Letters: Malpractice law in practice

Re “Time to fix state’s broken medical malpractice law,” Column, July 10

As a physician who was involved in the passage of California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975, I feel compelled to respond to Michael Hiltzik’s view that the law needs to be updated.

As Hiltzik notes, the law limits only non-economic losses to $250,000; there is no limit on economic losses due to malpractice.

Hiltzik suggests the non-economic award limit should be indexed to inflation. The trial lawyers have been trying to raise this cap for more than 30 years; they have failed.

When debating trial lawyers over the years, I have asked several if they would be willing to forgo taking their cut of awards for non-economic losses, and they have refused. To me, this demonstrates that their main concern is money.

Changing the law at a time when the healthcare system is on the verge of a major change would force many providers to limit services or quit practicing precisely when millions of additional Californians will start seeking care.

Leon I. Bender, MD

Los Angeles

Hiltzik’s fine article focuses on only a part of the problem with the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act. Another issue is that it benefits all California medical providers, including those that have not truly earned its benefits.

Consider the ever-increasing number of doctors and other providers who will not accept Medicare and Medicaid patients, who will not accept insurance assignment, who condition access on payment of extra, non-reimbursable “concierge” payments and who grossly overcharge their uninsured patients. The law ought not to apply to those who have demonstrated greed in restricting patient access.

Let’s fix this problem now — either through legislative action or ballot initiative — by limiting the law’s protections to only those providers who demonstrate a willingness to work proactively toward achieving Obamacare’s goal of universal access at reasonable rates.

Ralph Mitzenmacher

Altadena

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