the previous two years, and 62 percent had begun denying or referring high-risk cases.
The follow-up 2013 survey found that 89 percent of physicians who were practicing in Texas both then and now say the professional liability climate for physicians in Texas today is “better” or “much better” than before September 2003.
As a result of the 2003 medical liabil-
ity reforms, the survey released in Sep- tember found:
• 13 percent of physicians who were practicing in Texas both then and now are providing new or renewed services to their patients, and
• 36 percent are accepting more high- risk patients.
The 2003 survey revealed shocking
figures about Texas physicians’ practices. As many as one in six said that, because of professional liability pressures, they had retired; closed, sold, or relocated their practice; or stopped providing pa- tient care. Recruiting new physicians to Texas was a bleak prospect.
One-fourth of the physicians who
answered the new TMA survey were practicing medicine in another state or were in an education/residency program in September 2003. They began clinical practice in Texas, on average, between 2006 and 2008. Those physicians list the liability cli- mate as one of the top three reasons they decided to practice in Texas (39 percent). Sixty-three percent report the profes- sional liability climate was “important”
or “very important” in their decision to practice in Texas. Compared with 2003, almost three- quarters (72 percent) of today’s physi- cians who have attempted to recruit new physicians to their practice, hospital, or community have found it easier to do so. They have been overwhelmingly success- ful (up to 80 percent) in their attempts to recruit “high-risk” specialists such as obstetricians, neurosurgeons, pediatric subspecialists, and trauma surgeons. If the 2003 Texas medical liability re- forms were repealed by the Texas Leg- islature or nullified by federal law, the new survey found, physicians most likely would reduce or eliminate high-risk pro- cedures (42 percent) in response. Young- er physicians more likely would reduce or eliminate high-risk procedures. Older physicians more likely would retire early. For more information about how
tort reform has benefited Texas patients and physicians, read “Gone to Texas,” September 2013 Texas Medicine, pages 20–30.
Newsmakers David Lakey, MD
Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner David Lakey, MD, received the 2013 McCormack Award from the Associa- tion of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO). Dr. Lakey, a former ASTHO presi- dent, was honored for his work to reduce pre- mature birth rates. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico took his Healthy Babies Pledge to reduce premature births by 8 percent by 2014. Thus far, seven have reached that goal.
David C. Fleeger, MD
The TMF Health Quality Institute, a leading nonprofit health care consulting company, named Austin colon and rectal surgeon David C. Fleeger, MD, board chair. Dr. Fleeger is a member of the TMA Board of Trustees. Vice chair is Robert B. Morrow, MD, Houston. John
C. McDonald, DO, Marshall, was elected to the board. Roxanne M. Tyroch, MD, El Paso, was reelected officer-at-large, and Surendra Varma, MD, Lubbock, was reelected to the board.
12 TEXAS MEDICINE November 2013
Aetna to pay $120 million in claims dispute
Aetna’s creation of a $120 million fund to pay physicians for out-of-network claims moved closer to reality last month when a New Jersey federal judge tenta- tively approved a settlement (http://bit .ly/16BxmsN) of the class action law- suit by TMA and its organized medicine partners. Final approval is scheduled for March.
The $120 million will come in two parts. Half will cover claims from physi- cians and patients who qualified to be parties to the case but do not have the documentation to show how much Aet- na owes them. It also covers attorneys’ fees and administrative costs. The sec- ond will pay claims from physicians and patients who have the documentation. The agreement, which was reached last December, calls for a settlement ad- ministrator to officially notify physicians of the settlement by Dec. 28. The notice will tell physicians what they need to do to file a claim. Claims must be submitted
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