AMA JOINS PUSH FOR WASH. MED-MAL REFORM:

The American Medical Association (AMA) joined the Washington State Medical Association (WSMA) for a National House Call to urge voters to sign on to Initiative 330 to help restore fairness and balance to Washington’s broken medical liability system and protect patients’ access to care. Washington is one of 20 states in crisis, according to the AMA, where physicians are forced to limit vital services such as delivering babies, reading mammograms and providing trauma care and brain surgery because of the fear of being sued and the uncontrolled costs of the legal system. Specific provisions of I-330 include maximizing the amount of money patients, not personal injury lawyers, recover when monetary damages are awarded; compensating patients for 100 percent of their economic losses while creating a $350,000 limit (up to possibly $1.05 million) for noneconomic damages; and guaranteeing payments over time to ensure injured patients receive on-going benefits. “Our patients want medical liability reform,” WSMA President Jeff Collins said. “A recent survey found that 72 percent of Washington voters support limits on the amount of money juries can award for non-economic damages, and 78 percent of voters feel that without limits on non-economic damages, the price of health care will increase significantly.”

Topics Washington