These are busy times for the legal representatives of hospitals and medical practitioners in the state of Florida.
The three state constitutional amendments on the November 2004 ballot that dealt with healthcare all passed and have already been challenged by opponents of those measures. Other issues, such as how much self-pay patients can be charged vs. insured patients, are being debated on a national level as well.
While the legal battles are already heating up, there could be little relief in sight said Robert L. Lord, Jr., Esq., Vice President of Legal Services and Chief Legal Officer for Martin Memorial Health Systems based in Stuart.
“Weve got to balance the quality and financial side of healthcare in this country,” Lord said. “It is going to fall on the state and federal legislative bodies to find solutions that our citizens are going to accept.”
Battle lines have already been drawn, both in this state and on a national level, with the primary combatants being hospitals and physicians facing off against trial lawyers. In Florida, an injunction has already been implemented for Amendment 8, the so-called “three strikes” law that would cause physicians to lose their Florida medical licenses after a third malpractice incident, and more litigation is already in the works on the remaining two amendments.
The primary problem with the new amendments, Lord said, is the vagueness of the laws and how they will be instituted.
“The courts are not there to make policy, they are there to interpret the law,” he said. “I see a lot of ambiguity in the new amendments and there are many questions left unanswered about how they will work in the real world. I think the courts will look to the legislature to say how these amendments should be implemented and enforced.”
Lord said he believes healthcare will be a primary focus for both the state and federal legislative bodies in the upcoming year. Healthcare was an important issue at many levels of the November elections, and as Americas sizable baby boomer generation gets older, it will continue to be a critical if not contentious debate for years to come.
“The tort reform issue is still out there. The malpractice crisis still exists,” Lord said. “Malpractice insurance costs are extraordinarily high compared to where they were three or four years ago. At the end of the day, that bill is paid for by the patient.”
These are busy times for the legal representatives of hospitals and medical practitioners in the state of Florida. 
