FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 18, 2006
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Measure to Extend MCARE Program, Keep Doctors in Pennsylvania Receives Final Approval

HARRISBURG -- Legislation sponsored by Senator John Rafferty (R-44) that would extend the state's MCARE abatement program for an additional year and help to improve health care by keeping doctors in the Commonwealth has been approved by the General Assembly.

The House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 972 on Wednesday. The Senate approved the bill in September. The bill will be sent to the governor to be signed into law.

The four-year-old program helps physicians pay a portion of their medical malpractice insurance premiums.  It was set to expire December 31, 2007.  Senate Bill 972 would extend the program to December 31, 2008.

Under the current program, the state pays all or part of the premiums that physicians must pay into the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error (MCARE) fund.  The fund helps pay toward the cost of the $500,000 in MCARE fund coverage that the state requires each doctor to secure, in addition to the $500,000 in primary coverage from the private marketplace.  MCARE assistance is financed primarily by a 25-cent tax on cigarettes.

Rafferty said that in the last several years, the percentage of resident physicians who trained in Pennsylvania and then stayed in the state to practice fell significantly.

"The good news is that Pennsylvania's medical community is seeing improvements thanks to the comprehensive patient safety and tort reform provisions of Act 13 of 2002 and the MCARE abatement program," he said.  "Medical malpractice premiums continue to be very high, but the program has helped to keep doctors in the state, and that was our primary goal."

Rafferty stressed that without qualified medical professionals, particularly specialists and obstetricians who've been hit with skyrocketing malpractice premiums, Pennsylvanians would not have access to affordable, accessible health care.

"We need to help doctors to continue practicing here, and without the MCARE program, more of them could be moving to other states," he said.  "I'm very pleased we are continuing this vital program, which is crucial to providing good health care to Commonwealth residents."

CONTACT:

CAROL MARAVIC
(717) 787-6725