Medical Society Launches Campaign to “Keep Your Doctor in DC”

Applauds Mayor Williams, Liability Reform Legislation Will Go To D.C. City Council

WASHINGTON, DC--DC Mayor Anthony A. Williams today called on the City Council to enact legislation to address the growing crisis of rising medical liability insurance premiums in Washington, DC. 

At a press conference with officials from the Medical Society of the District of Columbia (MSDC) and representatives from the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the DC Hospital Association and DC’s Med Chi Society, Mayor Williams exclaimed, “This situation is unacceptable.  DC has the dubious distinction of having among the very highest medical liability insurance premiums in the nation and the highest jury awards in the nation.  That is a distinction we don’t need to have and that we should not continue to maintain.”

Williams vowed to submit comprehensive legislation to the Council that will strike the right balance between patient safety, insurance reform and tort reform, and ensure that District residents have access to quality and affordable health care. “My bill addresses this situation in a comprehensive and balanced way,” said Mayor Williams.

The legislation also requires the development of a new system for reporting medical errors in District health care facilities and it provides the Insurance Commissioner more authority to monitor and regulate medical liability rate increases over 15%. It also sets caps on non-economic damages at $250,000 for a claim against a physician and $500,000 for a claim against a hospital.   These caps will not apply to economic damages such as lost wages, medical care costs, etc.

“For far too long, DC has endured the highest average patient payments of any state in the nation,” said MSDC President Victor Freeman, MD.  “For our Ob/Gyn’s, the average premiums in 2000 were $75,145 per year.  In 2005 they average $139,128 annually--- Nearly double...  If nothing is done to help this situation, these rates will be more than $235,000 just five years from now. For general surgeons in DC, their rates are now nearly $70,000 per year, nearly twice what they were five years ago,” Freeman added.

Many groups have joined the MSDC in calling for medical liability reform legislation.  The American Medical Association has done extensive polling at the national level showing strong support for caps on non-economic damages and runaway jury awards.

“The Board of Trade stands firmly behind the Mayor in attempting to rein in the rising cost of medical liability insurance in the District.  Skyrocketing premiums raise costs for all of us, encourage the practice of ineffective defensive medicine and drive some medical providers out of practice altogether,” said Bob Peck, President, Greater Washington Board of Trade.

"The DC Hospital Association (DCHA) is extremely grateful to Mayor Williams for showing his courage and leadership in again requesting Chairman Cropp to introduce a bill on much-needed medical liability reform.  We strongly encourage all members of the Council to support the bill and enact it so that the city can retain its strong leadership in the health and medical field," said DCHA chief executive officer Robert A. Malson. 

Peter Lavine, MD, is a second-generation orthopedic surgeon who has practiced medicine in Washington for more than 20 years.  “Medical liability premiums are out of control and threatening our ability to continue to provide a full range of medical services to this community,” said Dr. Lavine.  “ I am scheduling surgeries in hospitals outside the District to lower my insurance costs.” 

“Today is a day of hope,” said John H. Niles, Jr., MD, Chairman of the MSDC Medical Liability Reform Task Force.  “I am heartened by the commitment of Mayor Williams and others across the city who are committed to bring some changes to the law.  It might be too late for me, but we have to think about our younger doctors, our patients, our children and our grandchildren,” he added.

MSDC has launched a public relations and advocacy campaign to urge the Council to enact medical liability reform legislation this year.  The bill will now be assigned to various committees of the DC Council by Council Chair Linda Cropp.  Hearings are expected after the Council’s summer recess.

Additional information on this issue can be found on the MSDC website at www.msdc.org