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As the nation continues to face a medical malpractice crisis, the U.S. House of Representatives has sought the experience of Californians Allied for Patient Protection (CAPP).

CAPP is a broad-based coalition dedicated to preserving the legal reforms enacted under California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA).

CAPP CEO Fred Hiestand testified recently before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce educating legislators about California’s MICRA, which is being used as a model in HR 5 (Greenwood, R-PA). President Bush is pushing for passage of HR 5.

“Congress and other states now look to the California experience as they try to fashion solutions to the growing emergency with medical liability insurance,” Hiestand told the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. “MICRA continues to prove that providing fair and equitable compensation for those negligently injured can be achieved in ways that preserve an orderly insurance marketplace and maintain access to quality healthcare. It is a success for Californians, and if enacted by Congress will benefit patients and taxpayers nationally.”

Hiestand reportedly described the California MICRA story in hopes of ensuring that a deja vu much like what California experienced in the 1970’s does not take place across the nation. Hiestand also discussed the “Key Legal Reforms” for taming runaway malpractice litigation and liability premiums, and the importance of the $250,000 ceiling on non-economic damages.

“History…counsels CAPP and our allies to support federal efforts to bring uniformity and certainty to the malpractice crises now afflicting numerous states through legislation modeled on California’s experience, such as House Resolution 5,” Hiestand commented.

President Bush, Congress and state lawmakers are reportedly looking at MICRA as a model because it has lowered premiums while ensuring patients access to health care and to legal redress should they be injured from medical malpractice. Due to MICRA:

*California’s premiums are one half to a third lower than in other populous states such as Florida, New York and Texas;
*Patients receive payment after an incident in a time span 26 percent shorter than the national average;
*The cost of a medical liability settlement in California is 53 percent lower than the national average, and;
*MICRA allows health care professionals to focus on providing quality care without having to engage in the costly practice of defensive medicine.

MICRA puts a $250,000 ceiling on explosive non-economic “pain and suffering” damages while assuring full compensation for economic losses, including wages, medical bills, rehabilitation and custodial care for as long as necessary.

MICRA also permits voluntary and binding arbitration to resolve disputes over more expensive and cumbersome court trials, informs the jury of other payments a plaintiff is receiving for the same injuries sued on, marshals and preserves resources for ongoing care of the plaintiff by allowing periodic payment of future damages, and assures that the most severely injured plaintiffs get a proper share of any recovery by requiring that attorneys’ contingency fees be paid on a sliding scale – the larger the recovery the more goes to the injured patient and less to the lawyer.

Topics California