Pennsylvania surgeons threaten closures

PHILADELPHIA -- Dozens of surgeons in northeastern Pennsylvania have threatened to effectively go on strike in January if the state doesn't do something about the high cost of medical malpractice insurance.

Claiming high premiums are forcing them out of business, at least 45 doctors in Scranton said they have stopped accepting new patients and won't perform surgeries after Jan. 1. The total includes 10 of the small city's 18 general surgeons, 14 of its 15 orthopedists, and all 8 of its urologists.

"I don't want to be irresponsible. I just want someone to put their feet in my shoes for a while," said Scranton neurosurgeon Shripathi Holla. "We need more people to take care of these patients, and the insurance situation is driving us out of the market."

Doctors have tried mass walkouts elsewhere in the nation.

In Las Vegas, 150 doctors at University Medical Center resigned in July to protest high insurance premiums, prompting the hospital to shut down its trauma center for 10 days.

The action prompted a special session of the Nevada Legislature, which enacted a law capping damages in trauma center malpractice cases at $50,000, except in cases of gross negligence. About half the doctors returned to work after the bill passed.

The American Medical Association, the country's largest physicians group, said that while such mass demonstrations are rare, physician groups have also been forced to shut down in several other states because of high insurance costs.

In Scranton, some are calling the threatened walkout a protest. Others insist it is a simple business decision. Holla said his malpractice insurance costs $450 a day -- a rate he says is strangling his practice and preventing his hospital from recruiting doctors.

If the surgeons follow through, it could hobble the city's five hospitals and force some patients to travel long distances for care.

The area's largest, Community Medical Center, said it would be forced to temporarily close its trauma center and divert patients.