Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) this morning vetoed a medical malpractice bill that the General Assembly approved two weeks ago, saying the legislation contains too few legal curbs on malpractice lawsuits and a tax on HMOs that he opposes.
Democrats are vowing to override Ehrlich's veto Tuesday, when the legislature will convene to consider several other bills that Ehrlich rejected last spring. The General Assembly will return Wednesday for its regular, 90-day session.
Appearing at a morning news conference, Ehrlich said it would have been easy for him to claim a political victory by signing the bill, which would create a new state fund to offset rising insurance premium rates for doctors. But Ehrlich said he is convinced the bill will do too little in the long term to curtail insurance rates, which doctors and insurance companies blame on malpractice lawsuits.
"The easiest thing to do in politics is the easy thing," said Ehrlich, who was flanked by several dozen doctors, Republican lawmakers and members of his administration supportive of his position. "That's not how we're running this government."
Also within camera shot of Ehrlich was a giant cast, which he said symbolizes the "broken" medical malpractice system.
The bill passed by the Democrat-controlled General Assembly contains a 2 percent premium tax on HMOs to pay for immediate relief for doctors. Those insured by the state's largest carrier are facing an average 33 percent increase in their costs this year. The Democratic bill would limit those increases to 5 percent this year.
Ehrlich argued the tax would be passed on by HMOs to consumers and he offered an alternative: tax credits for doctors The credits, which would be paid out of the state budget, would hold rate increases down to about 12 percent this year, according to Ehrlich aides.
Ehrlich said he would introduce a bill in the regular session that contains several legal curbs not included in the Democratic bill. Most are designed to limit payments available to plaintiffs.
The bill passed by the legislature contains several of those measures, known as tort reform, but Ehrlich branded the bill "tort-reform real light."
Ehrlich also said he would include money in his forthcoming budget to increase fees paid by Medicaid to doctors in several specialties that have been hit hard by malpractice rate increases.
The Maryland State Medical Society, which represents more than 7,000 doctors, and the Maryland Hospital Association, which represents about 50 facilities, had urged Ehrlich to allow the bill to become law.
Ehrlich was joined this morning by representatives of several smaller medical groups, including the Maryland Neurosurgical Society and the Maryland Orthopedic Association.
