This legislation would impact all areas of liability, including medical liability, and lacks important payout caps adopted by many of the nearly 40 other states with these types of laws. The bill will reverse the state’s current investments in its health care workforce, threaten retention and growth in this sector of our economy and harm New Yorkers across the state by jeopardizing access to vital health care services. This would include orthopaedic high risk patients such as the elderly or persons with physical trauma.

The latest version does not lessen the material adverse impact of the two earlier versions that were vetoed by Governor Hochul. Specifically, it differs from the earlier vetoed versions by reducing the retroactive applicability as well as the number of individuals that can bring these actions. However, it does not change the fundamental nature of the new types of damages that would be awardable through this legislation.
 

While well-intended, the legislation would create unpredictable compensation amounts from case to case not necessarily related to negligence or adverse events. One actuarial estimate indicated that passage of this legislation could require a liability premium increase of nearly 40%. This could not come at a worse time as health care systems and workforce continue to struggle and runs contrary to the public policy efforts to increase investments in health care and support the health care workforce amid these uncertain economic times. 

Our Position

NYSSOS supports a comprehensive package of medical liability reforms that improve patient access to care, enhance patient-physician communication, facilitate improvement of patient safety and quality of care, reduce defensive medicine, decrease liability costs, and compensate negligently injured patients. This legislation does not achieve these goals.

NYSSOS urges the legislature not to advance this legislation and allow for discussions and consensus building on a package of systemic and balanced reforms assuring fair compensation in cases of negligence while also assuring the short and long-term sustainability of the hospitals and physician practices in the community, which are needed to enhance access to care and are part of the overall economic ecosystem in New York State.