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A growing medical emergency
(CNN) -- In four hospitals in northern West Virginia, the emergency rooms are empty, with officials transferring patients or canceling procedures. The hospitals entered their second day Thursday without surgeons after more than three dozen walked off the job. Their complaint? The skyrocketing costs of medical malpractice insurance. "I have been pushed to the limits of affordability and availability," said Robert Zaleski, an orthopedic surgeon at Wheeling Medical Park Hospital. "My malpractice premium is $150,000 a year, and it looks like it's getting worse. I frankly can't afford that." Affordability and availability are two sentiments echoed by doctors throughout the United States. Doctors say their malpractice insurance is sometimes costing them more than their salaries. And lately, surgeons report they're having trouble even getting or renewing insurance. The supply of insurers is swiftly dwindling, following bad economic times and the pullout of the industry by two of the largest medical malpractice writers in 2001. Across the country, doctors have been striking back. In addition to the West Virginia walkout, doctors in Las Vegas walked out of the ER for 10 days in July. And in eastern Pennsylvania this week, a walkout by 42 doctors was averted after Gov.-elect Ed Rendell proposed a $220 million bailout to cut physician contributions to a state malpractice insurance fund. The American Medical Association weighed in on the issue recently, making this statement: "Unbridled lawsuits have turned some regions in our country -- and in several cases entire states -- into risky areas to practice medicine. ... As insurance becomes unaffordable or unavailable physicians are being forced to leave their practices, stop performing high-risk procedures, or drop vital services -- all of which seriously impede patient access to care." In fact, the AMA has declared a "crisis situation" in 12 states. Doctors in many of these states have been driven out of business, or to other states, simply because of malpractice premiums. "We pay more money to the lawyers to support the cost of litigation than we pay to the injured litigant," said Dr. Donald J. Fager of the Medical Liability Insurance Co. "That system just doesn't make any sense at all." Doctors are also urging lawmakers to put a cap on malpractice lawsuit payouts. They say unbridled potential for large jury awards is the reason insurance premiums are sky high. Legislation such as MICRA, or the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act passed in California in 1975, would make costs reasonable, they say. MICRA limited damages in claims against medical providers for malpractice, restricted attorney contingency fees, and established a statute of limitations for claims of medical negligence. Lawmakers are also trying to bring about reform at the federal level, with a bill introduced in April that mirrors California's model. President Bush has even expressed support for federal legislation to remedy the malpractice crisis. On Thursday, presidential aides said curbs on medical malpractice lawsuits will be among the domestic agenda priorities. (Full story) But some say doctors' complaints are rooted in greed. "They're looking for [liability] caps because they want immunity from lawsuits," said attorney Thomas Foley.
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