Doctor policy reform pressed ; Md. task force, senators seek malpractice remedy; Insurance bills going up 33%; Leaders agree to hold off on slowdown at hospital FINAL Edition

• Published in: The Sun (Baltimore, Md. : 1837)
• Main Author: M. William Salganik and Andrew A. Green
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Baltimore, Md Tribune Publishing Company, LLC 05.10.2004
• Subjects: Busch, Michael E; Ehrlich, Robert L Jr; Frosh, Brian E
• ISSN: 1930-8965

This week alone, [Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.]'s task force meets today, [Brian E. Frosh]'s special committee will hold a public hearing tomorrow and Baltimore doctors and hospital administrators will describe the impact of the malpractice system to legislators at a "town meeting," one of a series being held around the state. So far, the Senate and the trial lawyers have been focused on a short-term solution: a state fund that would allow Med Mutual to freeze its rates. Ehrlich has been cool to that concept, saying what is needed is a long-term solution, including reforms in the way the court system deals with malpractice cases. The state medical society has said both are needed. [Michael E. Busch] and the House leadership have also supported both - but it's not clear that all sides would agree on the same long-term package. Frosh's support for a package tying the short-term fund to a package of long-term reforms opens the door to a possible compromise. Frosh said he envisions long-term measures that combine changes in the court liability system, new patient safety rules and new insurance regulations.