Medical indemnity ROCS legislation

Dr Glasson said the legislation meets one of the key recommendations of the Medical Indemnity Policy Review Panel, chaired by Health Minister, Tony Abbott.

"Tony Abbott has delivered on his promise to take the crisis out of medical indemnity," Dr Glasson said.

"The Minister and senior representatives from several Departments have worked closely with the AMA and other medical groups to produce this legislation.  They have listened to the concerns of doctors, patients and the community to produce a fair and reasonable outcome.

"I thank the Opposition parties for supporting the medical indemnity reforms so far and I am confident they will allow passage of this Bill without amendment.

"Solving this crisis has not been all one-way traffic.

"Doctors will be paying their way to support ROCS with a charge of 8.5 per cent of their medical indemnity premiums annually.

"The AMA is also leading a concerted move by all the Colleges and medical groups to improve quality in health care.  The profession will be united in doing all that is humanly possible to minimise medical accidents," Dr Glasson said.

ROCS will provide doctors and their patients with secure indemnity cover, not only during the doctors' working lives but also into retirement.

The scheme allows doctors to contribute to it while they are working, and provides them and their families with indemnity cover and the security they require when they cease medical practice through retirement, disablement or death.  ROCS also covers doctors on maternity leave.

"The ROCS legislation means that when a doctor has retired and a negligence claim arises some years after retirement, the doctor is covered," Dr Glasson said.

"And patients will have the confidence that court-determined compensation will be available to them.

"It provides security throughout the doctors' working lives and beyond for doctors and patients."

Dr Glasson said the response to the medical indemnity crisis by the Federal Government had been outstanding.

"The Prime Minister and Tony Abbott, the Treasurer, and the Assistant Treasurer, Helen Coonan, and their offices and their Departments have responded admirably to community fears about threats to affordable and accessible health services," Dr Glasson said.

"I pay tribute to the hard work and dedication of Dr Andrew Pesce and all who have served on the AMA's Medical Indemnity Task Force.  My thanks and the thanks of all doctors and patients must also go to the members of Tony Abbott's Medical Indemnity Policy Review Panel.

"The NSW State Government has led the way on tort law reform.

"The other States and Territories have made advances in this area but still need to do more work on tort law reform - especially with statutes of limitations - if we are to achieve a consistent uniform national tort law system that provides fairness for doctors and patients.

"When in place, all the medical indemnity reforms will help keep doctors in communities.  Patients will continue to have access to vital medical services.

"Doctors in high risk specialties like obstetrics, neurosurgery and orthopaedics will not be forced out of medicine because of high premiums or higher risk of litigation - even years after retiring.

"The crisis may be over but the solution for the long term is still not entirely in place.

"The Federal Government has provided affordability through the Premium Support Scheme, the High Cost Claims Scheme, and the UMP support package.  It has provided security with the ROCS legislation.

"The AMA will monitor carefully the impact of the various components of the Government's schemes, leading to the Government's proposed review of the success of the schemes in 12 months' time.

"The missing pieces of the medical indemnity puzzle are lower premiums, consistent tort law reform across all States and Territories, and the long-term care scheme for the severely injured.

"Ongoing medical indemnity affordability depends on consistent national tort law reform across all States and Territories, and the response of the Medical Indemnity Insurers (MIIs) to that reform.

"The MIIs must respond to all the work of Governments and the medical profession to reduce their medical indemnity premiums.  Given all the reforms, they have no choice.  It is their duty to now pass on the savings to doctors through lower premiums and to patients through more affordable access to doctors.

"The long-term care for the severely injured is the next big challenge for Governments.  It is also an initiative that will provide security for patients and their families.

"Such a scheme is commonsense and affordable.  It will remove adversarial court battles for compensation for ongoing care from the equation.  As recent court cases have shown, there are no winners from these battles.

"We are nearing the end of a long and painful medical indemnity crisis.  The ROCS legislation is a vital part of the solution," Dr Glasson said.

CONTACT:         John Flannery            (02) 6270 5477 / (0419) 494 761