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Legislators are still wrangling over how to solve
West Virginia's medical malpractice problems,
but they hope to wrap up their work this
weekend.
The Senate Finance Committee was expected
to sign off today on a plan negotiated by a
House and Senate conference committee.
Instead, the Finance Committee spent nearly
three hours tinkering with the wording to
address some concerns and new ideas.
Senate leaders say they expect the committee to
pass the plan tomorrow morning, followed by
full Senate approval later in the day.
The House plans to take up the legislation
Saturday.
The legislation includes three alternative
insurance programs to make sure doctors have
coverage. It also places restrictions on some
malpractice lawsuits and establishes regulations
to speed up lawsuits that make it to court.
The alternative insurance programs are:
A limited state-run program.
A mutual company run and paid for by
doctors.
An assigned risk pool that forces casualty
insurers to cover high-risk doctors.
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