Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. said yesterday that he sees virtually no chance of a special session on medical malpractice, given his ongoing disagreement with Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. on how to curb doctors' rising insurance costs.
If no deal is reached, the thorny issue will have to wait for the General Assembly's regular session, which begins in five weeks. Lawmakers will also return to another legislative deadlock: whether to legalize slot machine gambling, Miller and other state leaders told the Greater Washington Board of Trade.
"Without a revenue source, there's no need" for a session, Miller says.
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On medical malpractice, Miller (D-Calvert) said the Senate has probably gone as far as it will go toward compromising with Ehrlich (R) on legal reforms, with a task force report last week recommending limits on damages that malpractice plaintiffs can receive.
"This is the alpha and omega -- take it or leave it," Miller said of the Senate panel's work. "For anyone who wants to push the envelope, the message has got to go out that they've pushed the envelope too far. . . . The problem is, it's not going to affect trial lawyers; it's going to affect victims."
Miller and House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) also remain at odds with Ehrlich over how to pay for a proposed short-term fund to help doctors cover insurance costs.
"Without a revenue source, there's no need for a special session," Miller told reporters after the event held by the Board of Trade, a regional business group.
Miller and Busch told the group they continue to support creation of a fund to help doctors by imposing a 2 percent premium tax on HMOs -- a move Ehrlich has rejected.
Budget secretary Chip DiPaula Jr., who represented Ehrlich during a panel discussion, said the governor is willing to continue negotiations with Democratic leaders over how to pay for the fund but offered no specific alternatives.
The governor has insisted that any package include new curbs on payouts to plaintiffs in malpractice cases. Doctors blame escalating payouts for their insurance costs, which are rising an average of 33 percent next year.
Last week, the Senate task force endorsed one major legal change sought by Ehrlich -- a reduction in the maximum amount that may be awarded for "pain and suffering" in wrongful death cases -- but did not agree to other curbs Ehrlich has sought on payments for medical expenses and lost wages.
Busch, who has tried to stake out a middle ground between Miller and Ehrlich, said time is running out to hold a special session. If lawmakers do not convene by Dec. 17, he said, a session is unlikely to occur, given the holidays and the start of the regular session in January.
Ehrlich spokeswoman Shareese DeLeaver said yesterday that the governor hopes to hold another meeting with Miller and Busch "in the near future" about a possible special session.
She said Ehrlich sent the two leaders revised proposals late last week that "hopefully will move the ball down the field a good bit." She would not discuss the revisions.
During yesterday's panel discussion, Miller renewed a plea to legalize slots, a goal that he shares with Ehrlich but that has not been fully embraced by Busch.
Miller argued that with the governor resistant to raising taxes, legalizing slots is the only way to avoid major budget cuts and pay for the Democrats' priorities.
"Pragmatically, you can't be opposed to them," Miller said.
DiPaula said the state faces a "structural deficit" of nearly $500 million next year and more than $1 billion the year after. Given the uncertainty over slots, the governor is moving ahead to close those gaps with "tremendous" budget reductions, he said.
He noted that the legalization of slots could bring in $800 million a year in new revenue. DiPaula said Marylanders are already spending hundreds of millions a year playing slots in neighboring states.
"The governor thinks we should be keeping those revenues right here," DiPaula said.
Busch suggested that a package of tax increases would be a better alternative. Last session, he advocated a $1 billion tax increase, combined with reductions in property taxes, that passed the House but died in the Senate.
