Governor signs medical malpractice bill, predicts it will deliver quick results
After signing a high-profile bill on a gusty morning in a parking lot next to an under-construction
"I can't control insurance companies even with that body of law, but we can certainly use the pressure of the hospitals and the independent practices being in line with national medical malpractice laws,"
Other supporters of the bill, House Bill 99, have offered more cautious estimates, saying it might take several years for the new law's provisions to be fully felt.
The medical malpractice bill was one of
At a glance:
Gov.
House Bill 4 — Increase revenue inflow into state's
Senate Bill 101 — Extend 2024 law that provides financial support for hospitals that treat Medicaid patients.
Senate Bill 30 — Repeal existing requirement to report all induced abortions statewide.
Legislators ultimately approved the bill with bipartisan support in the session's final days, but only after several amendments that would have made sweeping changes to it were stripped from the bill during the
Rep.
"This is an important step to improve access to health care around the state, but it's not the only step," Chandler said during Friday's news conference.
To that end,
The Democratic governor, who is stepping down from office at the end of this year, called this year's session a "health care session" and said the new laws would help fix a statewide medical provider shortage. All but one of the state's 33 counties —
"This was an incredibly Herculean lift because you want to protect patients but you have to improve the health care access climate," the governor said.
Several Republican legislators also attended Friday's event, with Sen.
"She's not a doctor either, but she wasn't going to accept a Band-Aid for a bullet wound," said Brantley.
Punitive damages cap key feature
In its final version, the bill signed on Friday will create a multi-tiered cap on punitive damages in medical malpractice cases that critics have said could ultimately be subject to court challenge.
While dollar amounts could increase in future years due to inflation, the cap will initially be set at about
That higher cap would apply to more than 30 hospitals statewide, including five
It could also apply to the new
Meanwhile, the bill will also increase the legal threshold for punitive damages to be awarded in medical malpractice cases once it takes effect on
With the new law set to take effect in two months,
Other bills still awaiting action
With the governor facing a
That includes a
In all,
However, that could change by next week, as any bills not signed in advance of the bill action deadline are automatically vetoed under what's known as a "pocket veto"



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