Tennessee Medical Association Eyes National Healthcare Reform
Last month, the Tennessee Medical Association (TMA) held its annual meeting at a Nashville airport area hotel, and a major topic of discussion was national healthcare reform. At the April 2012 meeting, doctors were said to be keeping an eye on the current healthcare reform actions in Washington.
The TMA’s executive vice president Russ Miller said, “All eyes are on Washington.” He was referring to the current challenge to healthcare reform being heard by the Supreme Court.
The TMA is a very powerful lobbyist in the Tennessee state government. They have successfully backed medical malpractice reforms in the state that have capped the amount paid out for pain and suffering of patients.
In addition, they were able to enact tougher rules surrounding the filing of medical malpractice lawsuits. According to the April 14 edition of the Tennessean, malpractice lawsuits must now be “certified as to their merits by an independent expert within 90 days of a lawsuit being filed.” This has cut the number of malpractice lawsuits by about 38% over the last four years.
Some attorneys feel that the TMA should spend more time improving the overall quality of Tennessee’s healthcare system and less lobbying for reductions in the rights of patients in the state.
Meanwhile, the TMA remains concerned about what will ultimately be decided about the future of health care in this country. The outgoing president, Dr. Michael Minch, expressed concern about what effect the Supreme Court ruling might have on the financial status of doctors in the state.
He said, “For employers, you don’t know what costs for insurance will be. You don’t know whether that mandate [requiring Americans to buy health insurance as a key part of the new law] will go into effect. You’re very cautious to hire anybody.”
Since graduating magna cum laude in 2005 from the University of Memphis School of Law, Thomas has helped make a difference in the lives of victims of serious personal injury, wrongful death, and professional negligence. Thomas has extensive trial experience in both state and federal court. Among other victories in the courtroom, Thomas obtained several impressive jury verdicts and settlements
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