Posted: | March 30, 2015 08:18 AM |
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From: | Senator Elder A. Vogel, Jr. |
To: | All Senate members |
Subject: | Punitive Damages in the Health Care Industry |
I plan to introduce legislation to investigate the award of punitive damages in cases brought within the health care industry. With the launch of a new Federal health care system and the increasing costs of health care, I believe this information will be informative to the General Assembly as we continue to deal with a variety of health care issues. The legislation will require the Insurance Commissioner to study the amount of punitive damages paid by the following in the last 10 years; 1) physicians 2) long-term care nursing facilities licensed by the Department of Health and 3) personal care homes licensed by the Department of Human Services in the Commonwealth. State agencies shall cooperate with the Commissioner as necessary to obtain this information. The Commissioner shall complete the study within one year of the effective date of the act. The study would be submitted to the Chairman and Minority Chairman of the Banking and Insurance Committee of the Senate and the Chairman and Minority Chairman of the Insurance Committee of the House of Representatives. |
Introduced as SB747