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Briefly, numerous Washington County physicians are refusing to perform elective surgical and medical procedures from Nov 15 to Dec 1 (or longer) in protest of higher malpractice insurance premiums.

Any thoughts on this?

I say thumbs down on them all. There are other ways to impress the state legislature for malpractice insurance reform. A work slow down is not the way to do it.

Ha! Like Annapolis is even going to notice what's going on in WashCo anyhow.

While I agree malpractice insurance premiums are exhorbitant (as are health insurance premiums in general) take a drive around the county to Black Rock Estates, Redamar, that new development off Mapleville Rd just south of Rt 40. There are a good many doctors living in those mansions. Not that I begrudge doctors from living the good life, but if they can afford those places they can afford the MP insurance.

While they say medical care won't be compromised during this work slowdown, I can't believe that.

I'm not gonna be so quick to point the bony finger of indignation just yet. From what I've seen the increase in malpractice premiums are like 70% in some cases, even though the doc has no claims against him/her and this increase is like $70-100K/year. Something has to be done to help stop these ambulance-chasing scum from suing at the drop of a hat the way some attorneys do. A bad outcome is not always malpractice. And the patient that wins usually gets less than half the settlement amount after lawyer fees. There are better ways to do this, proven ways, and fair ways, but the lawmakers in the pocket of the special interest trial lawyers resist. The governor wants a special session to deal with it, and has proposed a bill, but the legislature resists. Most of us are probably several hundred times more likely to need a doctor than to be a malpractice victim. Yes, perhaps the docs need to police themselves a bit better as well, but, like cops, they have a hard time blowing the whistle on their own when they see something wrong and this culture needs to change.

As for income of the docs, so what? IMO they earn it -- especially the surgeons and OB/GYNs. They don't just get lucky on an investment, they don't prey on people, they don't develop land with no regard to the community, they worked their butts off for probably 8-10 years in college to get the title, often being left with > $200K in debt. They hold lives in their hands every day, often seeing patients die despite their best work and seeing the grief of the sick and their families. These guys deserve good pay -- much more so than a lawyer trolling for a big payoff w/o regard for the problems they cause for the rest of us.

I got to admit, if West Virginia doctors had ever thought about that "solution" back in the day, WV rates for everything medical related wouldn't be so high. We have some of the worse malpractice premiums for doctors in the nation, which in turn raised the cost of their services, which in turn raised the insurance premiums. My husband and I have an individual BlueCross/Blue Shield plan, and the costs are outrageous! The crazy thing is tho, we prefer to keep the individual plan because the premiums we could get through either of our employers is twice what we already pay!!! Plus, the doctors here are entirely bogged down with more patients than they can handle, simply because their fees each year are so high that most new doctors can't afford to pay them! Imagine how much money a doctor reportedly earns... not being able to pay their fees means the fees are out of sight!

I really pray, for Marylanders, that someone figures out how to put a handle on the idiots /insurance fraud cases because that's your only chance for not winding up like WV.

MD docs should be happy they aren't in WV... I hear the malpractice insurance there is sky high!

While I think that some docs deserve the high pay... others don't. Frankly, I don't think most of 'em "see the grief of the sick and their families." That's a job they pass along to other people. In my experience, docs spend just minutes with a patient before moving on... even those who are deathly ill.

On the flip side... my hubby is finishing up his clinical rotations to be a Physician Assistant. When he's done school, we'll have student loans out the wazoo. Would be nice if he earned a decent salary when he starts working.

Personally, I know too many docs with a "God complex" to think they really deserve the high pay... but I CAN understand why they think they deserve to make a buck. I just wish some docs cared more about people and less about money.

And just to throw something else into the mix, I don't think we can really point at big houses and assume it's the doc's salary that pays for the mansion. I'm guessing that, on average, docs tend to marry professionals... who probably bring in a fair chunk of income, too.

Also, possessions don't say anything about income. I read that the average BMW driver earns less than $50,000 a year.

IMO we can just be thankful they don't leave the profession altogether. Many have.

I don't know what Medical School enrollment is doing these days, but Medicine is definitely not the lucrative career that it once was. Kids these days are being asked to make the same tremendous sacrifices to achieve far less financial reward than their elders. Of those given the choice, I sincerely doubt that as many are choosing Medicine. That's going to come around and hurt us all in the end.

And, I think the reason for this BMIC is the trend toward corporations and non-medical people running the health professions; they're looking at the bottom line and not the health and well-being of the patients.

Perhaps it's the lawyers who are to blame for all this mess in the health care "industry" (since when did health care become an industry?).

For the most part, if Doctors were allowed to doctor, things would be in a whole lot better shape.

Let me just say this, if any Marylanders are worried about this issue, for Heaven's sake call or write your representatives in Government and tell them so! You've obviously found a few minutes spare time to write if you are here, and you obviously know how to use the internet, so e-mail them your thoughts if nothing else. To do nothing but complain here won't do anyone much good. (Stepping off soapbox.)

