ATRA TO HHS: SUREST ROAD TO ‘PATIENT SAFETY’ IS ACCESS TO TOP MEDICAL SPECIALISTS, DRUGS AND DEVICES

Says Well-Intentioned Talk of ‘Accountability and Transparency’ on Medical Errors May Become Moot if Care Is Unavailable

Washington, DC, October 26, 2009 -- As a Department of Health and Human Services panel today convened a hearing to begin discussions of medical liability reform demonstration projects, American Tort Reform Association president Tiger Joyce reminded policymakers that, “Without access to the best specialists and live-saving drugs and medical devices, much of the recent talk about medical errors and patient safety could quickly become academic.”

ATRA’s written testimony to HHS’s Patient Safety and Medical Liability Reform National Advisory Council Subcommittee, which conducted today’s tightly controlled hearing here in Washington, “was the only means by which to express our views and it was quite limited in length,” Joyce noted. “An effective medical liability system should provide predictability and fairness, guided by the over-arching principle of equitably and promptly compensating those who are truly injured by medical negligence,” Joyce’s written statement began. “A balanced system also would help to promote access to health care, deter harmful practices, and reduce the cost of wasteful ‘defensive medicine.’ But in these areas, the current system comes up short.

“Medical liability awards are rising swiftly,” Joyce reported in his written HHS statement. “The median medical liability jury award nationally nearly tripled from $157,000 in 1997 to $487,500 in 2007, with average award amounts rising from $347,134 in 1997 to $637,134 in 2006, according to the Physicians Insurers Association of America (PIAA), a trade association composed of insurance companies owned by doctors and dentists. Medical liability premiums in many states, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut, have more than double in just the last few years.

“Many doctors confronted with the exorbitant cost of medical liability insurance have scaled back their practices, moved to states with more favorable liability climates, or stopped practicing altogether. This problem is particularly acute in high-risk specialties. For example, 23% of neurosurgeons no longer treat brain tumors, 75% no longer operate on children, 44% limit the types of patients they treat, and 71% stopped performing aneurysm surgery, according to a 2004 survey by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

“The American Medical Association reports that 1 in 12 obstetricians who have reported changes in their practice as a result of the risk or fear of professional liability claims have stopped delivering babies. Eighty nine percent of OB-GYNs have had at least one liability claim against them, with an average of 2.6 claims per obstetrician, according to a 2007 study by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

“Tort lawsuits against manufacturers of federally regulated prescription medicines and medical devices discourage innovation of new products (e.g., contraceptives, AIDS vaccines) and can even lead to the removal of beneficial products from the market (e.g., morning sickness drug Benedectin, acne medication Accutane). They also can result in inappropriate state-court imposed warnings about supposed product risks that conflict with federally mandated warnings . . . or that result in “over-warning,” which persuades doctors not to prescribe -- or patients not to use -- beneficial products, sometimes with serious adverse consequences to public health.”

ATRA’s full statement endorsing “proven” medical liabilities reforms in California, Texas and other states is posted here.

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The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) is the only national organization dedicated exclusively to tort and liability reform through public education and the enactment of legislation. ATRA's membership includes non profits, small and large companies, as well as state and national trade, business, and professional associations.