These identical bills seek to double the malpractice insurance
requirements for Florida physicians and eliminate the option they have
had for about 15 years to 'go bare'. Going bare means that the
physician does not carry malpractice insurance, but agrees to be
financially responsible for the amounts currently required for
malpractice insurance. They must post notices prominently in their
offices informing patients. If they were to have a judgement
againstthem and fail to pay, they would lose their license. Most of
the physicians who 'go bare' are specialists in high risk areas like
general surgeons, neurosurgerons, thoracic surgeons, ob-gyns, and now
a growing number of orthopedic surgeons and radiologists. Florida
currently has the highest malpractice premium rate in the country,
with even general surgeons expected to pay over $180,000 per year (In
2003, the average was $179,000).

We have contacted all the committee members to which the bill has been
referred in both the Florida House and the Senate and notified county
medical societies to get the word out to their members. We have also
mailed info to about 200 physicians in Orlando.

On March 30th it passed the House Health Care Regulation committee, 6
to 4.

This past week, the Florida Medical Association stated in their
Legislative Bulletin that they believe the Bill is dead. However,
this past week, it was referred on to the Judiciary Committee in the
House. I am concerned that the FMA may be a little premature in
thinking this is over. I could be wrong since I am not in Tallahassee.

I urge you to at the very least, contact the members of the House
Judiciary Committee since it has been referred there. You can find
the contact information for all members in a Word document that you
can download from our site:
http://www.ethicalhealthpartnerships.org/flmalpracticeins.html

Thank those Representatives who voted against the bill (Homan, Cretul,
Proctor, and Sobel).

We will keep a close eye and continue to keep people advised.

Thanks, too, to Dr. Portoghese, president of the Florida Hospital
Medical Staff, for getting his opinion published in the Orlando
Sentinel about these Bills and about Amendments 7 and 8 that were
passed last November.

Dawn Lipthrott, LCSW