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Hinkle disappointed with
so-called
compromise bill on medical malpractice
Rep.
Bill Hinkle, ranking Republican member on the House Health Care
committee, voted against House Bill 2292, legislation crafted by the
governor that attempts to address problems with medical malpractice
liability in this state.
“This bill only addresses half the problem,” said Hinkle, R-Cle Elum.
“It still doesn’t get to the root of the problems with medical liability
and address the real reason that the cost of insurance for doctors is so
high. We heard on our rural health tour this last summer that doctors
need caps for their liability and this bill doesn’t institute any caps
on damage awards. This causes specialists to leave rural areas and the
people of our district have to travel hundreds of miles to see these
doctors.”
HB 2292 was crafted by the governor and members of interest groups such
as the trial lawyers, doctors, and insurance companies. Hinkle said that
he was concerned that consumers weren’t represented at these meetings.
The finished bill went through the hearing process in the Senate.
“Some of the interest groups asked for sections of the bill to be
removed,” Hinkle said. “Some of this language that was removed
instituted real reform such as limiting the fees that are awarded to
supporting parties during litigation. I believe this bill was watered
down by the compromises made to bring it to the floor. It also shows the
type of legislation you get when one party controls the process.
“There is more work to be done on this and I hope that we can revisit
these issues during the interim. I introduced a bill earlier this
session that had a lot of the reforms needed to deal with this issue.
I’m going to try again next session to get real medical malpractice
reform passed in this state,” Hinkle said.
“Real reform must get to the root cause of rising health care costs in
this state—lack of competition in the marketplace. If we can’t bring the
costs down for medical practitioners, we will continue to see them leave
the state and do business somewhere else.”
HB 2292 now goes to the governor for signing.
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For more information, contact:
John Handy, Assistant
Communications Director - (360) 786-5758
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