HR 3459: to provide comprehensive reform regarding medical malpractice

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 31, 2009

Mr. BAIRD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary,
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each
case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of
the committee concerned

A BILL
To provide comprehensive reform regarding medical
malpractice.

Click here for full text .pdf.

EMERGENCY MEDICAL STAFF MEETING

On Wednesday, February 11th, an Emergency Medical Staff Meeting was conducted at John T Mather Memorial Hospital. Within an hour of leaving that meeting, Dr. Edward Borden emailed his colleagues in the Section of General Surgery...

I was the only [general surgeon] from our section at the meeting. The NY State
Medical Society is planning another Albany physician rally on March 3.
Last year's massive turnout had a great effect resulting in the
freezing of malpractice rates for one year. The year is almost up and
if we don't act again, we risk incredible rate hikes this year. PRI
and MLMIC are hurting bad, and with the state's budget crisis, don't
count on a bail out for us.

The new proposed change in malpractice statute of limitations (from 2½
years after the event to, effectively, no limit), S.1729,
Schneiderman, made it out of the senate codes committee on 2/10 by a
party line vote (all Democrats in favor, all Republicans against).
Since the governor and the majority of state senators and assemblymen
are Democrats, we cannot prevent this from going into law (with an
expected 20% malpractice rate hike on top of whatever other hike we
get) unless we rally and have our patients rally against what the
trial lawyers are attempting to do.

The Medical Society is also pushing legislation (A.2177
Canestrari/S.4153 Hannon) that will allow physicians to unite to
negotiate with health plans as a group.
I urge you to plan to be on the bus on March 3. We need a large number
of people in Albany. Last year Suffolk County led the state in
numbers, and a significant portion of that was from Mather and St.
Charles. Mather will again provide breakfast, and MSSNY will provide
the buses. We need numbers, so if you can convince your office staff
to come, they will be welcome.

Phil Schrank suggested posting a note in our waiting rooms saying that
the office will be closed on Tuesday March 3 to allow the doctor to go
to Albany to fight for malpractice reform. This will give you a chance
to discuss the issues with the patients and urge them to write their
state assembly and senate representatives.

If you plan to come, contact Maria Basile
(drbasile@northcountrycolorectal.com) or call the Suffolk County
Medical Society at 631-851-1400. You can get info also at the Suffolk
County Med Society web site (www.scms-sam.org) or the MSSNY site
(www.mssny.org). I also urge you to join the societies and contribute
to the PAC. Nobody will fight for us unless we do.

Ed.

MSSNY PREDICTS 20% MED-MAL PREMIUM INCREASE

I received this Action Alert by email today. You can sign up to get similar alerts at the MSSNY website, click on "Grassroots Action Center."


Dr. Basile:

“If there is any reason to get on the bus, this is it. The threat is clear and imminent. A 20% increase in liability rates can be directly attributed to this bill if it becomes law. Every physician in the state has got to get to Albany on March 3rd”.
Michael Rosenberg MD
MSSNY President

The NYS Senate Codes Committee voted yesterday to report Senate Bill 1729. S.1729 would amend NYS Civil Practice Laws and Rules as follows:

· Section 1 of the bill changes the current 2 ½ year statute of limitations on medical malpractice cases, which currently runs from the date of the alleged malpractice, to instead run from the date of the discovery of the alleged malpractice; and
· Section 2 of the bill revives those actions which would have been time barred or dismissed under the present statute of limitations for a period of one-year after the enactment of this legislation.

NYS Codes Committee Members voted as follows:

Eric Schneiderman, Chair (D-Manhattan)
Yes
Neil Breslin (D-Albany County)
Yes
Tom Duane (D-Manhattan)
Excused
Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn)
Yes
Shirley Huntley (D-Queens)
Yes
John Sampson (D-Brooklyn)
Yes
Jeff Klein (D-Bronx)
Yes
Bill Perkins (D-Manhattan)
Yes
Dan Squadron (D-Manhattan)
Yes
Dale Volker (R-Erie County)
Yes without Recommendation
Steve Saland (R-Dutchess County)
No
John DeFrancisco (R-Onondaga County)
Yes without Recommendation
John Bonacic (R-Orange, Ulster Counties)
Yes without Recommendation
Martin Golden (R-Brooklyn)
No
Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island)
Yes without Recommendation
John Flanagan (R-Suffolk County)
No





















Senators Lanza, Saland, Flanagan, Golden, and Volker spoke against consideration of this measure before addressing the current medical liability crisis. Senators Schneiderman and Breslin also spoke positively about the importance of addressing the liability crisis which exists in New York State.

