Delegate Sam Nixon on WRVA

This is MY answer to health care reform.

Health care CAN be made affordable. Just reform malpractice insurance. Malpractice insurance boosts the cost of everything medical by 100%. Doctors are paying nearly as much for malpractice insurance as they are taking home. And then, there is the hidden cost of unnecessary cover-your-ass procedures. The net result is over twice the cost of medical care as there would be if there were substantial tort reform. When William Clinton took office, he said that there would be no tort reform during his administration. It has now been over 16 years since there has been any attempt at tort limiting legislation.

My reform is to eliminate malpractice suits entirely. In lieu of a malpractice suit, submit each patient complaint to a state appointed adjudication board. If, in the opinion of that board, the operation results in a degradation of function in any way, the patient gets a pension appropriate to that loss of function. The fund paying those pensions shall be amassed by taxing the hospitals and doctors’ offices based on net income. Thus, charity work doesn’t get taxed.
If a doctor is found responsible for the loss of function, (he) is penalized by suspension or revocation of his license. To put additional teeth into it, do not allow loss-of-income insurance for instances resulting from suspension of license. If the mistake is correctable, it must be identified within 120 days, and corrected at the earliest opportunity. The responsible party pays for the correction. Malpractice insurance can be used for that purpose.
The Hippocratic Oath states, “Above all, the doctor shall do no harm.” If a doctor believes that a procedure has a high probability causing harm, the doctor shall first register that procedure with the control board, and obtain the board’s concurrence with the assessment of risk for the procedure. The patient shall be apprised of that risk assessment. The patient then signs a release prior to the procedure. This release will exonerate both the doctor and the state from unintended consequences. It is intended that release of this nature be reserved for procedures that have a substantial probability of failure, but the alternative to taking the risk is even less acceptable. Failure insurance may or may not be obtainable by the patient thru a third party.
Hospitals do not cause malpractice. A hospital is a building that sits there. If a hospital staff member makes a mistake, that member shall be identified and penalized. Staff member incidents shall result in an incident investigation by the state. If corrective action does not meet state control board satisfaction, the hospital loses its license until such time as the control board is satisfied. Corrective action for the victimized patient for staff caused incidents shall be paid for by the hospital administration or its agent.

The only lawyers involved are those on the medical review board. And those are hired by the state.