We can\u2019t take action on the medical malpractice issue, said Rep. Liz Thomson, because we don\u2019t have data.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve got to be kidding, I muttered.<\/p>\n
Thomson made this comment to a standing-room-only audience at a pre-legislature town hall where she was one of eight legislators on stage.\u00a0\u00a0 It was almost the end of the event, which had until that moment been pretty\u00a0 cordial.<\/p>\n
Instead of asking for closing statements,\u00a0 the moderator asked for each legislator\u2019s final comments to be his or her proposed solutions on the issue of healthcare, which all had agreed was a major concern. The statement about data was part of Thompson\u2019s response.<\/p>\n
I have two answers to that.<\/p>\n
First, our legislators don\u2019t have enough data on most topics and often have to take action without it. \u00a0Over the years I have looked for data on many topics and sometimes found there wasn\u2019t any, or there wasn\u2019t enough.\u00a0 In the field where I have the most background, workers’ compensation, the state paid for a limited study in the late 1990s, and advocates have been asking for a new one for at least 15 years, but the legislature has not funded it.<\/p>\n
Second, on the malpractice issue, we have more than enough data to know what the problem is.<\/p>\n
This issue is fairly simple because it\u2019s right in front of us. Doctors are leaving New Mexico.\u00a0 They are not just saying it, they are doing it, and they are telling us it\u2019s because malpractice insurance is either too expensive or, even worse, impossible to get.\u00a0 Many of us know first hand or have heard stories from friends who were left without a doctor recently, maybe more than once, had to find a new one and had to wait months for an appointment.<\/p>\n
We don\u2019t need further proof to know that there\u2019s a crisis, or to know what\u2019s causing it.<\/p>\n
Thomson also said we don\u2019t know why insurance companies are raising rates, implying that maybe insurers think they can get away with an unjustified price increase.<\/p>\n
But in fact we do know because we were all here when the malpractice law was changed in 2021.\u00a0 (The details have been covered thoroughly so I\u2019m not repeating them here.)<\/p>\n
Our excessively lawyer-friendly malpractice law is not the only cause of New Mexico\u2019s health care crisis.\u00a0 Some of the other components are well known, and I have written about a few of them.<\/p>\n
We know New Mexico has too high a percentage of patients on Medicaid, which does not pay the doctor even enough to meet expenses.\u00a0 Another serious concern is the purchase of small rural hospitals by private equity firms that put profit over service, sometimes to the point of bankruptcy. These and other factors require attention, but the solutions are complex.<\/p>\n
The malpractice law is something lawmakers can control. That\u2019s the difference.\u00a0 To mention simplicity again, it\u2019s a law, and rewriting laws is what lawmakers do. The only force keeping the current law in place is the will of the trial lawyers\u2019 lobby and their political action committee, the Committee on Individual Responsibility, which contributes heavily to some legislators.<\/p>\n
Thomson is chair of the House Health and Human Services Committee, which gives her a great deal of influence over legislation that will be considered in this coming session. She is a retired physical therapist and aside from this one issue, she has been a strong advocate for New Mexicans\u2019 health needs. Her campaign website devotes a whole page to healthcare as a top priority.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the main problems with healthcare in New Mexico is the shortage of care providers,\u201d says her website. Maybe someone should remind her of that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We can\u2019t take action on the medical malpractice issue, said Rep. Liz Thomson, because we don\u2019t have data. You\u2019ve got to be kidding, I muttered. Thomson made this comment to a standing-room-only audience at a pre-legislature town hall where she … Continue reading