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Missouri Lawmakers Add Liability Reform to Top of 2014 Agenda
Looking ahead to 2014, lawmakers in Missouri have filed a bill to rein in health care costs and reduce medical lawsuit abuse throughout the state.
The past several years have brought uncertainty to the state’s liability climate as reforms passed in 2005 were opposed by personal injury lawyers who were subsequently successful in persuading the State Supreme Court to overturn them in 2012. With a system that works for neither patients nor physicians, Representative Eric Burlison has introduced a bill (HB 1173) to restore reasonable limits on noneconomic damages and reduce medical lawsuit abuse.
“As we look for ways to contain health care costs for Missourians and retain medical professionals, reasonable medical malpractice limits are a vital component,” said Rep. Burlison.
“Many other states, including Missouri before the Supreme Court’s decision, have used limits effectively to keep the cost of health care affordable for everyone. We need limits in place again to bring the kind of certainty to the system that will keep insurance rates in check.”
In the five-year period following passage of medical liability reform, the cost of liability insurance was reduced collectively by $44 million.
Going into 2014, Protect Patients Now will continue to follow the efforts in Missouri to again pass legislation that guarantees patient access to affordable health care. Click here to read more.
The Cure for Too Much Treatment
While struggles remain to increase access to care, on the opposite side of the health care spectrum lies the problem of overtreatment due to the practice of defensive medicine and the threat of medical liability lawsuits.
Recent commentary in The Atlantic that compiled studies and points from several reports focuses on the negative consequences that overtreatment has on our health and our health care spending. The most recent study on the matter, from the Institute of Medicine, estimates that nearly 30 percent of health care expenditures go towards unnecessary or excessive care.
As the article confirms, one of the leading drivers of too much care is the threat of lawsuits. While commentators and experts debate just how pervasive the threat is, physicians themselves cite the fear of legal challenges as a factor in practicing defensive medicine.
Moving forward with comprehensive changes to our medical liability system includes allowing our physicians to practice medicine without the fear of lawsuits and to provide proper levels of care and protect patients. To read more about the overtreatment of patients, click here.
Wishing You a Joyous Holiday Season
With the holiday season upon us, Protect Patients Now wishes you and your family a joyous Holiday season and a healthy and happy New Year.
While some progress was made in Washington in the effort to fix our broken medical liability system, we will closely follow the debate in 2014 and continue to advocate for the inclusion of medical liability reforms as improvements are made to the Affordable Care Act and other health care legislation. Our priorities remain focused on comprehensive reforms at the federal level that reduce costs for patients and taxpayers and increase access to care.
We thank you for your continued support and look forward to working with you in the year ahead to Protect Patients Now.
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