by Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
The New Mexico House of Representatives on Saturday quickly and overwhelmingly endorsed a bill making multiple changes to the state’s medical malpractice law, with members of both parties hailing the overhaul as a compromise resulting from months of negotiations.
Representatives passed House Bill 99 by a vote of 66-3, with every Republican and all but three Democrats advancing the measure after a little more than 15 minutes of debate.
The three Democrats who voted “no” were Reps. Janelle Anyanonu, Angelica Rubio and Patricia Roybal Caballero. They did not explain their opposition during the debate Saturday.
Rep. Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos), who spearheaded the bill, said it will improve the climate for doctors seeking to move and work here amid a statewide shortage, while also ensuring adequate compensation for patients harmed due to medical malpractice.
“We are not changing anything in the act that will provide unlimited medical care for individuals who have been injured in a medical malpractice suit. I think that’s a very important point to emphasize,” she said on the House floor Saturday. “But rather, there are some guardrails around the other damages, which I think are very fair.”
Currently, no caps exist on the amount of punitive damages providers can be forced to pay if a jury determines they are liable. Those damages are aimed at punishing providers in cases of egregious wrongdoing.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers also face a lower burden of proof than in many other states.
The bill caps the amount juries can award, depending on the type of provider. Domestically owned hospitals and independent providers have the lowest cap; corporately owned hospitals have the highest.
HB99 also requires a judge to review evidence and sign off before plaintiffs’ lawyers will be allowed to seek punitive damages. Chandler on Saturday cited a report that estimated plaintiffs’ lawyers seek punitive damages in 92% of cases.
Now that the bill has cleared the House, HB 99 will head to the Senate. It’s been assigned to a single committee, Senate Judiciary, before it hits the Senate floor. The session ends Thursday at noon.
During a news conference Saturday before the House floor debate, House Democrats said they weren’t sure whether their Senate colleagues would endorse the measure before the session ends.
Chandler said at the news conference that she anticipates conversations with Senate leaders about various provisions in the bill, but she’s hopeful the public pressure to get reform done this session, along with the hard-won compromise the bill represents, will ultimately convince them.
“I think we owe that to our constituents,” she said.
In a statement Saturday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who also backs the legislation, urged the Senate to send her the bill quickly.
“New Mexicans, many of whom are waiting months to see a doctor, expect the Senate to put this bill on its calendar immediately and treat it with the urgency it requires with just a few days left in the session,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement.
by Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico