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Medical malpractice
compromise: Time will tell, says Bailey
Time will tell whether
medical malpractice legislation passed today (Tuesday) by the House of
Representatives will work for the citizens of Washington, said
Rep. Barbara Bailey.
House Bill 2292 represents an agreement reached by doctors and trial
lawyers after weeks of negotiations. The measure was approved by the
House, 82-15.
Bailey, a member of the House Health Care Committee, voted for the bill
with reservations.
"Time will tell whether the citizens of this state have actually gained
or lost here. Time will tell whether we will have more affordable
malpractice insurance in this state, therefore being able to have more
doctors stay in this state,"said Bailey, R-Oak Harbor. "Time will tell
whether we will have better access to health care, because we know we
have certain areas of our state where it’s very difficult to find good
health care, primarily because we don’t have doctors in those areas."
The malpractice bill would make changes to medical safety, civil
liability and insurance regulation. Components of the measure include:
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Requiring hospitals to
report serious medical problems that result in patient death or
injury to the state Department of Health within two days of learning
of them;
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Providing the state
insurance commissioner authority to approve malpractice rate
increases before they go into effect; and
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Establishing a
voluntary arbitration system for malpractice cases.
Bailey noted that the
measure excludes several important components doctors originally sought,
including a cap on non-economic damages for patients. It would, however,
allow doctors to apologize or make other statements of regret and would
exclude those statements from being admissible in court within 30 days
of discovery.
Last November, voters rejected competing medical malpractice initiatives
promoted by trial lawyers and doctors, who then came back to the
Legislature to reach an agreement. Officials representing doctors and
hospitals in Washington have called HB 2292 "a good start," but have
said more work is needed to reform the state’s medical liability system.
Bailey agreed.
"I’ve listened to the debate, to the governor, and to others who have
talked about how this compromise legislation was put together. In fact,
the governor said that no one got everything that they wanted. I just
hope that the people of this state will get what they need," said
Bailey. "But time will tell."
The measure was sent to the governor for further consideration.
# # #
For more information, contact:
John
Handy, Assistant Director: (360) 786-5758
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