In a December 2007 address about medical liability reform, Wyoming U.S. Sen. John Barrasso illuminated some of the most pressing issues facing healthcare in Wyoming. "Wyoming, my home State, has been listed by the AMA as one of 19 medical liability crisis States,” he said. Many doctors, he continued, have left the state due to exorbitant malpractice insurance costs. This has led to a severe physician shortage.
While malpractice suits are an important check on the healthcare system, the huge monetary settlements, and subsequent premiums paid by physicians for insurance, have left the state in crisis. Patients should have the right to sue their physician for malpractice if such action has occurred, but to allow these suits to exceed the damage is destructive to the system.
Every state surrounding Wyoming has enacted some legislation to reform liability. Thus, Wyoming is experiencing an exodus of physicians to these states where practicing medicine is more affordable. Barrasso stated that this issue presents a huge problem in recruiting physicians to the state. Wyoming continues to train physicians who then leave to practice in states with liability reform.
The consequence of excessive liability premiums is that many patients, especially pregnant women, are without healthcare. Barrasso continued in his speech, “Pregnant women in Newcastle, WY, needed to travel over 80 miles to have babies delivered when practicing physicians in that community were not able to afford the cost of their liability insurance.” This puts an incredible burden on families expecting new babies. These women are in essence without accessible natal healthcare.
Wyoming is in desperate need of liability reform not only to encourage physician recruitment to a state that is sorely lacking in medical professionals, but also to promote the health of the people of Wyoming. It is within our grasp to provide quality and accessible healthcare to the rural women who deserve it, but most of all to their innocent, unborn children.
To view Sen. Barrasso’s speech, click here: Barrasso Speech
barrasso_medical_dec12.ram
5 comments:
This was a great topic. Wyoming does need to provide healthcare to all who deserve it. These pregnant women and their children should not suffer because Doctors think malpractice insurance is too high. YOu did a great job discussing this issue. Thanks for the insight!
Liability reform is a pressing issue. Unfortunately I am sure this is not as prioritized as say natural resource development. We have the funding to be able to provide better health care however we are like Venezuela or any other energy rich government and are too concerned with maintaing our surplus than actually focusing on social issues and problems. The majority of the people hit the hardest by this malfunctioning system I would say is the elderly and retired. This rings especially ture with the Bush administration's budget which cuts social security and health care programs to provide funding for the military and homeland security. It is true our health care system is in crisis however most canididates running for president are calling for universal health care. So maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel...
This is a great issue since health care seems to be the main topic of the presidential canidates. Wyoming seems to be a state where health care is such a pressing issue and you see and hear about it everywhere. I do think we need to find a way to keep doctors snce so many up and leave. A good insight. The links proved helpful.
Liability reform SOUNDS important and weighty enough, but I'd probably be more compelled to learn more if I could read about a real life impact on at least one person here in Wyoming - like one of the traveling pregnant women. But keep it brief. I can't read on any one page for very long. This issue, as presented by a Wyoming senator, seems like a single fragment of a much larger, linear problem. Seems to me the problem might begin at the federal level - how the insurance industry is allowed to behave. I wonder if our laws overwhelming are designed to protect big businesses and bosses, and not customers and workers and cititzens. I'm a suspicious person, and I'd like to find out if this is a federal-level problem that's just shoved onto the states to deal with.
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