SB 1032 - Passed the House Health Committee... NEED YOUR HELP NOW!

SB 1032, Burdon of Proof, passed out of the House Health Committee yesterday after great presentations by Chip Finch, DO, Barry Halpern, David Landrith, and our prime sponsor Sen. Carolyn Allen. Thanks to all for a job well done!

We now face a critical hurdle that we need your help to clear—the entire Arizona House of Representatives. Last November’s elections depleted some of our strong supporters and, if we are to get this bill to the Governor, it must first clear the House. For this we need your help.

The bill, SB 1032, will raise the burden of proof necessary for medical liability cases arising out of care rendered from EMTALA-related services. In practical terms, this means that for all patients brought into the system through the Emergency Department, the burden of proof necessary to prove liability would be raised from the current “a preponderance” to “clear and convincing,” a significantly higher legal threshold. Our arguments have focused on the core difficulty that treating emergency cases presents, and how physicians have become so fearful of medical liability they are no longer willing to provide services under the worst possible conditions. The genesis of the bill was to put in place changes that would entice emergency physicians to accept employment in Arizona, and to similarly encourage specialists to provide the critical back up emergency care that is now becoming unavailable.

HOW CAN YOU HELP? We need you to immediately contact your House legislators, or legislators you feel represent your patients, and express your concern about the liability crisis in Arizona and, more importantly, how it is one of the main reasons our emergency care system is dissolving. Click here to access a list of all legislators, their email address and phone numbers: House Roster. Based on our experience, emails are best as they leave a tangible trail of the amount of support that has been demonstrated.

During testimony on SB 1032, the plaintiff personal injury attorneys, who are the main group opposing this bill, testified there was no proof this bill would have any impact whatsoever on the availability of physician services. If you are prepared to say that, without this bill, you will seriously consider discontinuing providing services through an emergency department, or that if the bill passes, you will consider making yourself available, please include that in your note.

Your note does not have to be long, but it should reflect your understanding of the issue, and make clear you are depending on their support. You may wish to point out that the availability of emergency services is not provided on “party lines” and that this should not be a partisan issue.

If we are going to be successful in the House, and send a message to the Governor that the medical community is fully engaged and committed to the passage of SB 1032, there is going to need to be the kind of outpouring we had last year that generated more then 1000 emails. If you are part of a group, urge each of your associates to write their own note.

If you are wondering if this bill will really make a difference, consider that FAIR, an organization funded by the Arizona Plaintiffs Personal Injury Bar, is worried enough to have hired a firm to make cold calls to citizens telling them that if this passes, they will not be able to sue if a physician messes up in providing emergency care, and urging them to call their legislators. You can set the record straight and let our legislators know the truth behind SB 1032.