As you know, the Medical Society of the State of New York, along with several medical specialty societies, has been participating in a Task Force, convened by Governor Spitzer and chaired by Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo and Health Commissioner Richard Daines, to make recommendations to address the fiscal solvency of the medical liability insurance companies and address the fundamental drivers of high medical malpractice costs.  

In a recent Task Force meeting as well as in follow-up speeches to physician groups, Superintendent Dinallo has made the startling statement that, in the absence of action by the State Legislature to control the cost of medical liability insurance, he will be forced to:

*  Raise medical liability insurance premiums to     physicians by 15-25% in each of the next five years;
           
*  Assess over multiple years a cumulative $50,000    surcharge on every physician in New York State in    addition to their premiums; and/or

*  Impose a $230,000 surcharge on every physician in the    MMIP pool

It is beyond question that none of these suggested solutions can be met by the physician community which is already struggling to cope with the 14% increase just enacted this past July.

At our request, Mr. Dinallo, Sen. Kemp Hannon, Assem. Earlene Hooper, Mr. Ed Amsler of MLMIC, Mr. Gerald Dolman, of PRI, came to the NCMS on January 11,  to present their opinions and to hear from physicians first hand how they have been unable to cope with the current reductions in reimbursements coupled with rising costs.

The meeting began with Mr. Dinallo reminding attendees that he is compelled by law to set insurance premiums that will allow underwriters to maintain solvency. The recent practices of the former Superintendent of Insurance to set premium rates artificially low have resulted in the loss of nearly all reserves by MLMIC and PRI.   Mr. Dinallo stated quite clearly that he intends to correct this matter as he is required to do.  Mr. Amsler and Mr. Dolman both gave reports that verify the financial crisis these carriers now find themselves in.  Our elected officials from the Senate and Assembly urged physicians to seize this opportunity to both lobby strongly for reforms and to work in collaboration with the all parties at the table to come up with sound options. Richard Peer, MD, Task Force member and Past President of MSSNY gave the physicians’ perspective on the crisis at hand and urged all physicians to join in a common effort to make their voices heard.

While tempers flared and frustration among the physicians was evident at times, this event proved a valuable opportunity for physicians to air their concerns. 

It was also an opportunity to hear candid comments from our elected representatives and state government officials about the need for physicians to join together and present a unified voice.

Although there were numerous announcements made about the program, with responses from over 100 members, there were only about 75 in attendance.  This, I am sure, was not overlooked by our guests.  If we ever hope to achieve satisfaction we need to show solidarity.  On March 4th, physicians from across New York State will be going to Albany to meet with our legislators on this urgent matter.  WILL YOU BE THERE?  Call the Society at 516-832-2300, ext 13 for more information.

 

A SHOCKING AND SADDENING TURN OF EVENTS CONCLUDES WITH THE HOPE AND PROMISE OF A NEW GOVERNOR

A tragic series of events this week which rocked Albany, and, indeed, the entire State of New York, has concluded with the resignation of Governor Eliot Spitzer, effective Monday, March 17th. Lieutenant Governor David Paterson will take the oath of office at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, March 17th.   Lieutenant Governor Paterson held a press conference on Thursday of this week to state that he is ready to assume the office of Governor and is already working around the clock to fully inform himself concerning the many, many complex issues which will now be before him as Governor.

In the short term, the on-time passage of the state budget by April 1st is obviously the most critical challenge before Governor Paterson.  The implications of this transition are as of yet unclear. We do know, however, that soon-to-be Governor Paterson is a compassionate individual and an extremely intelligent and thoughtful leader.  We know that he is well-liked by legislators on both sides of the aisle, policymakers and pundits alike. 

It will take time to assure that he and his staff are appropriately informed of the many different facets of our two primary areas of concern: medical liability reform and managed care reform. Your governmental affairs staff has already begun to reach out to Governor Paterson and his staff as we continue to pursue our objectives to redress these and other important concerns of organized medicine. In the meantime, it is essential that physicians and their staff and patients continue the grassroots advocacy efforts which we have already asked you to pursue.  In this regard, with respect to medical liability reform, we again ask that you do each of the following:

 

1	Work with your County and/or Specialty Medical Societies to schedule meetings with each legislator - Republican and Democratic - in your community as a follow up to the Legislative Day/Rally.  Remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint, and we need to continue to interact with our legislators on this issue.
2	Work with your County and/or Specialty Medical Societies to schedule meetings with the Media - appear on radio, TV, attend Editorial Board meetings scheduled by the County/Specialty Medical Society and send in Op Ed pieces to the press in your area.  A template piece has been provided by MSSNY to your County/Specialty Medical Societies.
3	Facilitate Patient-Legislator interaction using petitions which MSSNY will provide to you.
4	Regularly utilize the convenient grassroots action tools provided by MSSNY:  Call the Liability Reform Hotline, 1-866-728-3397, which will generate a faxed letter to the Governor, Assembly Speaker Silver, and Senate Majority Leader Bruno.  Urge your patients to call the 1-866 hotline.  There is a patient access point that generates a similar patient focused letter to the above-referenced leaders. Send a letter to your local Assembly member and Senator from the MSSNY website.  There is a link on the front page of the MSSNY website to the sample letter.  There is also a patient letter on the website.
5	Seek opportunities to speak to community organizations such as your local Chamber of Commerce or Kiwanis, etc. to convey the seriousness of the situation.  A template speech has been drafted by MSSNY and can be provided to you upon request. Your advocacy, coupled with that provided by MSSNY through its physician leaders and Division of Governmental Affairs, is critical to the overall success of our mission to attain meaningful redress of our medical liability situation this year.