From Mark's Desk:
2 July, 2003

Independence Day for Health Care?

Independence Day could take on additional significance if Republican efforts at health care liability reform meet with success beginning next week. These efforts could assure the independence of access to affordable health care for generations to come by reducing the effects of escalating liability costs.

On July 7, the United States Senate will begin debate on SB 11 (Frist),
appropriately named the "Patients First Act." On July 15, the Tennessee Senate and House will begin deliberations on our own version of this important initiative, SB 605 (Norris). If the federal legislation passes, it will govern; if not, adoption of the Tennessee legislation is even more imperative.

Both bills are designed to protect patients' access to quality and affordable health care by reducing the effects of excessive liability costs. Both are premised on the understanding that our current civil justice system is adversely affecting patient access to health care services, better patient care, and cost-efficient health care. As stated in Senator Frist's legislation, the health care liability system is a costly and ineffective mechanism for resolving claims and compensating injured patients, and it is a deterrent to sharing information among health care professionals. This impedes efforts to improve patient safety and quality of care.

Like Senator Frist's initiative, our legislation caps liability for noneconomic damages, restricts the recovery of punitive damages and imposes limitations upon attorneys' contingency fees in order to encourage prompt and efficient resolution of malpractice claims. Some of the reforms proposed in Washington are already in place here in Tennessee, but more reforms are necessary.

Senator Frist and I believe these reforms are necessary in order to "(1)
improve the availability of health care services in cases in which health care liability actions have been shown to be a factor in the decreased availability of services; (2) reduce the incidence of 'defensive medicine' and lower the cost of health care liability insurance, all of which contribute to the escalation of health care costs; (3) ensure that persons with meritorious health care injury claims receive fair and adequate compensation, including reasonable noneconomic damages; (4)improve the fairness and cost-effectiveness of our current health care liability system to resolve disputes over, and provide compensation for, health care liability by reducing uncertainty in the amount of compensation provided to injured individuals; and (5) provide increased sharing of information in the health care system to reduce unintended injury and improve patient care."

Over 75% of Americans now feel that such reforms are warranted and that their independence is threatened by the prospects of rising health care costs as a result of a system out of kilter with reality. As a result, we must improve upon the law so as to safeguard those in need of health care as well as those who have been injured.

As the prime sponsor of Tennessee reforms and a member of the Joint
Legislative Study Committee which begins deliberations here at home this month, I encourage everyone to engage in this debate by paying close attention to the proceedings in Washington as well as those in Nashville. These reforms are opposed by powerful lobbyists for the Trial Lawyers and are threatened by the status quo. Write your Senators and state legislators. Express your opinions in letters to the editors of your local newspapers.

This Independence Day, let us be thankful for our freedoms and hopeful for the freedoms yet to come.