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On Feb. 1, a bipartisan group of
legislators announced a medical malpractice reform package that they
hope will restructure the state's medical liability system and, as a
result, reduce the skyrocketing insurance premiums that have driven
hundreds of doctors across state lines.
The legislative package introduces a
balanced, three-pronged approach to addressing medical malpractice
by creating provisions to implement reforms in the medical, legal
and insurance systems.
Senate Bill 150 places caps on the amount of noneconomic damages
juries may award to victims in medical malpractice suits. The
legislation proposes caps of $250,000 if paid by a physician and
$500,000 if awarded against a hospital, although these numbers could
fluctuate.
Senate Bill 151 would create a separate medical malpractice
court to hear and rule on medical issues, while
Senate Bill 152 would require a judge to inform all parties in a
medical liability case if any involved party has contributed to the
judge's campaign fund.
Senate Bill 153 would require a judicial candidate's political
committee to disclose in campaign contribution reports any
contributors who had appeared in court before the judicial
candidate.
On Feb. 3, General Assembly members
gathered to hear the governor's annual State of the State address.
The governor reflected on the state's accomplishments and outlined
his goals for 2005 legislative session, including reforms in the
state's education and health care systems, plans for revitalization
of the state's business community, and hopes for increased job
growth.
Many lawmakers were pleasantly
surprised by the governor's speech, which offered a more positive,
upbeat perspective than in years past, but a majority of legislators
were left without a sense of how the governor plans to accomplish
many of his promises.
Senate Republicans share many of the
governor's goals and could be agreeable to his suggested
initiatives, which include plans to promote state industry and
institute workers' compensation reform, but caucus members were
skeptical on whether he would follow through on his initiatives.
Many legislators were concerned by the lack of specifics in his
proposals. Lawmakers maintain that good intentions will only go so
far without any substantial, detailed plans on how these goals are
to be accomplished.
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Also during the week of Jan. 31-Feb.
4, legislation was introduced that would establish a new lottery
game to fund breast cancer research.
If approved, the lottery game
"Ticket for the Cure" is expected to raise an estimated $2.75 to $3
million annually and as much as $15 million over five years to fund
breast cancer research, raise prevention awareness, and provide
screening and treatment for people diagnosed with breast cancer.
With the Illinois Department of
Public Heath reporting that more than 40,000 women in the United
States will die this year from breast cancer
-- more than 2,000 of
them from Illinois -- escalating research and prevention efforts is
crucial.
In other business, the 22 standing
Senate committees were finalized last week. Senate Democrats
expanded the number of committees from 17 to 22, leading to 10 new
committee leaders who collect stipends for their work. The cost of
the new committees is about $100,000 a year.
The following Senate bills were
introduced during the week of Jan. 31-Feb. 4:
Controlled substances (SB 107) --
Provides that any medication
containing the powder form of pseudoephedrine must be sold behind a
prescription counter.
Good Samaritan (SB 154) --
Expands immunity for civil damages
to retired physicians who provided services performed without
compensation at, or upon referral from, free medical clinics.
Hunting (SB 123) --
Requires the Department of Natural
Resources to assign a customer identification number to each
applicant for a hunting or fishing license, instead of using a
Social Security number.
[Illinois
Senate Republican Caucus news release]
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