A proposed work slowdown at Prince George’s Hospital Center by doctors angry about rising malpractice premiums will strain resources across the county, said Mary Morin, executive director of the Prince George’s Medical Society.
Physicians at the Cheverly hospital are considering refusing to provide non-emergency procedures, such as biopsies, colonoscopies and hernia operations. The move comes in response to state approval last month of a 33 percent increase in doctors’ malpractice insurance premiums, which followed a 28 percent increase this year.
Ms. Morin said Prince George’s Hospital Center doctors often practice at other facilities, including Doctors Community Hospital in Lanham, Southern Maryland Hospital Center in Clinton, Laurel Regional Hospital and Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park.
“Our concern would be, ’Will Prince George’s County have enough surgeons?’ At this point, it is looking doubtful,” Ms. Morin said.
The plan for Prince George’s Hospital Center physicians to withhold non-emergency services starting Nov. 15 surfaced during a medical staff meeting two weeks ago. It marked the second time in as many months that Prince George’s doctors have responded forcefully to rising malpractice insurance rates, which Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has called the state’s most pressing issue.
The rate increase could boost annual premiums for obstetricians and gynecologists to as much as $150,000. According to the National Bureau for Labor Statistics, obstetrician/gynecologist specialists in Maryland earned an average of $197,600 in 2003.
In August, Prince George’s doctors voted to ask the hospital administration to let physicians practice without malpractice insurance, although a hospital spokesman said last week that request has been withdrawn.
Prince George’s Hospital Center spokesman Bob Howell said the physicians instead are requesting a reduction in their minimum liability coverage. He said the hospital is concerned about talk among doctors of discontinuing services.
However, the move could mean legal trouble for the doctors, analysts said.
“The law is clear that a group of independent competitors cannot conspire or work together to effect the terms of trade,” said Bert Foer, president of the D.C.-based American Antitrust Institute, a nonprofit organization that studies collusion and anti-trust issues. “They’re entitled to withhold services, but the problem is when they do it acting as a group.”
The Federal Trade Commission can hand down penalties ranging from fines to jail time, he added.
The Maryland State Medical Society, the state’s largest trade group for doctors, is refusing to back any plan to withhold nonsurgical procedures in response to the rate increase and issued a warning against a group boycott.
“State and federal anti-trust law prohibits competitors from acting in concert to improve their contractual arrangements with third parties,” the advisory states. “There are severe civil and criminal penalties. Federal regulators have a history of pursuing such cases.”
Physicians at Washington County Hospital in Hagerstown issued the same ultimatum last month, but they backed off after meeting with Mr. Ehrlich.
Dr. David Solberg, vice president of the Hagerstown hospital’s medical staff, said the doctors received assurances that Mr. Ehrlich would address the issue.
Mr. Ehrlich, a Republican, wants a long-term approach to reduce costs. He has opposed calling a special session of the legislature to approve a plan by Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., Prince George’s Democrat, to create a temporary state fund to reduce premiums. Some doctors call the Miller plan a stopgap measure that would increase payouts in lawsuits.
Prince George’s physicians call the plan to withhold services a last-ditch attempt to force state lawmakers to solve the malpractice crisis.
“If they take this action, it will be a desperate attempt,” said Dr. Suresh Gupta, a physician at Prince George’s Hospital Center and former president of the medical staff. “None of us wants to bring our patients into this kind of situation.”
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