Donald J. Palmisano

Health Care in Crisis

There is a crisis in American medicine brewing up a perfect storm that could capsize our healthcare system as we know it. The culprits are a health insurance system that leaves more than 41 million Americans without coverage; a fatally flawed payment system that threatens the foundation of Medicare; onerous rules and regulations that are forcing physicians to spend more time on paperwork than with patients; unreasonable (and unfunded) government mandates; and the ongoing attempts by some insurers to delay, deny, or “downcode” the legitimate claims physicians submit for the care and healing they provide. The most threatening component of the healthcare storm, however, is a broken medical liability system that defies common sense and reason. This danger is picking up speed like a tornado sweeping through states, leaving patient access problems in its wake. This broken liability system is forcing talented and gifted physicians out of high-risk specialties, leaving some communities without access to critical healthcare services. An American Medical Association (AMA) analysis shows that medical liability has reached crisis proportions in 19 states, with another 35 states on the brink of crisis. What is a crisis? The AMA considers it a crisis when a pregnant woman is in labor and distress and no obstetrician is available, or when a 9-year-old boy has a head injury but there is no neurosurgeon remaining in his region. This is happening to the patients we care for and care about across the country. Last summer, the only maternity ward in South Philadelphia shut its doors because of medical liability costs. Today, not one hospital in South Philadelphia delivers babies, and 7 of 39 maternity wards have closed or are about to close. An exodus of physicians out of Pennsylvania is also taking place, especially among high-risk specialists and new MDs. One of …