Physicians Again Call on Governor Hochul to Veto Latest Wrongful Death Liability Expansion Bill
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Physicians are again urged to contact Governor Hochul to request she again veto the latest version of legislation (A.9232-B/S.8485-B) to significantly expand liability against physicians and hospitals in wrongful death lawsuits, physicians must continue their multi-pronged advocacy efforts to urge that she veto this latest version as well. Physicians should call Governor Hochul’s office at 518-474-8390 and write and tweet the Governor Reducing Medical Liability Costs (p2a.co).
Last week MSSNY President Dr. Jerome Cohen’s op-ed urging Governor Hochul to veto this legislation appeared in the Elmira, Ithaca, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Utica and Westchester papers as well as the City & State and Empire Report news digests.
The new version differs slightly from the earlier vetoed versions by reducing the retroactive applicability as well as the categories of individuals who can bring these actions. However, it does not substantively change the fundamental nature of the new types of damages that would be awardable through this legislation, which essentially was the basis for the conclusion that this bill could produce a 40% increase in medical liability premiums in a 2022 actuarial study.
MSSNY has joined with 17 specialty societies in a statement to the Governor urging comprehensive liability reform instead of one-sided proposals such as this that would exacerbate already challenging patient access to care issues we face.
Physicians must continue to publicly stand together to ensure the Governor again vetoes this well intended, but short-sighted legislation. If you are interested in sharing your story about what this will mean for patient care in your community, please contact [email protected] and include your name, county, and specialty with one to two lines on how this bill will affect your practice.
