Gibbons: Tort reform just part of solution

Wednesday, May 28, 2003 | 11:10 a.m.

Solving the medical malpractice insurance crisis plaguing the Silver State and dozens of other states nationwide will take more than just tort reform, Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., told doctors at Mountain View hospital Tuesday.

Putting caps on jury awards "doesn't go after the insurance companies who are amassing these large fortunes when it comes to premiums," Gibbons said after a tour of the northwest Las Vegas medical center.

Why one physician's premiums increase -- while another's do not -- seems to have at least as much to do with the health of the insurance company's portfolio as a doctor's record, Gibbons said.

"We need to look more closely at the insurance companies," Gibbons said. "That's an important piece of the puzzle."

Gibbons lauded the state's doctors for pushing successfully for a special session last summer to address the insurance crisis. Physicians need to keep the same pressure up at the national level if they want their voices to be heard, Gibbons said.

Last year Nevada lawmakers approved Assembly Bill 1, which set a $350,000 cap on jury awards for punitive damages in medical malpractice cases, with exemptions for certain types of injuries, including paralysis or death.

This year Senate Bill 97, which would eliminate most of the exemptions and is backed by the advocacy group Keep Our Doctors in Nevada, is being considered by the Legislature. An Assembly-backed amendment to the bill calls for giving voters the chance to either back or reject AB 1 on the November ballot.

Obstetrician Dr. Jozsef Zority, who practices at Mountain View, told Gibbons he doesn't know if he can wait for the reforms approved by Nevada's Legislature during the special session to take effect.

In the past three years Zority said his malpractice insurance premiums have gone from $36,000 to $120,000 -- despite his having limited his deliveries to 124 babies a year and having no claims filed against him.

"They want us to wait another five years for the reforms to kick in. It's not possible," Zority said.

Another side effect of the crisis is recruiting, Gibbons was told.

"Why would somebody want to come to Nevada when malpractice insurance rates are half as much in other states?" asked Mark Howard, president and chief executive of Mountain View who served as tour guide for the congressman.

"I'm hoping supply and demand will eventually kick in, and physicians coming out of their residencies will see there are real opportunities to practice quality medicine in Nevada."