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Pennsylvania's
“Self-Inflicted Healthcare Crisis”
Draws Fire From Legal,
Healthcare Reformers
Philadelphia’s 15th
Maternity Unit to Close Due to Liability Concerns
“Life or death lottery for
mothers in Philadelphia”
Download The Facts
Here
(WASHINGTON, DC/NEW YORK CITY/ATLANTA)
 The
closing of the Chestnut Hill maternity unit (featured left) in
early November leaves the Philadelphia metropolitan area
of more than 5 million people nearly without OB/GYN services.
Pregnant mothers in crisis may have to drive more than an
hour in traffic to reach a maternity care unit.
The
American Medical Association (AMA) has labeled
Pennsylvania's healthcare delivery system as an “extreme-level crisis”,
citing shortages in key specialties
including OB/GYN, neurology, general surgery, oncology, and
radiology.
 "The
announced closing of the Chestnut Hill Hospital maternity
ward is yet another casualty of an unreliable medical
malpractice system. Restoring reliability to justice, such
as with special health courts, is essential to restoring the
trust needed for a healthy system of health care," said
Philip K. Howard (left), Common Good founder and chair .
"Pennsylvania is in a crisis situation in terms of access to
quality medical care,” said Wayne Oliver, health justice
project director for the Center for Health Transformation.
“The legal system is forcing hospitals to abandon certain
‘high-risk procedures’ including delivering babies and
neurosurgery. When the legal system creates a healthcare
shortage, something is seriously and morally wrong.”
 “Pennsylvania
is the poster child for the plaintiffs’ bar vision of
America – sue the doctor, sue the hospital, and when they
leave, support taxpayer-funded subsidies to hold onto the
remaining cash cow,” said Dan Pero (left), President of the
American Justice Partnership Foundation (AJPF). “Reasonable
reforms, including caps on non-economic damages, expert
witness reform to match the standard in federal courts, and
various procedural matters will help restore predictability,
stabilize costs, and encourage physicians and facilities to
return to Pennsylvania – all without harming the ability of
legitimate claimants to have their day in court.”
Why
is the Crisis “Self-Inflicted?”
According
to the AMA and
the Harvard School for Public Health, the common
denominators behind the wholesale closing of critical
medical facilities and physician shortages are a rampant
lawsuit industry and the liability insurance costs that
follow lawsuit abuse.
Since 2000, medical liability
insurance premiums in Pennsylvania (and neighboring states
New Jersey and Connecticut) have nearly tripled. More than
12,000 physicians – particularly in key specialties – have
left the Commonwealth or retired during that period.
The
Pennsylvania Medical Society predicts the potential loss of
an additional 10,000 physicians within 10 years as the
average physician age inches up along with the average
statewide age – a “crisis point” for state health care.
Pennsylvania ranks near the bottom of all states for
retention of young physicians – to below 20 percent today –
due to lower malpractice insurance costs elsewhere, among
several factors.
 Former
U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich (left), founder of Center
for Health Transformation,
offered the following critique: “Health justice reform can
make all the difference in the world as it relates to the
accessibility of high quality healthcare. Physicians want
to practice in states where they can have an open, trusting
patient-physician relationship. And, physicians do not want
to practice in states which favor predatory personal injury
lawyers over physicians and surgeons.”
“The price
for failure to fix the liability crisis is human pain and
suffering,” said Dan Pero.
“We can debate the merits of various private and publicly
funded efforts to stem the tide of physicians leaving and
facilities closing, but the bottom line is that women,
children, the elderly, and those with emergency healthcare
needs are absolutely at risk.”
Wayne
Oliver
from the Center for Health Transformation continued, “There is one fundamental question we should all
ask ourselves: ‘Would you rather have access to your doctor
or a personal injury lawyer?’ To find the answer, ask a
woman who is about to deliver her first child and must
travel away from her community to seek medical care. Better
yet, ask a woman who is about to be a former patient of
Chestnut Hill Hospital.”
Pennsylvania
Compares Poorly to Other States . . .
 In
its
updated
2008 report,
Medical Crisis: A Pocketbook Matter for
Employers, AJPF contrasts Pennsylvania’s health care
crisis with the condition of states that have adopted
various medical liability reforms – and the contrast is
stunning.
Texas, for example, faced similar physician and
facility flight through the 1990s, leaving wide swaths of
the state – particular rural areas – without critical
medical services. Why? Because Texas was a hotbed of
medical malpractice lawsuits that resulted in astronomical
medical liability insurance costs for medical professionals
and high health insurance rates for employers and
individuals.
Since Texas adopted comprehensive legal and
medical liability reforms, physicians have been locating to
Texas, the state is retaining its young physicians, new
facilities are opening in underserved areas, and insurance
costs have been declining.
Other states that have adopted
comprehensive reforms – Mississippi and West Virginia, for
example – are experiencing similar improvements.
Download the updated
Medical Crisis: A Pocketbook Matter for
Employers
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information, to schedule an interview, and to access
reports, please contact the following:
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