My next set of posts will be on the impact of damages caps on access to medical services. Because it is hard to measure access directly, and most of the available measures lack political salience, the debate usually focuses on the number and specialty of physicians practicing in the state. This is a problematic measure for all sorts of reasons, but let’s just take it as a given for now.
The focus can get extremely specific. In the debate over enacting a damages cap in Illinois (ultimately enacted in 2005, and currently under review by the Illinois Supreme Court), as this article observes, “the phrase ‘there are no neurosurgeons south of Springfield’ came to represent the threat of the medical liability issue. . .”
This claim was picked up and repeated by physicians, legislators, and tort reform advocates. Consider a few examples.
There’s this article, titled “Illinois physicians say insurance rates are driving them out of state,” and quoting a family physician (Dr. Mark Dettro):
“We are losing all these doctors to other states where they have caps on pain and suffering,” Dettro said. “There will no neurosurgeons south of Springfield in Illinois. If you have a car wreck in Southern Illinois then the odds aren’t very good for you.”
Dr. Ed Ragsdale was quoted to the same effect in this article:
This has been an uphill battle. We