Hospitals warn of closures, doctors leaving if Kemp’s bill to limit lawsuits doesn’t pass
Hospitals are warning of more closures and of more doctors leaving the state if the legislature doesn’t pass Gov. Brian Kemp’s bill to overhaul Georgia’s legal system.
Democrats insist only full Medicaid expansion will stop doctors from leaving and hospitals from closing.
But Channel 2’s Richard Elliot spoke with the Georgia Hospital Association, which represents hospitals like Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and they insist the only way to stop these closures is to lower insurance premiums, which they say the governor’s bill will do.
Kemp introduced his bill to one of the biggest Capitol crowds in recent memory. Among them, doctors, nurses and representatives from hospitals across the state, all supporting the bill.
“We are starting to see our providers leaving Georgia,” said Anna Adams with the Georgia Hospital Association.
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She said if something isn’t done to bring down what she says are skyrocketing insurance premiums, more hospitals may close and more doctors may leave, particularly in rural Georgia.
Among other things, the bill would require plaintiffs to show actual medical bills during lawsuits so they can be compensated.
It also would bar attorneys from suggesting to juries huge awards during their closing arguments
“If this bill does not pass, and we don’t see some pretty substantial changes to our tort system, we’re going to start to see even larger healthcare deserts across our state,” Adams said.
But Democrats oppose the bill, saying hospitals are closing and doctors are leaving because the governor refuses to fully expand Medicaid.
“You are selling people a bag of goods that’s simply not true,” said state Sen. Harold Jones of Augusta.
State Democrats insist reforming the legal system is no guarantee that insurance rates will go down, and it could limit people’s access to lawsuits.
“We start talking about hospitals closing. There’s no connection with that supposedly medical malpractice claims, once again, tort reform. The connection is not there,” Jones said.
Kemp has strong support among the Republican majority but expects a great deal of pushback from Georgia trial lawyers and patient advocacy groups.
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