Watchdog Blog

Nursing Home Arbitration

The Wall Street Journal recently published ($) an excellent front-page article describing one of the more egregious incarnations of binding mandatory arbitration – nursing home admission agreements. The money quote:

Nursing homes' average costs to settle cases have begun dropping, according to an industry study, even as claims of poor treatment are on the rise. The industry notes arbitration is slicing the number of patients winning big punitive judgments, the added penalties for severe negligence that can pump up the size of jury awards. Meanwhile consumer advocates, plaintiffs’ lawyers and even some arbitrators are decrying the practice.

The article goes on to describe the case of one Mary Hight, whose nursing home wouldn’t call an ambulance despite her being dehydrated and ill for days. Her daughter, Janice Cowart, resorted to pushing her uphill to a nearby hospital, where she died the next day. Even though the “arbitrator found the home was negligent both in allowing Ms. Hight to become dehydrated and failing to get her to an emergency room,” he only awarded $90,000. After legal fees from the arbitration, “We didn’t get one cent,” said John Estep, Janice Cowart’s brother.

Maryland Doctors Cry "Wolf" Again!

Once again Maryland doctors are raising the specter that patients will be denied access to medical care because doctors will be leaving Maryland as the cost of medical liability insurance increases.  The last time they used this scare tactic they convinced the Assembly to subsidize their premiums.  Now as those subsidies are set to expire they’re back with the same tired threats. Citing an emerging doctor shortage, doctors are urging Assembly members to enact “tort reforms” designed to slam the court house door on injured patients.

First, claims of an emerging doctor shortage are not borne out by the facts.  A recent report to The Governor’s Task Force on Health Care Access and Reimbursement indicated that data collected from the American Medical Association and the American Osteopathic Association and adjusted on a consistent basis shows that Maryland has the 4th highest patient care physician to population ratio in the U.S.

A Self-Inflicted "Crisis"

When NY’s Superintendent of Insurance announced a 14 percent across-the-board rate hike for medical liability insurance on July 1, 2007, doctors raised a hue and cry that the increase threatened a crisis in access to care because doctors could no longer afford to practice in New York and would be leaving the state or otherwise restricting their medical practices.  As in the past, doctors again blamed the premium increases on skyrocketing claims and lottery awards and demanded tort reforms that would cripple meritorious malpractice claims by the victims of medical negligence.

Today Public Citizen released a report that exposes these claims of the doctors as full blown, deliberate and obvious exaggeration: A Self-Inflicted “Crisis:” New York’s Medical Malpractice Troubles Caused by Flawed State Rate Setting and Raid on Rainy Day Fund. These same claims have been made by doctors during each of the three cycles of rising premiums that have occurred over the past thirty-plus years. Our report shows that rising malpractice premiums are not the result of any escalation in the frequency or severity in malpractice payments. The increase has nothing to do with patients, lawyers, judges, or our courts. It reflects an insurance problem.

Public Citizen’s analysis of the best available New York data demonstrates that the number of malpractice payments made on behalf of doctors in 2006 was at its lowest point since 1991. The total amount of malpractice payments for doctors, adjusted for inflation, was near or below fifteen year average in three of the past five years.

The amount of malpractice litigation in New York has not changed appreciably over the past eleven years. Thus, it is clear that the 14 percent increase in premiums did not reflect a sudden or dramatic change in either malpractice payments or litigation behavior.

License to Malpractice

Some of you might have heard about the doctor in New York, Dr. Harvey Finkelstein, who risked exposing over 600 people to HIV, hepatitis and other deadly diseases by reusing syringes. Among the many horrendous practices brought to light with this case, there are two that particularly highlight issues with the state’s health officials and medical board.

State health officials delayed the public release of the information to patients, which inexcusably delayed testing and possible treatment for those exposed. Then the state’s medical board incredibly found “no evidence of wrongdoing.”

Unfortunately, this is by no means a singular example of the worst medical malpractice offenders being ignored by the New York State Medical Board. Of the 127 doctors in New York who have made 10 or more malpractice payments since 1990, less than one-third have had reportable licensure actions taken against them.

It is clear that we need to fix the system that allows monstrous unaccountability like Finkelstein. As our Director, Laura MacCleery, put it, “The ‘I’ll scratch your back’ culture in medicine, in which doctors have claimed they are competent to police themselves, must end before more people are killed by criminal negligence.”

Stay tuned for Public Citizen’s upcoming in-depth analysis of the state of medical malpractice and insurance in New York.

Taking a Bite out of the Great Medical Malpractice Hoax

Laura MacCleery, Director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch division, debated Jim Copland of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research on WNYC's "The Brian Lehrer Show."

The segment gets heated as they debate New York State's 14% increase in malpractice insurance and the civil justice system in preserving victim's rights. 

The show asks: what can be done to improve patient safety and hold the most dangerous doctors accountable? Is there really a medical malpractice crisis?

Click below to hear Laura debunk the myths and expose the lies told about doctors, patients and the insurance industry.

Another attempt to lead us down a blind alley from PRI

Pacific Research Institute (PRI) last Friday launched another in a series of briefing papers that advance the interests of its business sponsors.  Need a study that shows expanding health insurance coverage for children is actually bad?  Look no farther than PRI.

The latest pen-to-paper embarrassment from this flack shop is the just-released U.S. Index of Health Ownership by John R. Graham. While it purports to promote health care ownership, its clear purpose is to roll back government. Although it bills itself as non-partisan, PRI’s bias against single payer systems is blatant:  “PRI also demonstrates why a single-payer, Canadian model would be detrimental to the health care of all Americans.” 

Within a section full of self-praise for its index, PRI quotes Newt Gingrich:  “How free are we to control our own health care?  That’s the question the Pacific Research Institute boldly answers in this state by state ranking of health freedom.  While others advocate ‘universal health care’ through greater government control, PRI stands up for ‘universal choice’ where the patient and the doctor are back in control.”