There's drug companies as well as the big health insurance companies involved. They've got unbelieveable political influence. They've even co-opted a fair number of Physicians.

Call John Edwards... hehe, that was out of line!

Marylanders really shoudl call their reps to make sure something is done and that they are heard. I'm telling you, WV rates suck. I won't repeat everything, but be thankful you don't live across the state line when it comes to this issue!!!

HA! You don't have to explain anything to me JM!!
I was just lucky enough to be able to go to Fred.Mem. for treatment which is a *ell of alot better than City!That place is a JOKE! Hubby works there and he comes home with some dooseys to tell.

I think there definately needs to a cap set on certain amounts in the "payoffs".Theres some medical accidents that can't be fixed. Because of different blood types my son was born with cerebral palsy.The doctor couldn't have "done" anything about it. It was nature.Negative and positive don't mix.I've actually had people ask me if I sued. Why? It was noone's fault.And they look at me like I was an idiot! But I think that goes along with the "make an easy buck" mentality thats becoming more and more prevelent in today's society.Pity.

Personally, I give a thumbs up to the docs. Coming from a medical background, and knowing one of the surgeons personally, I know some of the crap they deal with.

Remember when we had the whole trauma center fiasco a while back? It was related in some ways. There aren't enough docs to cover all the shifts in the hospital as well as to take care of their regular practices and still go home and see their families every now and then. Besides, do you really want someone operating on you after they've been on a 24 hr call? That's where malpractice comes into play.

And malpractice insurance isn't limited only to surgeons. Pharmacists also carry it in case of a pill mix-up, even if the legibilty of the doc's writing is mostly to blame, etc.

Face it, there are gifted minds out there who are avoiding health care because it is a crappy field, that is over-regulated by the governing bodies (can you say Joint Commission?), and has more drawbacks than rewards. (I left for that reason, not that I'm saying I'm gifted) . Most insurance rates are exorbitant and we need limits on settlement awards if we are to ever get them under control. Until that happens, we the people will suffer with fewer qualified doctors to help us.

Those that are for the doctors striking.

How do you feel about cops and firefighters.

Cops: we're on a work slowdown, we'll only respond if you're getting killed.

Firefighters: we're on a work slowdown, we'll only respond if you are actually on fire.

Public safety is the issue here. Colonoscopies and breast biopsies are two of the procedures that won't be performed. How many people will forgoe these procedures during the strike (and yes it IS a strike) and never get around to having it done. Maybe only one. But perhaps that ONE is the one with malignant cancer that would have been found had the procedure been done.

I am not un-sympathetic to the docs' plight. And I wish them well. Heaven knows something has to be done about the exhorbitant MP premiums. But if the MP premiums are lowered, how many docs are going to lower their procedure fees?

Huh?

I completely see your side, Yoss. I'm facing a surgery myself and it may not get done in what I consider a timely fashion. I am also the type who hates going and will use any excuse to avoid getting procedures done, even if I know they are needed. And I know I'm not alone in this attitude.

Will patient health be impacted by the stance of the physicians? Most likely, even mine perhaps. But I still support their agenda. The straw has finally broken the camel's back. Something must be done. By essentially holding the potentially ill hostage, the docs are forcing the legislature to act on the rampant malpractice fees and other problematic issues facing health care providers.

Personally, I don't see this lasting long. There will be some kind of state response to the threat, the docs will be temporarily satiated, and things will return to (ab)normal, perhaps before the "strike" gets off the gound.

Hippocratic oath or not, no one deserves to have their balls ripped out through their throat just because of their job title.

How many cops and firefighters carry personal malpractice insurance?

Do they NEED to? Do they face personal lawsuits for the inevitable mistakes that they, being HUMAN and therefore fallible, make?

How often do their actions directly impact the life or health of the people with whom they deal - how many people each day does the average Police Officer deal with whose life or health depend upon their decisions?

You raise a valid point, looked at superficially, but I don't think you're comparing apples to apples. Not even close.

Note also that what we're looking at is not a Statewide or National strike. In a non-emergency, you CAN go out of your way a little to get your elective surgery. We're not talking about having to go very far either. Especially considering that there are some kinds of specialists whom you can't even FIND in Washington County, I just don't see this as a serious hardship.

Hopefully, it's just enough of an inconvenience to prompt some people to ask their elected representatives to do something about the malpractice issue before more doctors leave the profession. If they don't, we can pretty much be assured that we'll have fewer and fewer choices of doctors from whom to get the care we need, and here in Wash Co, as others have already noted, it's awfully hard to get decent care as it is.

There are some cops and firefighters that carry personal MPI.

They don't necessarily need to. If they're acting in compliance with their training and directives and laws, they generally will not be held accountabile in a suit. They're agents of the jurisdiction for which they serve. Even though they may be named in the shotgun approach of a suit.

Yes, their actions directly impact the life and health of everyone they provide service to. Come on, think about this a bit. You can't be that naive to not be aware of the job of a cop or firefighter.

