CHICAGO -- The American Medical Association (AMA) has announced that Tennessee is the 21st state designated by the AMA as "in crisis" due to a deteriorating medical liability climate that is jeopardizing patients' access to care.

"Our broken medical liability system is choking out access to care and threatening every American who lives in a crisis state or travels through one," said AMA President J. Edward Hill, MD. "Tennessee lawmakers need to act now to stem this tide before more patients are put at risk. Proven reforms have worked in other states and can make a difference in Tennessee."

"Tennessee is facing a 'perfect storm' - a collision of destructive influences that is greater than the sum of its parts," said Phyllis Miller, MD, president of the Tennessee Medical Association (TMA). "The high cost of our broken legal system is driving up the cost of patient care, medical liability insurance, and the cost of doing business in Tennessee. The constant threat of a lawsuit is forcing physicians to rethink their career choices. Without relief, Tennessee physicians often have no choice but to curtail their practices, move out-of-state or discontinue practicing medicine altogether. Patients will be left without access to the medical care they need."
From 1995 to 2005, Tennessee physicians have seen liability premium increases as high as 127 to 212 percent. While premiums costs have increased, reimbursements from TennCare - the state's health care program - have dwindled, and now average only 25 percent of billed charges.

"No business can continue to operate if expenses consistently outpace revenue. Physician practices are no different. Doctors have to pay their bills and pay their employees, just like everyone else, or they cannot keep their doors open," Dr. Hill said.

The current crisis makes it difficult to attract physicians to Tennessee, and patient access to physicians in high-risk specialties is suffering. A TMA survey found that 70 percent of Tennessee's physicians believe the state has a shortage of high-risk specialists. AMA data from 2004 shows that of Tennessee's 95 counties:

* 81 counties have no residing neurosurgeon in patient care.
* 49 counties have no residing orthopedic surgeon in patient care.
* 47 counties have no residing emergency physician in patient care.
* 42 counties have no residing obstetrician-gynecologist in patient care.

Tennessee today joins Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming as states in crisis.

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