"An Act relating to claims for personal injury or wrongful death against health care providers; and providing for an effective date."

Senate Bill 319 amends AS 09.55.548 and 556. The proposed legislation intends to alleviate a growing crisis in Alaska's health care industry with respect to the availability of liability insurance. It places a hard cap on damage awards; clarifies informed consent language; and limits liability with respect to health care advice communicated through electronic means.

The fact is Alaska's medical system is breaking down. Alaska ranks near the bottom in the number of physicians per capita. What's more, over half of Alaska's physicians exceed the age of 50. Many will be retiring in the next 10 years. Attracting and keeping adequate numbers of high quality physicians in Alaska is of utmost importance.

The availability of liability insurance plays a critical role in solving this crisis. Half of the insurers have ceased doing business in Alaska in the last 12 months. Other professional liability insurance carriers have not shown an interest in doing business in the state due to the volatile medical liability environment.

This is a complex issue. However, one solution that has proven particularly effective in other states is capping non-economic damages. SB 319 intends to help establish a predictable risk-assessment environment by placing a $250,000 cap on this type of award. It does not change awards for quantifiable economic damages such as lost wages and past and future medical expenses.

The bill also makes revisions which limit liability in cases where a patient elects not to follow advice that was communicated by a health care provider through electronic means. Lastly, qualifying language is added relating to informed consent along with a sprinkling of punctuation marks.

The bottom line? Instituting a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages will help stabilize the professional medical liability insurance market here in Alaska thereby reinforcing efforts to attract the next generation of doctors to replace those who are nearing retirement age.

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