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Representative Ro Foege
Report from the Iowa Legislature
March 14, 2004
Medical Malpractice Insurance
Beautiful harmony could be heard in the Iowa Capitol on Tuesday, March 9th. It wasn’t that the Republicans and Democrats called a truce in their partisan battles. Rather, the remarkable sounds were from the 82 voices of Cornell College singers. Last Tuesday was Cornell College Day at the Capitol, in honor of Cornell’s sesquicentennial. Cornell Chaplain, the Rev. Catherine Quehl-Engel, provided the opening prayer in both the Senate and House chambers. President Les Garner briefly addressed both chambers and received resolutions honoring Cornell for this historic achievement. Combined choirs from Cornell, led by Dr. Lisa Hearne, sang in the Rotunda and in the House Chambers during the noon hour. It was my pleasure to sponsor the resolution and host the Cornell visitors to the Capitol.
On Wednesday, March 10th, the Senate and House honored retiring Kirkwood Community College President Norm Nielsen. Also present for this event were several Kirkwood representatives, including newly designated president, Dr. Mick Starcevich, and Lois Bartelme, Chair of the Kirkwood Board.
In legislative action this week, the Iowa House passed a medical malpractice reform bill. Medical malpractice insurance rates are too high, and this is creating a crisis in our health care system. However, based on the experience of other states, this bill will not lower insurance rates for doctors and other medical providers, nor will it lower medical costs for patients.
The bill sets a maximum of $250,000 in payments for non-economic damages in suits against health care providers and hospitals. A health care provider is defined as an MD, osteopath, chiropractor, podiatrist, optometrist, or advanced registered nurse practitioner. Non-economic damages are defined as payments for punitive damages, pain, suffering, physical impairment, mental anguish, loss of chance, loss of consortium, and other damages with no monetary cost.
The intent of the bill is to reduce the cost of malpractice insurance. But this did not occur in states that adopted such limits. In California and Texas, rates increased up to 35% after limits were passed.
A study released last week by the US Chamber of Commerce called Iowa’s liability laws the fourth best in the nation. In fact, Iowa ranks first in jury fairness, second in judges’ impartiality, and third best in punitive damages. The study supports the idea that the bill won’t accomplish much, since it proves that Iowa does not have runaway juries, biased judges or excessive awards. I did not support this bill, because of the strong evidence that it would not accomplish the goal of reducing the cost of medical malpractice rates.
I did support two other initiatives to address this issue, but the majority party refused to allow debate on them. I believe these proposals can help slow the rapidly rising malpractice rates and begin to identify meaningful solutions.
The first proposal would have created an Insurance Consumer Advocate to represent doctors and consumers before the Insurance Commissioner could allow a rate increase. A second approach would have created a study, bringing together the insurance companies, health care providers, attorneys and consumers to find a proper solution for Iowa.
The approved bill now moves to the Senate where, I hope, amendments that we offered in the House will be accepted, so insurance rates will actually be lowered. I also hope that we can work together with the various interested parties to find some solutions to the crisis created by the outrageous costs of medical malpractice insurance. We have to get beyond blaming health care providers for medical mistakes, and blaming trial lawyers for successfully representing injured parties. Insurance rates are the core issue that must be addressed.
Hopefully, we can recapture some of the Cornell choirs’ harmony, and work together to solve the medical malpractice insurance crisis.
I look forward to visits from constituents at the Capitol. If you cannot visit the Capitol, you can write me at the State Capitol, Des Moines, IA 50319; call 515/281-3221 or e-mail me
at
ro.foege@legis.state.ia.us.
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