Bush Returns to South Bay to Talk Med-Mal

During his most recent visit on June 11, Bush held a roundtable discussion with doctors, nurses and area residents to hear their concerns about the medical malpractice situation.

Dr. Phillip Tally, a neurosurgeon, became emotional when he told the governor about the risks to his family of not being able to obtain malpractice insurance. Tally has been without insurance since Jan. 1 when his premiums were increased to more than $300,000.

Residents voiced their concern about not having access to doctors and medical care.

Bush is in favor of medical malpractice reform which places a cap of $250,000 in liability for pain and suffering in malpractice suits. Proponents say that a cap will help restore the rapidly dwindling number of insurers writing malpractice policies and help to reduce premiums. That in turn, they say, will help to bring back doctors who have left the state because of the cost and lack of availability of insurance.

Opponents say that such a cap will only cause further injury to victims of malpractice. They also state the dramatic increases in premiums are due more to bad business decisions by the insurance companies stung by the declines in the stock market.

After the roundtable discussion, Bush moved to the front of the hospital to address more than 100 area residents and hospital staff.

During this speech Bush urged the audience to contact their local representatives. He specifically named four state senators, including District 11 Senator Tom Lee, calling them "wandering senators."

In reference to being named by the governor, Lee told the St. Petersburg Times, "I wasn’t in this issue to give payback to the FMA (Florida Medical Association) or the trial bar for their support or opposition to Republican politics, and I was going to do what was right."

Lee is currently in Tallahassee and was unavailable for further comment at press time.

Dr. Lawrence Fink of Doctors Hospital in Sarasota attempted to give Bush a new perspective about the problem.

"I think the press has a vital role to play in this because the press has picked up...that this is warfare between doctors and lawyers, between lawyers and insurance companies, between insurance companies and patients and it isn’t," said Fink. "I have no problems with attorneys representing the needs of their clients, their clients are my patients. I have no problems with insurance companies complaining that they’ve had difficulties in the investment markets just as we all have and they don’t have a $1.25 to pay out on the one dollar of insurance premiums they are now taking in."

Fink went on to say, "Our backs are against the wall. We are all in this for the common solution. The common solution isn’t bringing down lawyers or bringing insurance companies down, the common solution is to provide access to quality insurance. That’s what this is all about."