Like I said, I am sympathetic to the plight of the physicians. And if it weren't for the greasy, slimey lawyers that represent us in Annapolis, the ones that look out for their "buds", and not look out for the people they were elected to represent, we may not be in this predicament.

And for me, if I were to have a serious operation perfomed on me it wouldn't be done by any physician practicing in WCH. Not that there aren't excellent physicians and surgeons in this county, I just wouldn't want it done at our local hospital.

I wish the physicians well in their quest. And if the situation is resolved in their favor, I look forward to them decreasing their fees for their services.

Yoss,

As someone else stated, one can still go slightly out of their way and get the elective procedures done if the doc "strike" occurs. If the cops strike, and I have a burglary to report, I can't ask Fred. City cops to respond instead. Further, cops had not had their required insurance rates skyrocket.

If you forgoe a test because of this strike and "never get around to having it done" it's your fault for using flimsy excuses to avoid something you know you should do. Not the docs fault.

You can use the "maybe one person will die as a result" argument, but so can I. I think it much more likely that, if something is not done soon to cap this runaway malpractice crap, that people will die because there was not a doc available to treat them in time, or the doc refuses to do the risky procedure needed to save the life, or the doc is so super-careful and runs every imaginable test for every little thing that medical rates further climb and price some folks out of getting treatment. Which scenerio is more likely -- yours or mine. I say mine. JMO.

You ask how many docs will lower their procedure fees. I don't think now that most of them are free to set fees wherever they want -- mostly they are stuck with what the insurance co. or medicare will pay. This profession deserves high pay -- it is a darn tough profession. Take good/great pay out of it and watch how many docs will be around to treat your grandkids.

From AP newswire:

"Rivaling Bush vs. Kerry for bitterness, doctors and trial lawyers are squaring off this fall in an unprecedented four-state struggle over limiting malpractice awards. The volatile issue is in voters' hands and each side is desperate to win, spending millions of dollars to make their cases and portray the other side as greedy.

In all four states - Florida, Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming - doctors and health insurers pushed to get measures on the Nov. 2 ballot, and trial lawyers are campaigning hard for a "No" vote."

More at:


http://apnews.excite.com/article/20040927/D85C3E0O0.html

If Kerry and his trial lawyer running mate get elected, don't expect things to get any better, either!

WVDragonLady - City is pretty messed up in most areas, for sure, but I wouldn't use any other Maternity wing! Hagerstown is awful and Winchester is worse when it comes to listening to the mother's requests and really making L&D enjoyable. City, on the other hand, was a WONDERFUL experience with my first son and should be with my up and coming one as well!

BMIC - The Johns will definitely not help the medical field... Right On!

From what I've seen and heard of late, this issue with the doctors and skyrocketing malpractice insurance premiums isn't getting any better. One Wash. Co. surgeon has already quit over it, and who knows what's next. If you care about access to good doctors in Maryland, and skyrocketing medical costs, you should contact your MD legislators and let them know how you feel. People tend not to act until something directly affects them, but if you need a doctor and can't get one, then it's too late.

I saw on the bottom "ticker" on Headline News that 50 MD docs went on strike today. I can only assume they belong to us .

I'm of mixed oppinion about the strike, now that it has begun. They have a legit beef, and I support their right to protest high premiums, but I hope they don't go overboard advocating for one solution over another. I support their desire to make sure that SOMETHING gets done, but I would hate to see them doing this to support a democratic versus republican solution, or vice versa.

Here's a potentially stupid question: My asthma doc is in Hagerstown, but also in Chambersburg. If they chose to strike, would they close altogether, or only go to the Chambersburg office?

I don't like to go to the doctor's office, and he's the only one I go to religously. I'll take my chances on other things, but I've gotta be able to breathe!

not stupid. but since they're striking to go to Annapolis to lobby the legislators (yeah, try to find a legislator in Annapolis in November) then I would assume they wouldn't be available in Chmbrg either -- but of course, check with his office to make sure.

I wouldn't worry about it, unless you've been scheduled for asthma surgery.

They're cutting back on elective surgeries, not shutting down the entire health care system. If you're waiting to get a tummy tuck or nose job done, you might have to wait a little while. They're not cutting back on ANY emergency procedures, of course.

P.S. Guest, I realize that sounded a bit cruel. But I thought it was so funny I couldn't help myself. Please don't take it too hard.

My husband had a doctor's appointment in Northern VA today and we were discussing some insurance issues with him. The doctor mentioned that his malpractice insurance just quadrupled. He had to change locations again because the rent was too high. The sad thing, is this doctor really cares about his patients and wants to help. He takes on Medicare patients and gets practically nothing for his services.

And if you noticed the part about Karl Riggle's cost of MP insurance, it was about 1/3 of his take home. That is like a mortgage payment! I don't know about you guys, but I couldn't lose 1/3 of my household income. No wonder Martha stopped practicing medicine to stay home with the kids. She couldn't afford to work!