The money to pay the bills will come from a new state fund created in New York’s 2011-2012 budget. Supporters of the fund say the change will reduce medical malpractice premiums, while critics say the fund will create an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy and forgive hospitals for avoidable medical errors.
The fund will cover newborns who experience a brain or spinal cord injury due to oxygen deprivation or mechanical injury during labor, delivery or resuscitation. Families will still have to file lawsuits and prove medical negligence in court, but families that win will now receive payment for lifetime medical costs from the state. Provider defendants must still pay any attorneys’ fees and punitive damages.
According to the Greater New York Hospital Association, the fund will save hospitals approximately $320 million in malpractice premiums. Hospitals will also pay a new $30 million tax on revenue from their obstetrics programs, to increase every year based on the healthcare Consumer Price Index. The state, on the other hand, will contribute $30 million to the fund in the first year, $70 million in the second and third years and $100 million in the fourth year. The state money will come from funds raised by cigarette and health taxes under the 1996 New York Health Care Reform Act.
Read the Times-Union report on New York State paying for newborn brain injuries.
Read more on healthcare bills:
–GOP Slams Risk Pools for Preexisting Conditions, Retirees
–Massachusetts Inspector General Says Out-of-Staters Take Advantage of Free Care
–Letter Shows Concern Device Tax Could Be Passed on to Hospitals