The Medical Society of the State of NY and medical specialty societies STRONGLY OPPOSED this legislation and would like to recognize and thank the physicians who have contacted NYS Legislators to oppose the bill.

We must now mount a huge collective effort to oppose the further approval of this bill by the full NYS Senate and NYS Assembly. Clearly, this is an opportunity to educate our elected representatives and all physicians must act now.

Please help us oppose S.1729 by doing the following:

1. Come to Albany on 3/3/09 to lobby with us against this bill. Contact your local county medical society to sign-up to ride on their bus with them to Albany. Your Legislators must see you and hear from you on 3/3/09 in person in order to understand how important this issue is to you.

2. Contact your NYS Legislators to let them know that you oppose S.1729. Please click here for our alert.

3. Make an appointment with your Legislator for NEXT WEEK when they will be in their home districts. You can reach Sen. John J. Flanagan at (631) 361-2154 and Asm. Steven Englebright at (631) 751-3094.

Organized medicine has a huge battle in front of us. Your participation in the opposition campaign has never been more critical.

TRIAL LAWYERS LAUNCH ATTACK ON PHYSICIANS AND PATIENTS

BY MICHAEL ROSENBERG
President, MSSNY

Despite the fact that the New York State fiscal situation is at the breaking point and that health care resources are slated for dramatic cuts, the trial lawyers are making another attempt to jam even more money in their pockets through legislation (S.1729, Schneiderman) to eliminate the statute of limitations for medical liability actions.

A bill being considered by the Senate Codes Committee tomorrow (Tuesday, February 10) could, if enacted, increase medical liability premiums by as much as 20% or more. The bill would eliminate the statute of limitations for the filing of medical liability claims by making the statute a “date of discovery” rule, no matter how long ago the alleged event occurred. Even worse, it reopens previously barred actions. This bill would have a devastating impact on patient access to the health care system.

It is critical that all physicians call and write their Senators to express their opposition to this catastrophic bill. Particular focus should be made on those members who are on the Senate Codes Committee.

The members of the Senate Codes Committee are:
Eric Schneiderman, Chair (D-Manhattan)
518-455-2041
212-928-5578
Neil Breslin (D-Albany County)
518-455-2225
Tom Duane (D-Manhattan)
518-455-2451
212-633-8052
Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn)
518-455-2580
718-629-6401
Shirley Huntley (D-Queens)
518-455-3531
718-322-2537
John Sampson (D-Brooklyn)
518-455-2788
718-649-7653
Jeff Klein (D-Bronx)
518-455-3595
718-822-2049
Bill Perkins (D-Manhattan)
518-455-2441
212-222-7315
Dan Squadron (D-Manhattan)
518-455-2525
212-298-5565
Dale Volker (R-Erie County)
518-455-3471
716-656-8544
Steve Saland (R-Dutchess County)
518-455-2411
845-463-0840
John DeFrancisco (R-Onondaga County)
518-455-3511
315-428-7632
John Bonacic (R-Orange, Ulster Counties)
518-455-3181
845-344-3311
Martin Golden (R-Brooklyn)
518-455-2730
718-238-6044
Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island)
518-455-3215
718-984-4073
John Flanagan (R-Suffolk County)
518-455-2071
631-361-2154
Call immediately AND send an e-mail to your NYS Senator by clicking here. Please do this IMMEDIATELY. Your voice counts and they need to hear from you today.

Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel named Obama Healthcare Advisor

Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel (brother of Rahm) is Obama’s healthcare advisor. Watch the following 2007 video, review his Biography and provide feedback. Pass this on to other physicians.

