In many states that are considered “high risk,†medical malpractice insurance premiums can be sky-high. The state of the New York medical malpractice insurance industry is becoming extremely problematic, often times forcing some hospitals to go without any malpractice coverage at all.
Because New York medical malpractice insurance costs are so high, many hospital administrators are having to decide whether to hire more staff, like nurses and physicians assistants (P.A.), or whether to pay for medical malpractice insurance coverage.
At a glance, hiring needed staff like nurses would be the most productive way to maintain medical standards at a hospital, but when these same standards are challenged and found to be actual malpractice the hospitals without coverage become directly liable.
In one specific case that took place in 2006, a judge found a hospital liable for over $30 million. Because the figure was so outstanding, it was then reduced to a little below $13 million and even that figure had to be set-up on a payment plan that will continue until 2018. As if being sued for multi-millions were not enough, the hospital was forced to close one of its medical units. With simply not enough profitable production, and being constrained to a tight budget, many more hospitals found liable may be forced to make the same types of decisions.
The New York Times used the terms “going bare†to describe these hospitals without coverage, and its easy to see why, considering how close to “going bare†these hospitals actually are.
What we are really talking about at the end of the day is, hospitals are making a decision to practice medicine and risk bankruptcy in order to meet medical standards in the most effective way possible, which is by hiring more professionals to be available around the clock to ensure that any and all medical issues are attended to. The problem is this risk is a huge gamble.
Legislation needs to change, because as much as doctors deviating from standards are to blame; so are those patients who seek out malpractice suits for their own personal benefit. In a sadder twist, some doctors who have proactively pursued their coverage have become easy targets when hospitals either have no funds to provide, or face closing operations if they should lose a judgment.
New Hampshire offers a great idea to reforming medical malpractice issues, offering reformation centered around actual injured patients. New York legislation should seek to emulate a medical malpractice reform that is similar to New Hampshire’s in order to help benefit doctors, hospitals, and patients alike. In more generic terms they ought to “make it a level field†for all.
Local hospitals that run efficiently are not only important to the citizens of the area, but also to lively hoods of medical professionals in all fields, including paramedics and ER doctors. It’s important to note that without legislation reform, medical professionals may