WHEREAS, Recently the cost of the Philadelphia region’s medical malpractice insurance, which covers an individual physician or a hospital and its doctors in case of a negligence verdict or lawsuit settlement, has increased dramatically, with some doctors seeing their premiums doubling and even tripling this past year, and area hospitals have been receiving bills with multimillion-dollar increases; and
WHEREAS, The rising cost of malpractice coverage could become a serious drag on the region’s entire health care industry, which accounts for more than twelve percent of private business employment in the Philadelphia region, and this comes at the unfortunate time when our health care industry is struggling financially; and
WHEREAS, Already some physicians are deciding to move their practices out of the city and state, and younger physicians are electing to practice in other regions, and the long-term consequences may include a decrease in the availability of health care, an increase in health care costs, more hospital closures and mergers, and lower quality of care for patients; and
WHEREAS The Pennsylvania Medical Society has launched a campaign to reform the state’s malpractice system, including sensible tort reform without infringing upon patients’ rights, and phasing out the Medical Professional Liability Catastrophe Loss Fund, but other solutions need to be researched and examined; and
WHEREAS, The Council of the City of Philadelphia feels strongly that access to quality health care in our region should not be limited by the malpractice premiums our doctors pay; now therefore
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That authority be given to the Legislative Oversight Committee and Committee on Public Health and Human Services to hold joint public hearings on possible solutions to the alarming increase in medical malpractice insurance rates in the region, and the detrimental effect these increases may have on the City’s health care industry and public health services.
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