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Members of the House and Senate now have a compromise medical malpractice bill on their desks, a step in a long struggle
to deal with the lack of medical malpractice insurance in West Virginia.
Physicians have been leaving the state by the dozens, although the malpractice insurance problem has spread nationwide.
The malpractice issue hits rural health care in efforts to recruit physicians.
The proposal has some tort reform measures including a $250,000 cap on jury awards for non-economic damages. The cap
would be a half-million dollars in some trauma cases.
The compromise takes millions of dollars from the Tobacco Settlement Trust fund to help establish a Health Care Mutual
insurance company, where doctors and other health care providers will have their own insurance company. There is a
one-time $1,000 assessment against doctors to help start-up.
Doctors get a break on their health care provider tax to offset what they pay in medical malpractice premiums. The credits
will cost the state $10 million over two years.The bill will go to Gov. Wise.
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