Healthcare reform bill should overhaul the current litigation-based system, says Michigan physicians

Sep 2 2009

Michigan physicians disagree with the healthcare reform package proposed by the Obama administration. A group of Michigan physicians, spearheaded by Saginaw-based neurosurgeons Gerald R. Schell, M.D. and E. Malcolm Field, M.D., have begun a campaign to ensure that any healthcare reform package includes an overhaul of the current litigation-based system. These physicians have helped to create Michigan Physicians United, an organization dedicated to amplifying the voice of physicians in the national healthcare debate.

The President’s proposal fails to include a professional peer review committee for medical malpractice cases. According to Michigan Physicians United, a review committee would reduce the costs of healthcare to all citizens, but thus far, divisive politics have prevented a full discussion of tort reform in healthcare. Michigan Physicians United believes that the government must discover an alternative to resolving patient care issues aside from the court system, which is fraught with considerable time delays and very expensive for all involved.

“Physicians practice medicine with excessive insurance cost burdens and the constant fear of trial lawyers seeking unbelievable and unwarranted cash awards, of which a large percentage goes to the attorney that sued,” lamented neurosurgeon Gerald R. Schell, M.D. “Physicians often feel pressure to order excessive testing merely to cover their bases and help guard against malpractice claims. This leads to reductions in quality, a less efficient system, and unnecessary and unsustainable financial burdens to society.”

According to Towers Perrin, a global professional services firm, malpractice litigation costs $30 billion a year and has grown more than 10% annually since 1975. Additionally, the threat of frivolous lawsuits has pressured physicians to order extensive tests simply to help protect against lawsuits, regardless of cost. The time, money, and duplicity involved in the practice of "defensive medicine" has resulted in scheduling delays for medically necessary tests and added considerable expenses to our health care system. Physicians are beginning to speak up: if meaningful health care reform is to take place, it must include an alternative to the current tort liability regime that drives down the cost of healthcare. Any healthcare bill must include malpractice and tort reform to reduce medical costs to Americans.

http://www.michiganphysicians.org