Medical Society of New York President Responds to New Jersey Supreme Court Case on Medical Liability Trials

WESTBURY, NY (05/16/2013)(readMedia)-- MEDICAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK PRESIDENT SAM UNTERRICHT, MD, RESPONDS TO NEW JERSEY SUPREME COURT CASE REQUIRING SAME SPECIALTY EXPERT IN MEDICAL LIABILITY TRIALS

"The recent New Jersey Supreme Court decision (Nicholas v. Mynster) upholding New Jersey law that a physician who testifies as an expert in a medical malpractice action must practice in the same specialty as the physician being sued highlights another example of a common sense tort reform enacted in other states but not New York.

The law under review in New Jersey was enacted by the New Jersey Legislature in 2004. Many other states have enacted similar provisions. A recent Health Affairs article concluded that the tightening of rules with respect to who can serve as an expert witness in a medical liability action has been effective in other states as part of an effort to contain medical liability insurance costs.

Here in New York, Senator Kemp Hannon has introduced legislation (S.2531) that would, among other provisions, similarly assure that a physician who serves as an expert witness in a medical liability action must practice in the same specialty as the physician being sued. With New York physicians paying medical liability premiums that are among the very highest in the nation, we urge the State Legislature to enact this legislation as one way to address New York's exorbitant medical liability costs.

New York's health care system faces severe financial strains. The implementation of health care reform will only further test the ability of New York's health care system to meet this likely increased patient demand. Therefore, it is imperative that the State Legislature take action to assure that physicians and hospitals remain available to deliver the care New Yorkers are expecting to receive, including acting to reduce the choking costs of medical liability insurance.

New York physicians, particularly those who practice in the NYC-metropolitan region, pay medical liability premiums that are far more than most of their colleagues across the country. For example, for just a single year of coverage, the cost of medical liability coverage for the 2012-13 policy year was:

• $315,524 for a neurosurgeon in Nassau and Suffolk counties;

• $183,247 for an Ob-GYN in Bronx and Richmond counties;

• $111,989 for a general surgeon in Kings and Queens counties; and

• $109,019 for an vascular surgeon or cardiac surgeon in Bronx and Richmond counties

There is no question why these costs are so extraordinary. Medical liability payments in New York State are far out of proportion to the rest of country. New York has by far and away the largest number of total medical liability payouts and total awards of any state in the country, far exceeding other large states such as California, Florida and Texas, according to Kaiser Health Statistics.

At the same time, physicians face ongoing efforts by public and private payors to reduce payments for care, including recent implementation of significant Medicare sequestration cuts. If unaddressed, the squeeze between high liability costs and inadequate payment is unsustainable to our health care system.

To assure patient access to timely and quality care, these problems must be addressed. An essential component is comprehensive medical liability reform such as that proposed by Senator Hannon".

Founded in 1807, the Medical Society of the State of New York is the state's principal non-profit professional organization for physicians, residents and medical students of all specialties. Its mission is to represent the interests of patients and physicians to assure quality healthcare services for all.

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