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Minor fix to a major
problem: Republican leaders say bill a good first step, but more
solutions needed for comprehensive liability reform
Senate and House
Republican leaders weighed in today on the revised version of House Bill
2292, the package of compromise measures related to liability reform.
“This proposal is a good first step, and addresses the issues all sides
can agree on,” said Senate Republican Leader Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla.
“If we really want to put patients first, we need to make sure we
continue working on this issue. We’ve long said we should address
patient safety first. This bill does that, and is weighted toward
disciplining doctors and regulating insurance companies. Now it’s
important that we address the other issues, especially in the area of
civil justice, that will get us to true liability reform.
“I do applaud all sides for coming together to create a compromise
solution,” Hewitt continued. “But I think it’s important that we don’t
lose sight of the fact that we have not solved our medical liability
problems. This solution could be summed up as ‘mini-mal.’ It’s a bit
like having your toe worked on when you need bi-pass surgery. It’s great
to fix your toe, but that’s the easy part. We won’t get to true
liability reform until we operate on the heart of the matter.”
“The proposal announced takes some of the easiest, yet needed, elements
of the medical malpractice issues and moves them ahead. Hopefully we’ll
continue to work on more meaningful reforms,” said
Rep. Richard DeBolt,
House Republican Leader, R-Chehalis. “This is an acceptable step
forward, however, I think we would be remiss to not pay close attention
to the major unsolved issues that are limiting families’ access to
affordable medical services, especially in rural communities. We need to
address the factors in our legal system that are forcing doctors to
leave and driving up the cost of health care coverage. This bill does
not address joint and several liability or the lottery-style justice
that results from huge lawyer fees and unlimited jury awards for
noneconomic damages. We still have a lot heavy lifting left to do and I
hope we can roll up our sleeves and address these last few tough and
divisive reforms our health care system needs.”
Hewitt and DeBolt pointed
out that the proposal, while a good first step, does not include several
elements needed for comprehensive liability reform, including:
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Revising joint and
several liability, so that defendants are accountable for their own
proportionate share of fault;
-
Maximizing a patient's
recovery of damages through limiting attorneys' fees; and
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Allowing future
economic and non-economic payments to be made over time.
They also said several
portions of the bill directed toward civil justice reform, including
voluntary arbitration and measures to prevent frivolous lawsuits, are
already in place in existing law.
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For more information, contact:
John Rothlin, Staff
Director - (360) 786-7254
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