insurance rates.

“It is now considered a rural area where rates are a lot higher. Now, that would help us right away,” Rendell said.

“Frivolous lawsuits are a national problem driving up insurance premiums and Pennsylvania is one of the hardest hit of all the states,” Bush said. “Damages awarded by juries in Philadelphia were more than those awarded by the entire state of California,” he said.

“It’s not that simple,” said Honesdale attorney Nick Barna.

“Yes, there are a lot of frivolous lawsuits, but the insurance companies are causing a lot of the problem by overcharging in their rates. That has to stop. Also, the authorities have to get rid of those doctors who are most guilty of malpractice occurrences. And there has to be competent lawyers on both sides of a trial. When you put up somebody who isn’t competent defending the doctors, you’re going to get bad judgments,” Barna said.

One local doctor, Dr. Albert Callahan, a general pediatrician with the Pediatric Practice of Northeast Pennsylvania in Honesdale, PA, is leaving his practice and moving to West Springfield, MA. The rise in malpractice insurance is partially the reason, he said. The low reimbursements given doctors by the insurance companies is another reason for his leaving.

“My malpractice insurance will rise 106 percent this year,” Callahan said. “I appreciate the fact that the federal and state governments are beginning to address this issue in Pennsylvania but it’s only a beginning. They have a lot more work to do.”

As a small business owner, a doctor has the same problems meeting bills, salaries of employees and insurance costs as any other business.

“You have to be able to make a decent living after your expenses,” Callahan said. “It’s becoming more difficult to do that in Pennsylvania.”

Callahan said that the Pediatric Practice of Northeastern Pennsylvania will remain open following his departure.