When the U.S. House voted for a permanent "doc fix" and to repeal the sustainable growth rate formula, they also voted to provide new protections for physicians against medical malpractice lawsuits, according to The New York Times.
The legislation requires the government to measure the quality of care that physicians provide and rate their performance on a scale of zero to 100. The scores are then used by federal health programs like Medicare and Medicaid to decide how much to pay physicians in reimbursements.
The legislations also includes a provision that protects physicians by stipulating that providers, patients and lawyers are barred from using the federal standards and scores generated by the bill to prove negligence in malpractice cases.
The provision has received relatively little attention but, already, concerns about the provision are being raised by AARP, the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, lawyers, insurance law experts, consumer advocates and other individuals and groups.
Tom Baker, JD, a professor and expert on insurance law at the University of Pennsylvania, is one individual who has expressed concerns about the provision, according to the report.
"Why wouldn't you want to take these guidelines into consideration?" Mr. Baker asked when he spoke to The New York Times. "They indicate what a reasonable doctor does and should do, just like guidelines adopted by a medical specialty society."
Defenders of the provision argue that the standard of care should be established by experts and physicians on a case-by-case basis, not by the guidelines the federal government creates based on what is considered "right" for a group of patients with a condition.
The House passed the permanent doc-fix bill March 26. The bill has since moved to the U.S. Senate.