Tennessee Joins 20 States in Medical Liability Crisis
Guam Showing Problem Signs
For immediate release: February 14, 2006
CHICAGO — The American Medical Association (AMA) today announced that Tennessee is the 21st state designated by the AMA as "in crisis" due to a deteriorating medical liability climate that is jeopardizing patients' access to care.
"Our broken medical liability system is choking out access to care and threatening every American who lives in a crisis state or travels through one," said AMA President J. Edward Hill, MD. "Tennessee lawmakers need to act now to stem this tide before more patients are put at risk. Proven reforms have worked in other states and can make a difference in Tennessee."
"Tennessee is facing a 'perfect storm' - a collision of destructive influences that is greater than the sum of its parts," said Phyllis Miller, MD, president of the Tennessee Medical Association (TMA). "The high cost of our broken legal system is driving up the cost of patient care, medical liability insurance, and the cost of doing business in Tennessee. The constant threat of a lawsuit is forcing physicians to rethink their career choices. Without relief, Tennessee physicians often have no choice but to curtail their practices, move out-of-state or discontinue practicing medicine altogether. Patients will be left without access to the medical care they need."
From 1995 to 2005, Tennessee physicians have seen liability premium increases as high as 127 to 212 percent. While premiums costs have increased, reimbursements from TennCare - the state's health care program - have dwindled, and now average only 25 percent of billed charges.
"No business can continue to operate if expenses consistently outpace revenue. Physician practices are no different. Doctors have to pay their bills and pay their employees, just like everyone else, or they cannot keep their doors open," Dr. Hill said.
The current crisis makes it difficult to attract physicians to Tennessee, and patient access to physicians in high-risk specialties is suffering. A TMA survey found that 70 percent of Tennessee's physicians believe the state has a shortage of high-risk specialists. AMA data from 2004 shows that of Tennessee's 95 counties:
81 counties have no residing neurosurgeon in patient care.
49 counties have no residing orthopedic surgeon in patient care.
47 counties have no residing emergency physician in patient care.
42 counties have no residing obstetrician-gynecologist in patient care.
Tennessee today joins Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming as states in crisis.
"We need to fix a jackpot justice system that is bad for our patients, bad for health care, and bad for local economies," Dr. Hill said. "It's time for Tennessee's state and federal representatives to stand up and do what is necessary to ensure that when patients need care, physicians are there to provide it."
Medical liability reforms that include a reasonable limit on non-economic damages have been proven to protect patients and preserve access to medical care. A medical liability crisis in Texas was halted after the state enacted sweeping reforms in 2003, and voters passed a constitutional amendment to head off potential court challenges. Since then, access to care has been increasing, claims are down, physician recruitment and retention are up, and new insurers are entering the increasingly competitive Texas medical liability market, creating more choices for physicians. As a consequence, last year the AMA removed Texas from the list of crisis states.
"Lawmakers and voters acted to bring Texas back from a meltdown of their health system," said Dr. Hill. "We urge Tennessee's state and federal lawmakers to consider the example of other states and look to proven remedies when considering medical liability reform."
The AMA also announced today that it is adding Guam to the medical liability crisis map as a territory "showing problem signs." Access to care is already a problem in Guam with a limited number of physicians practicing some specialties, no physicians available in others, and the closest alternative approximately eight hours away in Hawaii. Guam has only one civilian hospital serving a largely rural population of 160,000. A number of physicians have left the territory, and local doctors cite the medical liability environment as the key challenge in attracting and retaining physicians to meet existing needs.
Further details on the situations in Tennessee and Texas can found on the AMA Web site. Please visit the Web site and click on "Tennessee" and "Texas."
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For more information, please contact:
Robert J. Mills AMA Media RelationsOffice:
(312) 464-5970Mobile: (312) 543-7268
For immediate release: February 14, 2006
CHICAGO — The American Medical Association (AMA) today announced that Tennessee is the 21st state designated by the AMA as "in crisis" due to a deteriorating medical liability climate that is jeopardizing patients' access to care.
"Our broken medical liability system is choking out access to care and threatening every American who lives in a crisis state or travels through one," said AMA President J. Edward Hill, MD. "Tennessee lawmakers need to act now to stem this tide before more patients are put at risk. Proven reforms have worked in other states and can make a difference in Tennessee."
"Tennessee is facing a 'perfect storm' - a collision of destructive influences that is greater than the sum of its parts," said Phyllis Miller, MD, president of the Tennessee Medical Association (TMA). "The high cost of our broken legal system is driving up the cost of patient care, medical liability insurance, and the cost of doing business in Tennessee. The constant threat of a lawsuit is forcing physicians to rethink their career choices. Without relief, Tennessee physicians often have no choice but to curtail their practices, move out-of-state or discontinue practicing medicine altogether. Patients will be left without access to the medical care they need."
From 1995 to 2005, Tennessee physicians have seen liability premium increases as high as 127 to 212 percent. While premiums costs have increased, reimbursements from TennCare - the state's health care program - have dwindled, and now average only 25 percent of billed charges.
"No business can continue to operate if expenses consistently outpace revenue. Physician practices are no different. Doctors have to pay their bills and pay their employees, just like everyone else, or they cannot keep their doors open," Dr. Hill said.
The current crisis makes it difficult to attract physicians to Tennessee, and patient access to physicians in high-risk specialties is suffering. A TMA survey found that 70 percent of Tennessee's physicians believe the state has a shortage of high-risk specialists. AMA data from 2004 shows that of Tennessee's 95 counties:
81 counties have no residing neurosurgeon in patient care.
49 counties have no residing orthopedic surgeon in patient care.
47 counties have no residing emergency physician in patient care.
42 counties have no residing obstetrician-gynecologist in patient care.
Tennessee today joins Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming as states in crisis.
"We need to fix a jackpot justice system that is bad for our patients, bad for health care, and bad for local economies," Dr. Hill said. "It's time for Tennessee's state and federal representatives to stand up and do what is necessary to ensure that when patients need care, physicians are there to provide it."
Medical liability reforms that include a reasonable limit on non-economic damages have been proven to protect patients and preserve access to medical care. A medical liability crisis in Texas was halted after the state enacted sweeping reforms in 2003, and voters passed a constitutional amendment to head off potential court challenges. Since then, access to care has been increasing, claims are down, physician recruitment and retention are up, and new insurers are entering the increasingly competitive Texas medical liability market, creating more choices for physicians. As a consequence, last year the AMA removed Texas from the list of crisis states.
"Lawmakers and voters acted to bring Texas back from a meltdown of their health system," said Dr. Hill. "We urge Tennessee's state and federal lawmakers to consider the example of other states and look to proven remedies when considering medical liability reform."
The AMA also announced today that it is adding Guam to the medical liability crisis map as a territory "showing problem signs." Access to care is already a problem in Guam with a limited number of physicians practicing some specialties, no physicians available in others, and the closest alternative approximately eight hours away in Hawaii. Guam has only one civilian hospital serving a largely rural population of 160,000. A number of physicians have left the territory, and local doctors cite the medical liability environment as the key challenge in attracting and retaining physicians to meet existing needs.
Further details on the situations in Tennessee and Texas can found on the AMA Web site. Please visit the Web site and click on "Tennessee" and "Texas."
###########################
For more information, please contact:
Robert J. Mills AMA Media RelationsOffice:
(312) 464-5970Mobile: (312) 543-7268
posted by Bob Coli, MD at 4:55 PM
