From the Register Herald. Fri. Nov. 1, 2002. Bev Davis. Coalition to take malpractice issues to public

Several organizations have joined forces to initiate a comprehensive grassroots campaign to inform citizens about the problems and proposed solutions for the malpractice insurance crisis in West Virginia.

Committed to the idea that only medical liability reform is the ultimate solution to the malpractice insurance dilemma, CARE officially organized Oct. 1 and is made up of the following organizations.

- West Virginia Hospital Association.
- West Virginia State Medical Association.
- West Virginia Health Care Association.
- The West Virginia Orthopedic Society.
- West Virginia Association of Physician Assistants.
- West Virginia Academy of Family Physicians.
- West Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Anesthesiologists.
- West Virginia Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians.
- West Virginia Roundtable.

"One of our goals is to ensure all West Virginians understand they are at risk of losing physician services and medical care when they are in the most need for help," said Steven Summer, president and CEO of the West Virginia Hospital Association. "That is the major consequence of the current medical liability crisis."

CARE is not an acronym; the name was chosen to represent concerns about the overall state of health care in West Virginia, organizers say.

The coalition's efforts include highlighting gaps in the medical liability system, encouraging citizens and the health care community to work together for medical liability reform and helping to educate the public on why such reform is necessary to keep physicians in West Virginia, Summer said.

Summer was the keynote speaker Thursday at a meeting arranged by Greenbrier Valley Medical Center with the Greater Greenbrier Chamber of Commerce.
Patients are directly affected by the malpractice insurance crisis in several ways, Summer said.

"Some physicians have stopped offering high-risk services in order to lower their liability insurance costs. Others are retiring early or leaving the state. The malpractice issues make it difficult to attract new physicians. All of these problems mean that patients have less access to the services they need, and they may have to drive several hours - even go out of state - to get the services they need."

Patients with such conditions as head trauma, broken bones, pregnancy and emergency situations are the most significantly affected, he said.

Medical liability reform is a key component of the solution, Summer said. "We need to have a way to buy the malpractice insurance. All the commercial insurers have left the state. I don't think anyone wants to go into the insurance business without the reforms."
The coalition has drafted a proposed bill listing the reforms they say are necessary and have presented it to Gov. Bob Wise, Summer said.

"We need reforms that provide protection and compensation for injured patients but ones that do not unfairly punish health care providers in medical liability cases," he said.

The reforms requested are:
- Enhancing requirements for expert witnesses by requiring they be experts in the area in which they are testifying and should be engaged in active clinical practice.
- Limit the settlement an attorney can receive so that more of the award goes to the patient rather than to the attorney.
- Place lower monetary limits on non-economic damages for pain and suffering.
n Hold health care providers responsible in medical liability cases only for the amount of damages for which they are at fault.
- Disclose to the court when other insurers have already paid for a plaintiff's injuries so that people who sue do not get paid more than once for the same damages.

"These kinds of reforms were put into place in California 25 years ago, and they have had a great stability in their health care system there," Summer said. "The increase in malpractice insurance premiums has been modest, and the reforms have stood the test of time."

Beckley-ARH and Raleigh General Hospital will host a joint noon rally Nov. 20 at the Raleigh County Armory Civic Center in Beckley, where CARE coalition members will address these issues before the general public.

"The rally will also provide an opportunity for politicians to face their constituents," said B-ARH marketing director Ted Weigel.