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Posted on 05/04/2011 9:12:41 PM PDT by TheDingoAteMyBaby
In a long-sought move, the University of Miami won a legislative victory on Wednesday when Florida lawmakers agreed to extend state lawsuit protection to university doctors working in public hospitals.
Gov. Rick Scott will likely sign the bill into law. Scott is also expected to sign another lawsuit-limitation bill that passed Wednesday that changes the way people can sue automobile makers.
The vote to give “sovereign immunity” to UM has been years in the making.
The state protects government hospital employees, residents and interns — including those at Miami’s Jackson Health System — from major medical malpractice judgments. But UM medical school doctors who teach at Jackson are not covered by the protected status.
For two decades, UM officials have pushed to receive the same benefit, saying patients often sue the university instead of Jackson because of UM’s deep pockets.
The university spends $40 million a year on malpractice cases, said Ron Book, one of UM’s lobbyists in the Capitol. State protection, he added, could cut that expense in half.
“This good bill will even the playing field,” said Rep. Jeanette Nuñez, R-Miami, speaking on the House floor for SB 1676, which was approved Tuesday in the Senate. The bill was pushed in the House by former Rep. Esteban “Steve” Bovo, R-Hialeah, and later by Rep. Frank Artiles, R-Miami.
The legislation would also affect other public and nonprofit hospitals.
(Excerpt) Read more at miamiherald.com ...
So Miami Univ. saves 20 mil in insurance costs. I predict zero of that savings will go to reducing tuition. It will just be “found” money for Shalala and the U to blow on pet projects.
In my day, right across from each other, were the Jackson Memorial Hospital ("the Big Jack") campus, the V.A. Hospital campus and the old, private Cedars Hospital.
Jackson Memorial is the huge county, charity care hospital that is flooded with low-income patients and the casualties of the "Knife & Gun Club". At Jackson, the most socially dysfunctional elements in Miami get charity medical care and a change to win the Malpractice Lottery if the emergency surgeries at 2:00 AM for 3 separate gunshot wounds to the abdomen don't turn out just right.
Since U.M. had the "deep pockets", U.M. would get sued for anything and everything.
From what I have heard, U.M. bought the old Cedar's Hospital, turned it into "University of Miami Hospital" and was planning to take only patients of it's own choosing after say "good riddance" to the Jackson Memorial hellhole.
It seems that the Florida Legislature's actions were taken to avoid this scenario.
More Republican stupidity.
Lives of people = worthless.
Wallets of doctors = paramount.
Remember folks, when you subsidize something (in this case carelessness, recklessness or poor performance) you get MORE of it.
With great risks come great rewards. You want to make 200K and think that you’re a “god”? Pay the price when you kill or maim someone.
Oh wait. You don’t. Your insurance cost goes up a few thousand a year. So it was NEVER about doctors paying anything.
That won’t bring a child back. And it won’t regrow an arm.
If a construction worker (or the company owner) kills someone because he was negligent, why should he not also get special treatment?
Dead is dead.
There is a reason the malpractice is so expensive——can you say Incompetent, drug addled staff? I thought you could.
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