Vested Interest - March 2003 Issue

The President’s Thoughts

I need help.

One of my goals this year has been to elicit participation from our ITLA members. This is an interactive President’s Thoughts. Assume that within the next week you are going to be on a panel sponsored by the American Medical Association in Joliet, Illinois. The audience will be all physicians. These physicians, I might add, will be particularly irate because several of their colleagues are being pursued for their personal assets and may have to go into bankruptcy. I have heard many different accounts of this particular case, but be assured that it has become a cause celebre among physicians in Illinois because it relates to their greatest fear. I don’t know who exactly is going to be on the panel. For our purposes, assume that it is President Bush’s advisor on the medical malpractice crisis or the head of the American Tort Reform Association.

You should also know that for the past two months, on behalf of all the ITLA members, we have made overtures and have had several meetings with physician groups. Our goal in these meetings has been to discuss the "medical malpractice crisis" in a rational forum and attempt to understand their perspective and formulate some long-term solutions for physicians. At all these meetings, we have stated our position emphatically that caps do not work, that caps discriminate against the young, the old, and the non-working parent, and that caps only benefit the insurance industry. The physician groups we have met with seem to understand this concept and are looking for assistance in helping physicians in their battle for medicare reimbursement and fair contracting practices with the major healthcare providers.

Unfortunately, physicians with this perspicacity are in a distinct minority. Most physicians cannot get over their visceral antipathy for lawyers. They are beguiled by insurance industry propaganda that espouses caps as a panacea. However, I believe that we are slowly making inroads. The Chicago Tribune article describing the recent doctor’s rally held in Springfield on February 26, 2003 announced, "Doctor’s Rally; Hear Talk of Insurance Reform." More and more often, the phrase, "insurance reform" is being integrated into the vernacular of this debate.

Ironically, what I see eventually happening is that physicians will gradually acknowledge the efficacy of insurance reform in providing a long-term solution. However, I also believe that they will not abandon the idea of caps. A March 1, 2003, letter to the editor of the Chicago Tribune by the head of the Chicago Metropolitan Physicians Network listed the following ideas as a framework for a solution to the medical malpractice premium problem:

• Better oversight and monitoring of professional liability insurance company activities.
• Public disclosure of administrative costs, salaries, and perks provided to executives and board members of insurance companies.
• Required approval of rate increase requests after an elaborate hearing process, just like electric, gas and phone company rates.

• Required review of reserve amounts.
• Establishment of process for states to acquire reserves for future claims if an insurance company ceases to operate.
• Requirement of three year notice when an insurance company decides to exit the market.
• Illinois Hospital Licensing Board to propose reasonable self-insurance requirements for physician groups and hospitals.
• Personal liability be required for corporate officers and executors of insurance companies for malfeasance.

The only problem with these proposals is that the physician spent the first two columns of his letter repeating the tired and trite arguments for caps.

So, that leads me back to my initial query. What do we say to this group of physicians? We can explain to them the salutary benefits of insurance reform, but I believe they are going to take the position of agreeing with insurance reform and also press for caps. First of all, let me say that telling these physicians that caps are unconstitutional in Illinois isn’t going to hold much persuasive leverage. We can also explain again the discriminatory nature of caps and ultimately present the ad hominem argument of "wait until it happens to one of your family members." I am open to any of your ideas and welcome your suggestions. Please email me with any of your ideas at: RJB@corboydemetrio.com.

On another note, I want everyone to know that we are having a membership drive on Tuesday and Wednesday, February 18-19 in Chicago at 407 South Dearborn, Suite 1345. This is a very important time for our organization, and we need all the help we can muster. If you cannot participate in this membership effort, please send a member of your firm.

Robert J. Bingle, President
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association