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For Immediate Release
December 20, 2003
Sen. White: Health Care Crisis
Averted with Passage of Medical Insurance Measure
Package addresses Dec. 31 medical
liability insurance deadline.
Harrisburg – A health care crisis that
threatened to close doctors' offices and cut off access to care for
Pennsylvanians was averted with passage of legislation early Saturday,
said state Senator Mary Jo White (R-Venango).
Skyrocketing medical liability insurance
premiums have been driving doctors from Pennsylvania and closing trauma
centers, said White. Physicians were required to pay the latest
insurance bill – the state's MCARE liability insurance – by December
31st. Health care providers, who were told by the Rendell Administration
to expect premium relief earlier this year, were left scrambling to
cover the cost.
Physicians are required to purchase MCARE
insurance on top of their regular liability insurance. Under House Bill
44, a portion of new cigarette tax revenue will be used to offset the
MCARE bills of health care providers. High-risk specialists such as
OB-GYNs and neurosurgeons, who pay the highest premiums, will have 100
percent of their MCARE surcharge abated. Other physicians will receive a
50 percent reduction.
Exorbitant medical liability insurance
costs are shrinking the number of physicians and limiting access to
health care, the senator noted. Half of the doctors in Pennsylvania are
over age 50, and the state has only three orthopedic surgeons under 35.
While Pennsylvania is a national leader in the number of medical
schools, 75 percent of graduates practice elsewhere, according to the
Pennsylvania Medical Society.
The General Assembly passed several
measures over the last two years aimed at encouraging more insurance
companies to offer medical liability policies in Pennsylvania, at lower
competitive rates. Some long-term measures were aimed at reforming the
process of filing medical malpractice lawsuits and reducing the medical
errors that often trigger them. These reforms take time before they are
reflected in lower premiums.
"We've enacted several long-term reforms
that should eventually lower rates," said White. "But until rates
decrease, it was clear short term relief was needed. The Senate's action
is a significant step forward to preserving access to quality health
care providers, particularly in rural areas."
House Bill 44 now goes to the House of
Representatives, which is expected to vote on the proposal early next
week.
CONTACT:
Leigh Ramsey (717) 787-9684 | 
