Over
and over, we've heard doctors threaten to leave Pennsylvania
because of high malpractice insurance premiums. But more
than a year after many physicians threatened to
close their doors, their offices remain open and many
have even welcomed new members into their practices. (See
letter to the editor) Medical
licensures in the state have increased every year since 1995
(See Public Citizen
report), and the state's MCARE Fund
says there were 1,000 more
doctors |
THIS WON'T HURT A
BIT:
Doctors are
trying to frighten patients into thinking they
should give up their rights in order to
preserve their access to health care. |
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practicing
in Pennsylvania at the end of 2002 than there were in
2000. (See
article) In
a scathing October 2003 expose on doctors failing to make good on
their threats to leave, The Sunday Times of
Scranton - a year after more than 40 Lackawanna County
physicians threatened to leave - found that all of them
were continuing to provide many of the same services they had
for decades, and at least two large practices had
welcomed new members. (See article) In
September 2003, the nonpartisan independent
General Accounting Office examined five states labeled
"in crisis" by the American Medical
Association, including Pennsylvania, and found that
claims of a doctor "exodus" and limited access to health
care had been vastly exaggerated for political purposes.
(See report) Through
polling and focus groups, the medical lobby has decided
that the best way to get Pennsylvanians to give up their
Constitutional right to have a jury decide what's fair
is to scare them into believing that their doctors are
leaving. As
the documents cited above - and many more - clearly
show, the claims of a doctor "exodus" in
Pennsylvania are nothing more than a political ploy. 
"Implications of Rising Premiums on Access to Health
Care" - GAO finds no evidence of doctor "exodus"
in Pa., August 2003
"Doctors
can't prove thinning ranks"
- The Morning Call, Allentown,
Pa., April 23, 2004.
"Diagnosis of the numbers shows doctors not leaving
state in droves"; SIDEBAR: "'Disappearing docs' list is
inaccurate, a few phone calls show"- The Morning Call, Allentown,
Pa., April 18, 2004
"'Disappearing
Doctors' Web site admits to posting erroneous info"
- The Citizens' Voice,
Wilkes-Barre, April 1, 2004
"Was malpractice crisis ever an actual crisis?"
- The Tribune, Scranton, Pa., Nov. 28, 2003
"Poor-mouthing:
Despite their malpractice premiums, America's doctors
are doing just fine" - By Paul T. von Hippel,
professor of economics at Ohio State University, Oct.
20, 2004
"How
many docs have really fled?" - Philadelphia Daily News, June 10,
2004
"Focus
on fix for malpractice, not numbers game" - The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre, May
16, 2004
"Healing
Trend, With an Exception" - The
Tribune, Scranton, April 23, 2004
"The
long-awaited verdict: Doctors are staying put" - The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre, April
25, 2004
"Tangretti challenges Pa. Medical Society chairman
on scare tactics" - News Release, April 23,
2004
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