2005 Ga. General Assembly to Consider Medical Liability Reform

Storm clouds are looming over medical liability reform legislation about to be introduced in the 2005 Georgia General Assembly which would make it harder for insurance companies to raise their rates and thus, supposedly reduce premiums.

Non-partisan groups, representing neither Georgia doctors or nor patients, don’t think pre-filed legislation would affect insurance premiums.

The bill, sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Mitch Seabaugh, (R-Sharpsburg), would require insurance companies to submit rate hike requests to Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine. Proposed increases of 10 percent or greater would require an investigation by the commissioner’s office and Oxendine could hold a public hearing on requests to raise rates by more than 25 percent.

Glen Allen, a spokesman for Oxendine, said the commissioner’s staff had not reviewed the bill.

The Senate passed legislation during last year’s session containing several changes in the legal system governing medical malpractice lawsuits, including stricter requirements for expert witnesses and some liability protections for emergency rooms. But the bill died when negotiations with the House faltered.

During weeks of debate over that bill, patient advocates suggested that insurance reform would do more to reduce malpractice premiums than putting limits on lawsuits.