Government
Tort reform will be election issue
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted June 28, 2004
Ninety percent of the 10,000 physicians responding to an AMA survey said medical liability issues will affect the way they vote in the next election. Also, 90% of physicians who answered questions about liability insurance said they favor reforms similar to those in place in California. That law includes a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits, limits on how much attorneys can collect and other reforms.
Doctors also reported changes in the way they practiced medicine in the past year due to medical liability pressures, with 32% referring complex cases they previously would have handled, and 27% saying they have stopped offering certain services.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/06/28/gvbf0628.htm.