My feedback:
Dr.Emanuel's Voucher/VAT plan would be highly acceptable if it took into account that upwards of 80% of the $2.3 trillion spent on medical care pay for non-value-added costs.
· Why is he not eliminating profits and administrative costs in this basic package of medical care rather than permitting insurance companies to further destroy the patient-physician relationship with vertical integration?
· Why is he not paying due attention to producing a "hybrid" system incorporating the best components of the American system with the brilliant concepts of Taiwan, Germany and Switzerland; has he not viewed the PBS Frontline documentary “Sick around the World"?
· Why has he not placed tort reform on the table?
· We need a system that not only is universal, but also channels resources to care rather than non-value-added administrative games, corporate profit, defense fees for bogus malpractice claims, ridiculous pain and suffering awards and the rest of the world's pharmaceutical R&D.
· He also needs to factor into the plan the wealth that national health will bring to our GDP.
· If ethics says anything, it must support the unconscionable concept of both the absence of universal healthcare and the waste of resources on non-value costs.

Al Cossari

Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel on Universal Health Care NOW on the News - PBS
Apr 13, 2007 ... NIH bio-ethicist Zeke Emanuel proposes a health care voucher plan for America.www.pbs.org/now/news/315.html - 29k - Cached - Similar pages


Emanuel’s Biography
Currently Emanuel is Director of the Clinical Bioethics Department at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. He graduated from Amherst College in 1979 and received his MSc from Oxford University in Biochemistry. He received his MD from Harvard Medical School and a PhD in Political Philosophy from Harvard University.
He also is a brother of Hollywood-based superagent Ari Emanuel, and Democratic Representative / White House Chief of Staff-designate Rahm Emanuel [1] and son of former Irgun member and Chicago pediatrician Benjamin M. Emanuel.

MSSNY PRESIDENT ON TORT REFORM

Dear Fellow Physicians:

The game isn’t over…it’s just going into the second half. Earlier this year we were able to achieve a phenomenal legislative triumph when Governor Paterson and the State Legislature stopped medical liability insurance premium increases until June 30, 2009.
And the State Legislature has set the stage for the possible long-term liability reform legislation during the 2009 Legislative Session. As a matter of fact, in enacting the rate freeze into law, Governor David Paterson stated:
“I want to thank the Legislature for stabilizing malpractice rates for the short term… However, our work is now cut out for us, and we remain committed to creating comprehensive and meaningful medical malpractice reform.”

The second half begins January 1 when the legislature comes back to Albany…and we’ve got to be ready for a brutal campaign if we are finally going to change the liability situation in New York State. That’s why I’m turning to you for your help.

If we are to succeed we must continue to educate both the public and the Legislature regarding the growing threat to health care access which is certain if we can’t achieve meaningful reform.

But we cannot do this without your help. To accomplish these goals, we need you to provide financial support to MSSNY’s Medical Liability Reform Campaign which will give us the resources essential if organized medicine is to achieve these needed long-term reforms in 2009.

If you gave last year, thank you very much! But, we need your help again! If you have not given yet please do so now. Every dollar goes directly into the Medical Liability Campaign Fund to pay for media advertising in key New York State markets and to do all of the work necessary to move at least 3,000 physicians into Albany for State Legislation Day on March 3. (We did almost 2,000 this year so I know we can make that goal.)

Why are we asking for your support again?
We believe it is essential to not only sustain, but to increase, the intensity of our grass roots and media activity in 2009. To do this we need to rebuild our coffers.
State Legislation Day on Tuesday, March 3 is the centerpiece of a comprehensive campaign which is intended to reach media outlets across New York State. Most importantly, last year’s State Legislative Day captured the full attention of the Legislature as few other lobbying efforts have done. But the buses, the materials and the facilities in Albany are expensive and we can’t do it without your contribution.
The intense and highly successful advertising campaign needs to be doubled…but to do this we need a solid cash reserve in the Medical Liability Campaign Fund.
Our plan calls for a major expansion of our grass roots efforts. This includes local/regional physician education and training programs, local meetings with your legislators and meeting with major media outlets in key markets across the state. These efforts will cost money.
Let me be clear. We are absolutely dependent on your response to this appeal. None of this can happen without YOU making a serious contribution to MSSNY’s Medical Liability Campaign Fund.

We urge you to make a contribution to MSSNY’s Medical Liability Campaign Fund by clicking here http://www.magnetmail1.net/ls.cfm?r=156083705&sid=5457359&m=626999&u=MedicalNY&s=https://www.mssny.org/tortreform. Please do this now. I know that I can count on you.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,
Michael H. Rosenberg, MD
President, MSSNY