Towns Holds Hearing to Investigate High Cost of Medical Malpractice Insurance

Brooklyn, NY - Congressman Edolphus Towns, representing New York's 10th Congressional District, will hold a hearing on Wednesday, August 15, 2007 at 10:00am at the Brooklyn Borough Hall entitled "The Joint Federal/State Investigation into the Access and Equality of New York State Medical Malpractice Insurance." The purpose of this hearing is to investigate why good doctors are leaving our community due to the high cost of medical malpractice insurance.

The expense of medical malpractice insurance has reached crisis level in New York State.  According to the NY Health Commissioner, Dr. Richard Daines, and Dr. Robert Goldberg, President of the Medical Society of NYS, these skyrocketing costs are discouraging physicians from practicing in New York Sate or leading them to provide a narrower range of medical services.

In addition, the public-interest group Public Citizen cites seven-percent of New York doctors are responsible for two-thirds of all malpractice payments in the state. This crisis portends an ominous fate for minority communities already underserved and besieged by inadequate access to care, lack of insurance and a disproportionate burden of disease.

"The root causes of this problem which continues to negatively impact doctors, insurance providers, hospitals and ultimately patients are worth exploration.  It is the patients who suffer the most due to an ever-narrowing selection of health care providers," said Congressman Towns.

Patients in need of an obstetrician or a gynecologist are particularly affected. Many doctors are refusing to practice or leaving New York State simply because they cannot afford to pay the medical malpractice insurance premiums. In 1986, Congress passed the "Liability Risk Retention Act" to offer an affordable alternative for medical malpractice insurance coverage. This hearing will explore the extent to which Risk Retention Groups could be utilized in New York State as well as possible tort reform proposals.

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