Candidates Pay a House Call to Doctors Group

Both MedChi and the state's hospital association urged lawmakers to override Ehrlich's veto, which they did.

Evidence of the strain that put on Ehrlich's relationship with the doctors group surfaced yesterday as Cox fielded questions from MedChi members.

Joseph Snyder, a Montgomery County ophthalmologist, told Cox that he is a Republican and appreciated Ehrlich's commitment to legal reforms. But "without the bill, we were high and dry," he said. "You have to be practical to get things done in this state."

Cox said Ehrlich feared that if the bill became law, it would be difficult to get the legislature to embrace additional legal reforms. But rates are likely to rise again, Cox said, if changes are not made soon in the way damages are calculated in malpractice cases and caps are placed on how much plaintiffs can receive for pain and suffering.

"In 2009, we're going to be back to the same boat we were in before," Cox said.

Another questioner, Scott Hagaman, the incoming president of MedChi, asked where Ehrlich is getting his information about medical malpractice. Noting his position with the organization, Hagaman said: "I would have hoped to develop a relationship with him. That hasn't happened."

Though MedChi does not make formal endorsements, it distributed a score card in the 2002 gubernatorial race that made it clear the group believed Ehrlich better represented its interests than his opponent, then-Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D).

This year, only O'Malley has responded to MedChi's request for the candidates' positions on issues of interest, said Martin P. Wasserman, the group's executive director. He said MedChi has not decided whether to put out a score card this election.

Ehrlich and O'Malley also made public appearances yesterday.

In Aberdeen, Ehrlich announced a new state Web site, http://www.mdgangs.info , that provides information about gangs in Maryland. He also announced $200,000 in funding for youth programs at Boys & Girls Clubs around the state.

O'Malley made campaign stops in two Republican-leaning counties, Cecil and Harford, as well as one heavily Democratic one, Prince George's.