Oregon to Re-join States with Caps?
Side Note: Oregon physicians once knew what is was like to practice medicine with caps on med mal lawsuits –and then they didn’t. But, maybe they will again?
Gov. John Kitzhaber is in the midst of a broad health care overhaul for the state of Oregon. And, currently his “transformation team” is working to convert his recommendations into legislation. One such undertaking is House Bill 3228 which is proposing “pain-and-suffering” caps on med mal damage awards. Specifically, the bill places a limit of $500,000 on noneconomic damages. A similar limit was in place in Oregon from 1987-1999. However, the Oregon Supreme Court deemed such limits unconstitutional. Thus, this new bill faces a major uphill battle and is unlikely to go anywhere. This is especially so given the fact that in 2000 and 2004 Oregon voters rejected efforts to reinstate such caps.
Former Oregon Medical Association President, Dr. Peter Bernardo, anecdotally said that his Oregon liability premiums have tripled in the years since the cap removal. We here at MyMedicalMalpracticeInsurance.com are not surprised. To us, caps have proven to be an effective way to contain med mal insurance costs. We track liability insurance rates by state for physicians across several specialties every year and have done so since 2000. Check out the Oregon physician liability insurance rates data that we have.
As physician advocates, we support efforts to keep your costs down and your liability exposure limited. That is why we work with all of the med mal companies in Oregon. Quite simply, they compete against each other for your business, and therefore, offer you their lowest rates.
Are you an Oregon physician looking to lower your Oregon physician liability rates? If so, fill out our free, no-obligation quote request today.
Panel considers ‘pain-and-suffering’ cap
Bill would put limit on noneconomic medical damages
By Peter Wong from Statesman Journal
2:04 AM, Mar. 31, 2011
A House committee gave an initial hearing Wednesday to a proposed cap on noneconomic damages awarded to patients who sue doctors and hospitals.
But even the committee co-chairman, who is its chief sponsor, said House Bill 3228 is unlikely to go anywhere by itself.
