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By Ron Wolfe South Bay Hospital staffers and a few doctors who practice there have served a wake-up call to Sun City Center residents on two occasions. A large crowd gathered at the most recent "medical crisis" rally held at the Sun City Center Community Hall on Jan. 21. Speaker after speaker brought fear into the minds of those in attendance. They suggested that with the increasing cost of malpractice insurance premiums, the medical services now being provided by South Bay Hospital and the doctors who practice there may have to be reduced or discontinued. Yes indeed, if this is true, this represents a serious medical services crisis! How did this happen? Who is the main contributor to this crisis? Who is in the best position to do something about it? Let's consider the following: 1. More and more insurance companies are no longer interested in writing malpractice insurance policies, because of the high risk. This has reduced the competition in the insurance industry. When the number of insurance companies willing to write policies in Florida falls from 80 to 5 or 6, we have a problem. 2. When the premiums charged to doctors by the fewer insurance companies exceed what the doctors can afford to pay in order to stay in business, we have a problem. 3. When the trial lawyers have sharpened their litigation skills to the point where insurer payouts to cover malpractice settlements are both predictable and at an historical high, we have a problem. 4. When our local doctors say rising insurance premiums are making their practice of medicine unprofitable, causing them to discontinue the practice of medicine, we have a problem. To be sure, spiraling malpractice insurance premiums and the effect this is having on medical service providers is both a national and State of Florida problem. It is not just a problem for SouthShore citizens, South Bay Hospital and the doctors who practice there. While President Bush is renewing his call to cap medical suits and our Florida legislators are discussing tort reform, it may be some time before any relief is realized in SouthShore. What can the citizens of SouthShore do to help South Bay Hospital and the doctors who practice there to stay in business? We can adopt and put in place our own form of tort reform by placing a cap on malpractice awards associated with medical services provided by South Bay Hospital and the doctors who practice there. The entity with the best chance of dealing with this medical crisis is the patient, that's you and me. We are the ones who put the trial lawyers to work. If we voluntarily place a cap on medical suits, South Bay Hospital and the doctors who practice there will become preferred customers and more attractive to insurance companies. The insurance companies should compete more vigorously to write these policies, at lower insurance rates. The organizers of this event are to be applauded and I respectfully request that Janet Wilson, Earl Dye and the Sun City Center Community Association put in place a committee to determine the merits and feasibility of this suggestion. This committee should include representatives from the insurance industry, medical providers, legal community, political representatives and citizens of SouthShore. Finally, this suggestion represents in my mind a form of self-government or home rule. Do SouthShore citizens have the will to pursue it or will we be content to look to the federal and/or state government for relief? Do you have any views on this subject? If so, how about sharing them with me and with your permission, I will share them with other readers. Send letters to: The Voice of SouthShore, P.O. Box 476, Ruskin, FL 33575 or email: |