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CNN LIVE AT DAYBREAK

Wake-Up Call: Is the Doctor In?

Aired January 2, 2003 - 06:43   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get more now on the medical protest in West Virginia. The walkout caused almost all surgeries to be canceled at four West Virginia hospitals on New Year's Day.
And CNN's Whitney Casey joins us by phone from Wheeling with the inside scoop from there.

Hi -- Whitney.

WHITNEY CASEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fredricka.

Well dozens of doctors walked out of the ER yesterday, as you said, here in West Virginia, and this morning they continue to protest. There are no doctors here at the hospital right now. They do have a contingency plan. They're protesting, as you said, their high medical malpractice insurance rates. And some doctors we've spoken with say that sometimes their premiums actually end up being more than their net income. One doctor I spoke to yesterday actually said that his premiums ended up being $450 a day and that sometimes it was more than his take-home pay.

Now if there is a trauma emergency here at this hospital, the hospital does have its contingency plan. But oftentimes in situations like this one, for instance, when doctors walked out of Las Vegas hospitals back in July for about 10 days, the trauma center had to be closed and it had to fly patients via chopper to nearby hospitals. That hasn't happened here yet, but they're saying that that actually could happen.

So how did this become what doctors are calling somewhat of a crisis, an epidemic that seems to be spreading? Yesterday we were in Scranton, Pennsylvania, they threatened to strike. Fortunately that situation was dissuaded by the governor-elect giving $220 million to an insurance aid fund, but here that's not the case.

Now many say it is three factors, these are doctors that are saying this, but the first one being high payouts that are awarded to malpractice lawsuits. Most doctors say a cap on the award would help lower premiums. Now they do have this cap out in California. In California for loss and suffering in a malpractice payout you can only get about $250,000. They say that is utopia.

So availability is also a factor here. Many insurance companies are dropping their doctor coverage because it is no longer lucrative. So when supply is down, obviously premiums go up because there is no competition between these insurance companies. And finally they say the economy because you know that these insurance companies who invest your premiums and when the economy is down the premiums go up.

So those are three of the factors that the doctors say contributed to their walking out of the emergency rooms here in West Virginia -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Whitney Casey, thank you very much for joining us on the phone. Appreciate it.

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