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Thousands of N.J. doctors attend rally
TRENTON, New Jersey (CNN) -- As many as 5,000 physicians from across New Jersey traveled to Trenton on Tuesday to rally on the Statehouse steps, where they chanted "tort reform now" and "McGreevey must go" in protest of Gov. Jim McGreevey's failure to support state imposed caps on medical malpractice awards. The rally came on the second day of a work slowdown in which they are refusing to provide non-emergency care. The doctors say skyrocketing malpractice insurance rates, which for some have risen as much as 150 percent in the past year, are driving doctors out of state or into early retirement. They argue that that has created a diminishing pool of available physicians for patients, particularly in high-risk specialties like obstetrics and surgery. Dr. Vishy Rajaraman, a neurosurgeon practicing in Teaneck, said the combination of reduced managed care reimbursement and escalating malpractice insurance costs means doctors are doing more procedures for less money. There was a nearly 25 percent reduction in neurosurgeons in New Jersey from 2001 to 2002, from 85 to 65, according to the Medical Society of New Jersey. Bruce Stern, president of the Association of Trial Lawyers-New Jersey, said that imposing caps would deprive patients hurt by medical mistakes and is unlawful. The association takes the position that insurance companies made bad investments and are passing off their losses to doctors, and that higher malpractice insurance costs should not be taken from the pockets of patients who sue their doctors for medical mistakes. The doctors say they want tort reform similar to that enacted in California in 1975. California limits jury awards for pain and suffering to $250,000 dollars and reduces jury awards of actual damages by the amounts patients in malpractice lawsuits receive from other sources. Those measures, coupled with Proposition 103, passed in 1988, have held malpractice insurance rates in California to an increase of 156 percent over the last 25 years, far below the national average of 505 percent, the doctors say. Proposition 103 imposed stricter regulation of insurance companies and required prior approval by the state insurance commissioner of insurance rate increases. Closer insurance regulation is what the Association of Trial Lawyers says is the solution to New Jersey's medical malpractice crisis. "The doctors have misdiagnosed the problem and prescribed the wrong cure," said attorney Bruce Stern, referring to the demand for tort reform. The work slowdown was initially called for three days, but most doctors say they are prepared to continue their "job action," as they are calling it, until reform -- either state or federal -- is in place. All elective surgery and routine doctor appointments are on hold statewide. Doctors remain on call for emergencies. According to Michael Maron, chief executive officer of Holy Name Hospital, hospital administrators support the action and have staffed their emergency rooms to meet the needs of patients seeking non-emergency care during the slowdown. In the first two days of the protest, hospital emergency rooms are reporting a 40 percent increase in patients seeking non-emergency care. -- CNN correspondent Jamie Colby and CNN producer Maureen Madden contributed to this report
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