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Bi-Partisan Reform Reached on Medical Liability
ELGIN, IL- Two years of traveling across the state of Illinois, listening to doctors, and working with patients finally paid off today when Republican and Democrat members of the House and Senate came to an agreement on a bill to solve Illinois' health care availability crisis. An outspoken leader in the fight to protect Illinois families, State Representative Ruth Munson (R-Elgin) said she is optimistic that the agreement will help put an end to the ongoing exodus of doctors from Illinois due to rising medical malpractice premiums.
Among the proposals offered in House Amendment #1 to Senate Bill 475 include a Republican-driven initiative to cap non-economic damages for physicians at $500,000 and non-economic damages for hospitals at $1 million. This was a crucial element to the effectiveness of the legislation, said Munson, adding that caps have been very successful in helping other states retain and attract good doctors, including most of our neighboring states. Other provisions include:
· Allowing defendants to purchase annuities for future medical expenses.
· Requiring a plaintiff to provide a report completed by a physician, prior to filing a medical malpractice suit, to determine whether there is merit to the claim, with the report meeting established guidelines.
· Permitting doctors to apologize for bad outcomes without jeopardizing their legal case.
· Requiring insurance companies to reveal more about how they set rates.
· Posting profiles of doctors' disciplinary history on the Internet.
· Hiring more state investigators to weed out bad doctors.
According to Munson, the caps offered in this bill are identical to those contained in the Code Blue Medical Liability Crisis Relief Plan, which she joined House Republicans in introducing early last year.
"The complete lack of uniformity in the amount of money awarded in medical liability lawsuits has left an unstable environment for insurance providers," said Munson. "Providers were forced to raise premiums to levels in which many physicians simply could not afford to continue their practice in Illinois. By placing reasonable limits on pain and suffering awards, we can stabilize the system allowing insurance providers to lower their rates."
"My colleagues and I have continued to remain optimistic that a reasonable compromise could be made to help put an end to Illinois' healthcare availability crisis," said Munson. "Today Republicans and Democrats put aside differences in political ideology and agreed to legislation that will protect our families. We will see to it that Senate Bill 475 gets to the Governor's desk prior to our adjournment. In the meantime, I encourage my constituents to continue to log on to SaveOurOBs.com for the latest updates on this critical issue."
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